To that end, he printed up more than 20,000 glossy flyers and, a few weeks ago, had them delivered from Melrose Park to Oak Lane, casting Cooking.Papa as a "family restaurant" welcoming the entire neighborhood.
The popular soul food spot across the street is called the Cheltenham Seafood Noodle Shop. And to the contrary, it is hardly looking to expand its horizons. It is looking to hold its ground - and doing a good job of it, if robust lunch crowds are fair measure.
Little English is spoken by the staff here. But the food speaks for itself: The goon mandu, fried dumplings, were as fine as I've encountered in Koreatown, the skins crisply golden, the pork filling airily light and subtle.
The signature spicy noodle soup with seafood (including a peekaboo cameo by a head-on shrimp) is unexpectedly reminiscent not of Korea's chile-spiked hot pots, but of the saffron-tinted fish stew of Provence: "Spicy," it turns out, can mean "seasoned."
It is at the noodle shop, as well, that you may discover that the proper order in which to eat the ball of Chinese-style fried rice wrapped in an omelette crepe is to first twist off a bite with chopsticks, then dredge it through a mild-mannered bowl of saffron-colored broth that's served for that purpose.
Just blocks south, of course, Kim's BBQ still holds sway, as does chef Kye Cheol Cho's beloved Seo Ra Bol barbecue house (at Second and Grange), known for its short ribs and smorgasbord of pickles.
There is a soft tofu house, and at Front and Olney for the last 18 months, Everyday Good House, another tabletop barbecue hall, with sides of impressive Korean pancakes and, if you'd rather not grill strips of marinated meat, a clay-pot rice dish called bibimbap (see Craig LaBan's accompanying review).
But it is in Koreatown itself, the classic noodle houses bumping up against trendy fried chicken joints, that a prodigal visitor may find the need to adjust dusty notions.
No, the food is not invariably hot and spicy. In fact, the black-bean-paste noodles (served accommodatingly with scissors for snipping) are about as intimidating as red-gravy spaghetti and meatballs.
And yes, the dumplings here can compete, in their best iterations, with the finest in Chinatown.
And no, the broad, foil-lined bowls of greaseless Korean fried chicken wings have nothing in common with the greasy losers that have given the food group its unsavory reputation.
As for the issue of Asian fusion or pan-Asian or such, let us just say that the sunny coffee-shop bakery near the Dragon bistro goes by the name Paris Baguette.
But it blithely stocks, in addition to familiar French pastry, doughnuts filled with bean pastes, stretchy egg breads dotted with sweet chestnut, and creamy, house-made popsicles of many flavors, including my personal favorite, dusky green tea.
I can't think of a better way, in fact, to exit Koreatown - its distinctive signage receding, its whiff of smoke and garlic fading - than with one of those green-tea pops clutched firmly in hand.
Cafe Soho
468 W. Cheltenham Ave.
215-224-6800
Cooking.Papa
400 W. Cheltenham Ave.
215-224-4200
Cheltenham Seafood Noodle Shop
401 W. Cheltenham Ave.
215-635-3959
Dragon Chinese Cuisine Bistro
6779 N. Fifth St.
215-224-4414
Paris Baguette
6773 N. Fifth St.
215-276-2000
