Baroo Canteen

Hidden in the back of Union Swapmeet in East Hollywood, Baroo Canteen was a tiny food stall that punched far above its weight. This was the second coming of the beloved Baroo restaurant, which closed its doors in 2018 after years of devoted fans lining up out the door. But Canteen was something different—less focused on delicate fermented preparations and more about bold, soul-warming comfort food that made you forget everything else the moment you took a bite.

The menu here read like a greatest hits of Korean-inspired creativity. The kimchi shrimp toast was nothing short of revelatory—crispy, intensely savory, and perfectly balanced by a cooling avocado-yuzu sauce. The pastrami fried rice brought together two comfort food traditions in a way that lingered in your mind for days. And the Korean fried chicken, cheekily named “Karma Circulation,” was transcendent in a way that made no logical sense for something so seemingly simple.

Walking to the counter meant passing shuttered booths and longtime businesses winding down their final days, giving the whole experience a bittersweet quality. You were witnessing the end of an era while simultaneously discovering one of the most exciting culinary voices in the city. Everything on the menu topped out at $15, meaning you could order every single dish without breaking the bank—and you absolutely should have.

Sadly, Baroo Canteen is now closed, a casualty of the building’s demolition. But for those who made the pilgrimage to that East Hollywood swapmeet, the memory of fermented red onion and rose eaten from a mason jar, followed by plate after plate of boundary-pushing Korean comfort food, remains unforgettable.