Over a decade ago, former Westword food editor Mark Antonation began his food-writing career by eating his way up Federal Boulevard. Now, we’re turning our attention to another vibrant culinary corridor.

The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find a place that will remind them of home or open new culinary doors. In Eat Up Havana, Antony Bruno will visit them all, one by one, week by week.

Previous stops:

• Old Town Hot Pot
• Leezakaya
• Chutney Indian Cuisine
• El Tequileno
• Milkroll
• Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ
• Watan Restaurant & Bakery
• Las Fajitas
• Mr. Tang
• Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings
• Yemen Grill
  
• Tofu House
• Sushi Katsu
• Coco Loco
  
• Ali Restaurant & Bakery

Next up: Thank Sool Pocha

Among the many reasons to go out to eat rather than cook at home, the desire to get together with friends, unwind, and just have some fun remains a top motivator.

And sometimes when that draw begins to pull, you have to make a choice: do you want a bar that also serves food, or a restaurant that also serves booze? Invariably, the scale tilts to one direction or the other, and picking the wrong side will feel out of balance (we’ve all seen — or been — the boozy table at the fine dining restaurant, right?)

But occasionally you find an establishment that strikes the perfect balance between the two. A place where knocking back beers blends seamlessly with sharing plates of food that’s a bit too good for bar food yet not fussy or trying to compete with more elevated fare. One doesn’t support the other, but rather co-exist on equal terms.

That place is Thank Sool Pocha.

Pocha is short for pojangmacha (which means “covered wagon”), outdoor tents serving food and alcohol in large outdoor (and, more recently, indoor) markets that serve as a popular nightlife attraction and play a central role in Korean food culture.

Located in the Havana Plaza center on Aurora’s Havana Street, Thank Sool pays homage to the pocha with both its menu and its decor. Walking inside the establishment feels a bit like walking outside into one of these street markets.

The open kitchen resembles a food stall, slinging out dish after dish of small plates. The floor consists of several round tables with circular BBQ grills at the center that are just close enough together to feel like you’re at a market stall, but just far apart to provide your own space. The short stools you sit on feel just close enough to the plastic chairs you’d find on the street, but with just enough back support to remain comfortable.

Thank Sool feels most like the street market it’s based on when the weather allows for the garage door walls to be raised, opening out to the parking lot and sidewalk outside, where the party often spills.

It’s definitely a bar vibe (“sool” means alcohol, after all). But don’t expect any mixology happening here. There’s little more than removing a cap from a bottle taking place, so think beer and soju (soju being a sort of low alcohol rice vodka that comes in many flavors). The standout is the Soju Bomb Tower, a mixture of Coors Light with soju poured into a large plastic dispenser with two taps for the table to enjoy.

And of course, there’s the food, with a massive menu that pays more than just lip service for the need to munch while you imbibe. There’s appetizers and small plates, entrees and combos, soups and and skewers, and much more, all of which you can order from a touch-screen tablet installed at each table.

About those tables… you have some choices to make here. Some have the circular Korean BBQ-style grills in the center, on which you’d directly cook slices of raw meat. Others have rectangular grills made for placing meat skewers. You don’t have to use either, of course, and just order from the kitchen. But if your goal is one or the other, that’s something you’d need to know and communicate up front.

Either way, there is no shortage of options. Small plates include classic street fare like fried dumplings, kimchi and seafood pancakes or spam fried eggs. Entrees include spicy rice cakes, sea snail salad, blood sausage and various stir fries. There are 10 different types of soups, seven BBQ combo options and nine types of skewers.

That’s just the start. There are cultural mashups like bulgogi nachos. There’s nearly every part of the chicken, from fried chicken, to chicken gizzards, to chicken skin and chicken feet. There’s fried intestines, pork feet, squid, octopus.
It all makes for a fun night out, from as early as 4:00 p.m. to as late as 2:00 a.m. Diners range from families with kids grilling skewers together, to groups of twentysomethings milling around a large table, to selfie-taking K-pop wannabes.

If you’ve never been to a street food market in Korea, it’s hard to say how close Thank Sool is to the original experience. But it also kind of doesn’t matter, because the appeal lies less in its ability to replicate a scene from halfway around the world but rather more its success at creating something special right here in town.

Frankly, Denver could use more places like this.

Thank Sool Pocha is located at 2222 South Havana Street, Suite E, and is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit the restaurant on Instagram.