Korean Taco Roundup: Ssam, Bo Ssam, Gu-Jeol-Pan

The hullabaloo about Kogi's hybrid Korean-Mexican tacos (pictured), served from roaming trucks across Los Angeles, has reached a fever pitch–so much so that you'd think Korean food didn't know from taco until recently.

Wrong. Korean cuisine–both traditional and contemporary–features a variety of edible bundles. Here are some of America's best:

Gu-jeol-pan The version of this royal dish at Bewon in Portland, Oregon, is an exercise in the sublime. Eight hillocks of fillings–including two kinds of mushrooms, eggs and seasoned beef–encircle a stack of house-made sweet-rice-and-wheat crepes. Wrap gingerly. 1203 NW 23rd Ave.; 503-464-9222 or bewonrestaurant.com

Ssam The people behind San Francisco's Namu trumpet their new ssam as the real deal. Two sheets of kim (the Korean name for nori) are filled with short-rib meat, rice, kimchi remoulade and kimchi-radish salsa. Take that, Kogi. 439 Balboa St.; 415-386-8332 or namusf.com

Bo Ssam It's rumored that the lauded DIY wraps at Kobawoo House in Los Angeles were an inspiration for the ballyhooed version at New York's Momofuku Ssam Bar. Kobawoo's features a pile of pork belly, wheels of pickled daikon, napa cabbage, fiery daikon kimchi and a pile of seriously funky fermented shrimp. 698 S. Vermont Ave., Ste. 109; 213-389-7300

Korean soft tacos Joanne Chang, co-owner of Boston's Myers + Chang, read about Kogi in Newsweek. The idea struck her as genius, and her restaurant's menu now boasts corn tortillas loaded with braised short ribs, Asian pear, pickled watermelon radishes and cilantro-kimchi-sesame salsa. 1145 Washington St.; 617-542-5200 or myersandchang.com

Editor's note: Namu is now Namu Gaji.