Momofuku Ko

The piece de resistance: Momofuku Ko. What kind of restaurant doesn’t have a phone? (or at least claims it does not have one). A good one. What kind of restaurant stays alive with only 24 patrons a night? A great one. What kind of restaurant has a chef that consistently wins awards, yet still works in your face with only two other people helping out? An amazing one. And there we have Momofuku Ko. You can barely tell where it is on the street, as there is no sign (just the peach). Then, once you get inside, show your email and ID, you are seated in front of a pretty small and very clean kitchen. Just you and the 11 other chosen ones. The seatings are spread out so, if you are lucky, the people next to you or down the way are a course ahead, so you get a little bit of a preview. You can close your eyes, or pray for the first seating, if you want. It doesn’t matter anyway, the food is better than it looks from a far, so not matter what you see, you will be more than happy when it comes your way.

For your reading and drooling pleasure, I have done my best (with a little help from a friend… ok, a lot of help) to let you know what could possibly be in store for you on your adventure into eating a 10 course meal.

Pea amuse w biscuits – pea soup. I love pea soup. Specifically I love a thick, puree of split pea soup. This was better than that. The sweetness outshined the thickness and even though it was only a small portion, it was wonderful. The pea amuse was paired with a small freshly made biscuit topped with a honey syrup drizzle. A perfect way to start to meal, a little sweet and a little savory to open up your taste buds.

Fluke sashimi buttermilk, white soy. This was our second time at Ko. The first time, we had the fluke sashimi as well. Having this before did in no way alter its brilliance. The sashimi was fresh and thickly and precisely sliced by David Chang himself. The buttermilk and soy added a creamy texture to an otherwise meaty fish dish.

Dashi soup, uni, chives, pea shoots. This salty light soup was a nice segue into the heavier courses. Typically I avoid uni because it’s a weird color and weirder texture. But, like a good little eater, I just went for it. I’m glad I did. I am not longer totally afraid of uni….only slightly now. The pea shoots were split open with the peas seemingly placed one by one in their pockets, as they were crispy and shelled.

Smoked egg, caviar, fingerling potato chips, onions. The smoked soft boiled egg was also a part of our first meal at Ko. It was also the most memorable for me and one of the most unique dishes they serve. To be honest, I do not believe I had a soft boiled egg before Ko. They’ve ruined me forever since every soft boiled egg I have from now on will never live up to this.

Hand torn pasta, pecorino, chicken skin, snail sausage. Everyone loves their sausage… not sure about that chicken skin…. This dish was an interesting mix of textures, with the crispy skins, the smooth soft pasta and the rubbery cheese and sausage.

Foie Gras, Riesling jelly, lychees, peanut brittle. Am I the only one on earth that doesn’t like this dish? It’s tough, since I don’t like fois gras or lychees… so… how can I comment?

Snapper – so I had this instead. A small but fresh and tasty piece of snapper. It wasn’t the most impressive dish, but my bad for not wanting the specialty of the house.

Soft shell crab, celery noodles, hearts of palm, old bay. I talked to David Chang. Yes, I did. I asked him when they started serving soft shell crab. I knew it was just starting to come into season and knew it wasn’t actually in season in the northeast. I am so smart. S-M-R-T. (Does anyone watch the Simpsons anymore?) They just started serving them that week, and imported them from the Carolinas.

Deep fried short ribs (sous vided for 48 hours), scallion purée, onion Way too fatty for me, but my boyfriend LOVED them.

Guava sorbet with cream cheese skin I actually tasted dessert… a cold ice cream like dessert. I only did it because I was interested in the cream cheese skin. You know when you bite half way through a watermelon jellybean? You can see the green skin around the red middle? This was kind of like that. It was red sorbet with a white candy shell (except cream cheese, not candy).

Funnel cake with black sesame ice cream, lemon curd, coconut milk. WOW. I love funnel cake. Love it. I can’t help but like fried dough. It was the prefect ending to the perfect meal, a little playful and something I can never imagine making for myself but I would dream about it.

Take it from someone who has been there twice and will be going again and again, if the internet allows… It is worth putting an Outlook reminder 10am every morning for the opening of the week’s reservations. And even a little random checking in case of cancellations. Also, make sure you cancel any plans you have that night because unless you are going out partying with some famous people for free at a club you never would be able to get into any other way and it will make you an instant star, anyone who would consider themselves a foodie, or even a person who just likes to eat good food should go to Ko when the green check mark says they can.

River Cafe: CornerTable goes to Brooklyn

Let me set the scene: it was a gorgeous night, no clouds in the sky; a perfect early summer night in NYC… or should I say Brooklyn?
Yes, I went to a borough.

The River Café’s famous setting is why people go there, for the views of Manhattan and the flowery surrounding garden (which smelled amazing). The décor and the view made you feel like you were on a boat on the river. Yet, what they are lacking is the reason people go back to restaurants time and time again… the food. Who cares about the view when you are spending $98 a person (all meals are price fixed) for food you can get anywhere. It is just not as impressive as the skyline.

The tasting menu sounded meek (and was $125 btw), so we went for the two app, two entrée scene. Of course, now that it is summer time, there was a soft shell crab appetizer special, which we promptly ordered. We also went for the rabbit and ravioli. The soft shell crab appetizer was a rather large crab with…to be honest; I don’t even remember what was on the side of the crab. It was decently cooked, but considering I had a decent soft shell crab entrée the night before at a random restaurant/bar in Hoboken, I wasn’t enthralled. The Rabbit and Ravioli appetizer was rabbit loin wrapped in panchetta on top of hand-made cheese ravioli. I was expecting the cheese to be of the stinky, flavorful variety to balance out the gamey taste of the rabbit. To my chagrin, both the rabbit and the ravioli were bland, nearly tasteless, considering all the potential it had.

Now, before I go onto the entrees I must tell you the real reason I will never go back to River Café. It should be obvious that I didn’t care much for the food, but it was the despicable service that did me in. Consider this… I had no idea who was actually our waiter. There were about 5 people working for us, filling water, clearing silverware, folding napkins, etc. But, until we were seated for, let’s underestimate it at, 20 minutes, we were not asked what we wanted for drinks. Then, once we actually ordered a bottle of wine and some prosecco, we waited, again underestimated, 20 minutes until we were asked if we were ready to order. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for a leisurely dinner, but there comes a point where you are sitting there at the table with your menu closed with no one in the restaurant acting like you are there, when you realize that something has gone wrong. Did our waiter quit? Do we not have one? Oh! There he is. Once we ordered, we got our food within another 20 minutes (rather quick actually). But, at the end we were completely ignored for the check. After 3 hours of dining, when half the restaurant was empty… we just sat there…wondering…maybe we should have dined and dashed?!

So, onto the entrees. I had the branzino with tomatoes and some lemon sauce that I chose not to put all over my fish. They unhappily left the sauce at the table for me when I told them I wanted it on the side. The fish wasn’t horrible. It was covered with a baked almond crust and stuffed with shrimp and chorizo, which is the reason our “waiter” (and I use that term loosely) told me it was a better choice than the sea bass with artichokes. My date had the rack of lamb, which was supposedly one of their specialties. I found the lamb to be extremely fatty, so much so that there were huge chucks of fat left on the plate with each piece. The dessert was decent, and came with the price fixed menu. I don’t normally order a dessert, so I ordered the fancy Brooklyn bridge mousse, where chocolate was formed in the shape of the bridge. It was cool. I took a picture.

One we were finally able to pay and leave, we found that we were at the edge of Brooklyn with no way to get home! Luckily, I scored a cab, where we got to hear the end of the Cavs game (Lebron is ridiculous) and got safely back to the city.

By the way, if you have been there, please let me know if you also think that the dining room is slanted towards the water? It was a little disorienting.

TBSP

On a quiet Saturday morning after a night of horrible heartburn, all I wanted was pancakes. I figured I deserved them, because I had not eaten for 24 hours.

The line at Clinton Street Baking company was over an hour long (at 9:45 am…it opens at 10). So, we went over to a neighborhood spot that we had walked by a number of times. Spoon catering company is a quiet family owned business, which opened a small restaurant, TBSP, with delicious looking brownies behind the counter and a very pleasant staff. Last time we tried to go, there was a very long line. So, this time, we weren’t expecting much. But, maybe this sleeper spot actually serves the sleepy and doesn’t wake up until after noon.

“tablespoon is founded on the idea that fresh, local ingredients and quality recipes make for culinary success.”

I agree. I like the new locavore movement. If I had any natural light coming into my apartment or any type of balcony and/or open air space, I would probably be growing my own herbs and possibly my own small fruits or vegetables (I would also probably be a bit happier). But, being a poor New Yorker, I must rely on restaurants stepping up and serving the freshest food they can.

The menu (to the left) had no simple options; everything was unique sounding and filled with flavor. We had the breakfast pizza (egg pizza) and the blueberry pancakes. The pancakes were wonderfully buttery, but undercooked, almost raw. The bacon was a little fatty, but, because bacon supposedly cures all ailments, I had to eat it…The breakfast pizza was two poached eggs, on top of a salad of greens, tomatoes, manchego cheese and bacon. The bread was crisp and starchy… The base for it was "pan tomate", a Barcelona specialty, which I hear is actually an excellent segway into my upcoming posts on the food extravaganza that is my trip to Barcelona, Spain!

All that being said, I was sick so I can’t 100% say with confidence that it was the best meal I have ever had, but it is definitely worth a stop by if you are in the neighborhood. Ah, I love Chelsea.

Co.

A pizza place, that’s all it is right? Well, this is not Pizza Hut or Pizza 33 (ok, that second one is actually a favorite of mine). Check out the menu, this place is gourmand. Want a regular cheese pizza? Don’t be a loser. You didn’t go to Co. just for a cheese pizza. You have to order the one with the salad on top. Sorry to include me in my inner monologue…

Co. (or as the sign reads on the store front: Company) just recently opened for lunch, so I had to check it out. You can see by my other post about this restaurant that I tried to go to lunch there a couple weeks ago and it was not an option. What a waste of a 5 block walk (lazy bum… sorry... inner monologue). I don’t know what to say about this place. It’s pizza. The dough is excellent, but a little burnt on some parts (which you may like). It’s very dusty, i.e. when you eat it your fingers turn black with soot (char?). I ordered the Popeye (pictured..half eaten). It was a crispy spinach salad on top of a pizza pie. There was supposedly cheese on the dough, but I barely tasted any. Not to say it was bad, because it wasn’t. It’s a lot less greasy than the normal pizza I tend to eat and way more unique. I’ve become a fiend for pepperoni and was slightly disappointed that there was no pepperoni option, only a couple different sausages. But again… unique is the operative word here. I also had a piece of the Ham and Cheese (pictured). Again, not too much cheese here, way more ham, or really prosciutto. It was nice and salty, which I love. The picture doesn't even do it justice, since it looks like I took some bread in my kitchen and threw prosciutto on top. I might even actually try to make this one, as it seems pretty simple.

The décor is a mix between restaurant and pizza parlor. It is very non-descript… I probably shouldn’t be saying that considering I’m trying to describe it… I guess I should say, it was just simply decorated, yet not as simple as the typical pizza joint in the city. Co. is much more upscale and more like a restaurant.

There are a bunch of small two tops and some big tables in the middle. It would have been nice if the restaurant, which lets in semi decent light, was a little more open-air accessible. There is a rather large wine selection considering it’s just a pizza place (I know I keep saying that, but its true.) There are another menu options, including choice of the oh-so-minimalist cheese. I don’t have to go back. I’d say give it a try once, maybe for an early Sunday dinner, but you are going to go back to your local shop or the old staples like Patsy’s (actually in the same area and they deliver...) and Grimmaldi’s which are still tops in my book. I would have wanted to see a bigger selection of pizzas. Maybe that will come later. Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if this place wasn’t around for too much longer unless they really come up with something special to keep people coming back.

Time magazine article mentioning Co.: http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1896713,00.html?cnn=yes

Nobu

Today I googled Nobu. Not, the restaurant or the chef, but the actual word. It means prolonged or stretched in Japanese. I know you wanted to know that…

Friday night, went out on a raining night to the original downtown location (I try to generally avoid midtown when not at work or in the park). I wanted to go to Nobu for a long time. It was on the list. I felt that as a good New Yorker, I needed to experience the restaurant that everyone has been to; I’m just a jealous person.

Happily, I came across a promotion that Continental (my new airline of choice) was running called International Restaurant Week. I am going to Barcelona in a couple weeks, so I wanted to check it out in case they were running some special at a restaurant there. Unfortunately (and fortunately?), the restaurant week was actually for internationally themed restaurants in NYC. Does that not encompass every restaurant?

Well, it did have Nobu, and for every $100 you spend there, you get $50 in Continental money. So, we figured, we were eating for ½ off! Nice recession thinking….

Speaking of recessions, wow… Nobu was getting hit pretty hard on that front. We walked in for an 8:45 reservation and the place looked like it was 4:30pm. I think there were about 5 tables full of people. Granted, by the time were were ½ way done with our meal, it had filled up. Yet, there is no bar scene, there were no people waiting for tables. Is this because I’m the only one left in NYC that hasn’t been to Nobu? Is this because it was raining? (We all know that this sadly deters people in the city from going out and people outside from coming in.) Is it because Nobu is overplayed and overpriced? It could be any number of those reasons.

We originally thought about ordering the Omakase. But, when hearing what it was (just a parade of the signature dishes, nothing off the menu or special), we decided to take a little cheaper route and order the dishes we actually wanted. Granted, some of those were the signature dishes, although after eating them, I can’t really understand why…

We started out with the Bigeye and Bluefin Toro tartar. The dish was very small and the poor presentation made it look even smaller. The toro itself was good, but that’s what you pay a heafty price for it. Our next dish was the Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno (pictured). I was told I needed to try this by a co-worker. While it was good sashimi in a nice sauce, the jalapeno was extraordinarily hot. No one's fault here but my own. I just can’t handle the heat! Next, I think because of the continental special, we were given a free appetizer by the chef. It was a lobster salad and was the worst dish we had the entire meal. It was lobsert claw meat (which isn’t the tastiest part, or the meatiest) in no sauce and served on random pieces of butter lettuce. Thanks? We were then partly saved by the Black pepper crusted Ahi Tuna salad. The tuna was good, but the sauce/dressing overwhelmed the dish. The lettuce on top was dry and the lettuce in the bottom was sopping. Granted, the dressing wasn’t bad, I just didn’t like how it was used. To end our foray into the cold apps, we had the squid pasta. I thought this was going to be pasta with squid. I probably wasn’t listening to the explanation… ok, I know I wasn’t, because we got a bowl of squid. It wasn’t like sautéed calamari. It was different. These were huge pieces of squid tenticles. If it sounds gross. That is because it was.

Our first signature dish, the Rock Shrimp Tempura (pictured) with creamy spicy sauce was decent. It was not spicy at all (good for me and explained as such by our waiter when we ordered). But, everyone makes rock shrimp tempura nowadays. If you are going to eat this, go to Lure Fishbar. Its amazing. Also, try the calamari there while you are at it. That dish was followed by the Black Miso Cod (pictured). I didn’t like this at all. All restaurants serve a version of this now, and Nobu’s was probably the worst I have tasted. The miso sauce was excellent. Yet, the fish was dry and tasteless. Cod isn’t the most tasty fish out there, actually I think its pretty bland. But, restautants have been able to transform this boring poor mans fish to a culinary hit. Nobu just failed me. Yes… there is more… We had to try the sushi. We ordered the house special roll (all of the other rolls sounded incredibly boring) and some extra pieces of Spanish mackerel, Red Snapper, Eel. The sushi was decent. But, I guess there is no point in expecting good sushi from a restaurant not known for its sushi. You are better off going to Yama, Blue Ribbon, Sushi Yasuda or Sasabune.

Since its also the week of the Tribeca Film Festival, there were interesting characters in the restaurant. Next to us was a table of complete randoms. Maybe a film crew? Maybe the mob? The table was filled with about 12 people that had very heavy accents and were abnormally tan (considering we have only seen 2 days of sun this spring). It was someone’s birthday. They got him really odd gifts and probably thought I was a freak by starring at them. Whatever, I love people watching.

Maybe I should have gone to Nobu when people actually cared about it. There are so many new and better restaurants. Nobu was acclaimed for its innovation years ago, but now that all restaurants with the same theme make the same dishes, but better. There is no reason to return. I feel bad for myself and my boyfriend that we dragged ourselves there with high expectations.