For a while, getting an Okki Tokki bowl meant planning a weekday lunch downtown. Now there's a second option, and it stays open for dinner.

The Korean-inspired build-your-own-bowl shop, owned by Kimberly Szuszka, now has a location in Highland Park Marketplace at 18303 Perkins Road East, Suite 408. It joins the original downtown shop at 549 Main St.

A bowl you design yourself

According to the restaurant, the Okki Tokki idea took shape in late 2023 as a way to share a piece of Korean culture through food. The challenge was making bold, unfamiliar flavors approachable. The answer was BYOB, short for build your own bowl.

You pick a base, a protein, vegetables, a sauce and toppings, and the bowl comes together your way. Vegetarian, gluten-free and meatless options are available, so it works for a mixed group with different diets.

The shop's greeting borrows the question the team credits to a grandmother: Have you eaten yet?

Don't stop at the bowl

The snack lineup deserves a look. Sweet hotteok is a stuffed Korean pancake filled with brown sugar and toasted walnuts. Mandu are Korean dumplings filled with marinated beef, cabbage and scallions, then fried. Spam musubi is a fan favorite for eating on the go. There's also a shelf of bottled drinks worth browsing if you like trying something new.

Which location, and when

The Highland Park Marketplace shop is open 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, making it the one to pick for dinner or a Saturday lunch. You can reach it at 225-400-6395. The downtown location keeps lunch hours, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, at 225-256-2641.

Okki Tokki also caters. Email management@eatokkitokki.com to plan an office lunch or party.

Southeast Baton Rouge now has its own answer to that grandmother's question. Yes, and there's dinner, too.

Photo courtesy of Okki Tokki.