Four Seasons

Restaurant Info:
Four Seasons
404 Eddy Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-277-1117

We recently ate at Four Seasons. Tricia's parents were in town, so we took them along. Four Seasons is a Korean place that Trish and I actually go to fairly frequently. It is one of 3 Korean restaurants in Collegetown (along with Koko's and Dasan-J), and it is our favorite of the lot. The dining area is a small space, and it is nothing fancy at all - just your typical college neighborhood eatery type of decor.

 We love to get appetizers when we go out, and on this past visit, we ordered the kimchi pancake and the fried calamari. The kimchi pancake is fried until crisp on the outside (but soft through the depth), and of course has lots of spicy kim chi in it. The calamari is battered in tempura and then served with a sweetish dipping sauce. This was in addition to the bowls of miso soup and the traditional Korean snack items that you get automatically with dinner. 

Tempura Fried Calamari

Kim Chi Pancake

Fish Strips (one of the snacks)

For entrees, both Tricia and her mom tried the dolsot bi bim bap - a rice dish served in a hot stone vessel with beef and fresh vegetable and a fried egg on top. The best part of this dish was that it was served in a smoldering stone bowl which allowed the rice to cook and even crisp up. Tricia's dad on the other hand went for noodles and ordered japchae. Japchae is a dish made with noodles that are made from sweet potato flour and served with meat and freshly cooked vegetables in a sauce that has strong sesame flavors. When cooked, these noodles are almost transparent and not starchy at all. Siddharth wanted to have some spice (as always!), and opted for the ojingoh dolsot bi bim bap, which is also a sizzling hot rice dish in a stone pot, except cooked with fried squid and lots of Korean red chili paste (Korean chili is spicy, but it is always mixed with sugar, giving a very distinctive sweet and hot taste).

Our review is below:

 [from left to right: Dolsot Bi Bim Bap, Japchae, Ojingoh Dolsot Bi Bim Bap]

TASTE

Siddharth:
8/10

The appetizers were both delicious. It's tough to find anything wrong with them. The pancake was crisp and fresh and the tempura was crunchy without having absorbed a lot of oil (the main thing that can go wrong with tempura batter). The calamari was fairly fresh, but you CAN get much more tender calamari along the east coast - this is probably not the restaurant's fault, as it's tough to get really fresh seafood in Ithaca for cheap. You only get rings with this order, and for those of us that eat a lot of calamari, the head is the more tender part, so this is a bit unfortunate. Still, both appetizers are outstanding.

My entree was also very good. When you get this dish - be prepared, it is hot (both spicy and temperature)! Often times, I don't think that restaurants know what spicy is, but Four Seasons does a good job of making the Ojingoh Dolsot Bi Bim Bap spicy and flavorful. The rice in my dish was not crispy on the bottom (in the stone pots, you often get some very browned rice that makes the meal delicious), so this was one drawback. I didn't try Tricia's Bi Bim Bap, but I did have some of the japchae. I found the japchae pretty disappointing actually - it was bland and oily. The noodles have great texture, but the seasoning is just not right. I've made japchae myself, and I think I can do a better job.    

Tricia:
9/10

I absolutely love this restaurant and all the dishes that I have tried have never been disappointing, including the small dishes. I will agree that the jap chae was a bit oily and the beef wasn't very tender. I saw my dad even have hard time chewing on the beef. Both my mom and I love the bi bim bap because of the combination of rice, seaweed, jap chae and thinly sliced vegetables. And the taste actually changes between eating in a plastic bowl or a stone bowl and I think it's because of the burned rice that gives that extra texture and light smoky flavor. 

The scallion pancake with kimchi was really good too, keeping the crunchiness of the cabbage and its spice while mixed in with a light pancake batter. The tempura squid was ok, I usually prefer the Japanese style tempura where they use Panko. The breading for this squid dish makes the tempura a bit more chewy, but still delicious. I don't think the chewiness was really from the squid, but more from the batter.  The batter gives the squid its pretty shape.



 
MENU

Siddharth:
9/10

The selection is good at Four Seasons. Lots of choices in terms of rice and noodles, as well as Korean BBQ. There are plenty of spicy and non-spicy options, and the menu is vegetarian friendly (and unlike many other foods, Korean cuisine actually can be good without meat). The assorted snacks you get are randomly selected by your server, and these are actually a nice addition to the meal even though they are not on the menu. While I have my favorites on the menu, I could legitimately visit Four Seasons several times a month and not have to pick the same entree twice. Additionally, they also serve several Korean drinks, including imported beer and soju (the Korean version of sake).

Tricia:
8/10

I'm the opposite of Siddharth. When I find a dish that I absolutely like, (in this case, Bi Bim Bop), I typically order it several times at that restaurant. When I first had this dish, I loved the crispiness of the rice and adding all of those small vegetable components with the hot sauce, it became a comfort food. But don't get me wrong, I have ventured to other dishes with Four Seasons and have found many other entrees that I like. My parents and I have tried their Korean BBQ in which a table will get personal hot plate and a dish of raw meats like pork and beef and sometimes seafood. We loved it and the dipping sauces that come with it. The menu selection ranges from home cooked simple Korean comfort food and diversity can be found with their choice of side dishes.



AMBIANCE


Siddharth:
5/10

It's not the cleanest place in the world, especially on Friday night, because the little space they have is usually filled up with people waiting for a table (so the servers don't have much time to keep the tables all spotless). It's also packed with students most of the time, so it's not a quiet place. It's comfortable enough to enjoy your meal despite these shortcomings.

Tricia:
5/10

I agree, the restaurant decor is a bit old fashioned with wall paper peeling and the lighting is unfavorable. Then again, it's on the bottom floor of college apartment building. And during the winter days, they have several space heaters that don't really help. Either way though, the restaurant gets quite an amount of traffic every night and the look of the restaurant tends to look run down. However, perhaps many foreign students enjoy that type of atmosphere because it reminds them of a homely place where they can enjoy comfort food. But if the restaurant wants to cater to those who do not speak Korean as their native language, they should try to look more attractive on the outside and inside.

SERVICE


Siddharth:
7/10

The service is very efficient. They have at most 2 servers (who also double as hosts and bus service), but they manage to make sure everyone gets their orders in and meals out fairly quickly. The staff is friendly enough, but their main task is to process your order as fast as possible. This isn't the worst thing when you're starving on a Friday night.

Tricia:
7/10

Service has never been a problem. Despite being a small restaurant and having many high traffic, they are still able to seat parties of 3-4 within 5 minutes. The food arrives quite fast which is good if the restaurant wants high turnovers. 

 

VALUE


Siddharth:
6/10

I find the food very expensive at Four Seasons. If it was a little cheaper, I'd probably visit even more frequently (as it is, the taste is good enough that I still visit often). At $12-25 per entree ($25 for the BBQ items), and $7-12 per appetizer, the cost is not that cheap, especially considering the lack of ambiance at this place. If you want Korean food, this is probably the best place in town, but if you're more interested in a cheap meal, this is not the best place.

Tricia:
7/10

I agree with Siddharth, it's a bit expensive, but the restaurant is in Ithaca's collegetown where rent can be quite high. And seeing that many of the customers are foreign students, cost does not seem to be Four Seasons obstacle, it works for them. 

Despite the somewhat steep costs, we're huge fans of Four Seasons. Everyone should try it at least once, as it is one of the better eateries in Collegetown. If you do go to visit, you could very well run into us enjoying our favorite Korean place!