Itaewon: Seoul's Foreigner district

     Our trip for Soellal also gave us the chance to return to Seoul's foreigner district, Itaewon. On Monday night, we traveled via subway to Itaewon for some late night food and drinks. We started off the evening by dining at Santorini for some Greek souvlaki. Inside, flaky blue and white paint, Mediterranean style frescoes, and dusty fake ivy dripping from the ceilings amount to faint recollections of expensive knock-off Greek restaurants at home. Ahh... you ask why we would travel to Seoul, the capital of one of the most underrated food nations in the world, to have overpriced, average tasting western versions of Greek food? Well the answer is simple, no matter how mediocre the tzatziki is, it's the first taste of tzatziki I've had for over 4 months and as such, it wins by default. It may not have been the best Greek food I've ever had, but in this circumstance, it tasted fantastic. This alteration of perception can be said for most of Itaewon: chalked full with foreign cuisine, foreign fast-food, and foreign clothing that wouldn't be anything special at home. 
     After Santorini, we braved the cold to walk to the Rocky Mountain Tavern, Itaewon's Canadian hangout. Here we caught the end of an American football game, drank some Canadian draft beer, and stuffed ourselves with poutine for dessert. The next day we returned to Itaewon to do some exploring in the daylight. Unfortunately, the daylight does nothing to improve Itaewon's rather dirty and rough exterior. This is the kind of place that benefits dramatically from hazy beer-goggles and as little light as possible. We did find however a few redeeming qualities while exploring. What the Book is an English bookstore that had a great selection of both new and used books and magazines only with a slight markup on Canadian costs. We also found a bakery called Tartine that bakes and sells mini pies with flavours like strawberry rhubarb, pecan, blueberry, and classic apple. Although it doesn't measure up to Horstings, it certainly satisfied my sweet tooth. Our last find of the day in Itaewon was Subway. Again, here we can apply the Itaewon logic. It was just another sub, with all the fixings that I would find at home. But damn did it ever taste good.

Mini strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert!