Eat Like a Lady

Miss Lily’s, a Jamaican restaurant just south of the village on Houston, has as much flare in its ambiance as it does in its menu. It’s another restaurant that really is just cool and makes you feel cool to eat there. On top of the “cool” factor though, the food is really amazing across the board. Every dish ordered, and many were ordered, had incredible flavor and left me wanting more. There wasn’t a single dish that I didn’t enjoy. The cocktails were also really great and playful. Make sure to order Miss Lily’s special shot! ;) Overall, Miss Lily’s is just vibrant and fun and I’m already planning my next visit back.

Genius of Love: This is the passion fruit cocktail on the menu and it was delicious… so delicious I ordered six of them. Though I sampled tastes of other drinks on the menu, this was my favorite as I’m a sucker for anything passion fruit.

Jerk Grilled Corn: The corn is covered in jerk spices and toasted coconut and is really freaking amazing. It might even be the best corn you can order in the city. This should most definitely be on the table.

Ackee* Dip and Plantain Chips: This was pretty good, but nothing special compared to everything else on the table. The plantains had a nice crunch and the ackee dip was refreshing, but I wouldn’t order it again.

*Ackee is an apple-like fruit that is the national fruit of Jamaica

Jaquitos - Curried Lobster: G-d these were good. They were super refreshing with just the right amount of mayo and flavoring. On the side came a perfectly spicy “salsa” that added a really nice heat to the taco. I found myself scraping the small bowl that it came in just to ensure that I got every last bite.

Jaquitos - Callaloo & Plantain

Mussels Linguine: This was made with jerk, cilantro and parsley and far exceeded any of my expectations. Since we had ordered so many appetizers, I felt inclined to order something that I felt would be on the lighter side and it was. The mussels were standard, but the jerk sauce that covered the linguini was both unique and perfectly spiced. By the end I was hoping there was another bowl.

Jerk Pork Burger: Topped with red onion, avocado and a mango chutney, this burger was also bursting with flavor. I was actually very surprised by how “juicy” the burger was and by the meat itself, which was really nicely spiced. While the avocado and mango chutney were great flavor accompaniments, it was nice that the burger itself contained enough flavor on its own.

Vegan Bushman Plate: This plate was composed of jerk seitan, quinoa, stir fry vegetables and callaloo. You cannot tell me that this dish doesn’t look awesome (and possibly like it’s actually meat). I only had a bite of the seitan, but it was a great bite.

Miss Lily’s Banana Cream Pudding: This is absolutely the best banana pudding I’ve ever had. Perfect in texture and banana flavor, this also contains an extra kick, the same ingredient I think was in Miss Lily’s Special Shot. My friend and I were thinking it might be nutmeg, but that seems too ordinary for a Miss Lily’s creation. Regardless, make sure to save room for this because it’s fantastic!

132 W Houston Street New York, New York ($$-$$$)

Kin Shop, a product of Harold Dieterle, the winner of Top Chef Season 1, and Alicia Nosenzo, is a contemporary, Thai-influenced restaurant located in the West Village. It’s got a standard trendy, more-or-less upscale environment and everything that we ordered was really good.  However, the group that I visited Kin Shop with is the same group that went to Red Farm and across the board all four of us couldn’t stop comparing each dish to similar dishes we had tried there. Aside from the Spicy Duck Laab Salad appetizer, which definitely blew me away, nothing really stood out as a dish I needed to return for again. I want to say that Kin Shop is worth at least one visit though, the spicy duck being reason enough.

Spicy Duck Laab Salad: This was made with toasted rice, ground chili and romaine hearts and is intended to be eaten lettuce-wrap style. The dish is outrageously awesome with the perfect amount of extreme spice. It is so hot to the point of making your mouth tingle and yet still retains all of its amazing flavor. If you like spicy things, do not miss out on ordering this dish. It’s pretty fantastic.

Northern Thai Style Curry Noodle: This was a bowl of curry and fat udon-style noodles with braised brisket, cucumber, peanuts and fresh herbs. When I first started eating this dish, I wasn’t all that impressed, but by the end I think it may have won me over. It definitely got better as I continued to eat it. It had a sort of sour taste to it though (perhaps because of the cucumber?) and could have definitely been spicier. I also felt that the braised beef didn’t really do anything for the dish. I did, however, like the texture of the curry and the noodles were really good. Nevertheless, it was sub par to the Okra and Eggplant Thai Yellow Curry dish at Red Farm, which really captured the fire and warmth that one looks for in ordering curry.

Stir Fry Rice Flakes: These were rice noodles with rock shrimp, cauliflower, sawtooth herb & fried garlic. There was really nothing special about this. I tried it, I thought it tasted good, but it lacked any kind of unique quality to make me want to eat more or order it myself.

Stir Fried Dungeness Crab Noodle: This comes with scallions, saw tooth herb, fried garlic and fish sauce. I thought this was really tasty and different. I liked the textural element of the glass noodles with the crabmeat. However, it definitely wasn’t good enough to warrant me wanting to spend the hefty $35 price tag on the dish.

Sour Yellow: Roasted King Oyster Mushrooms, bamboo shoots, snow peas and turnips in a yellow curry.

Kin Shop: 469 6th Avenue  New York, NY ($$$)

Located on the corner of Hester and Essex Street on the Lower East Side, this small fair offers up a mix of flea market shopping and food. It is similar to Brooklyn Flea, but smaller, and I think I like the fashion, art and accessory vendors a little better. Nevertheless, my obvious focus on the opening day was the food vendors. I hit up We Rub You, a Korean BBQ vendor, and followed up my sandwich with some ice cream from Ample Hills Creamery.

Beef Bulgogi Sandwich: Beef bulgogi marinated in We Rub You Sweet Sauce with sesame apple slaw and cilantro and gochujang sauce on a brioche bun. I was specifically drawn to We Rub You because of the smell of the grilled meat that was wafting through the fair. I guess everyone else felt the same way that I did, since the line was very long. But it was so worth it. The sandwich had a good balance of meat to bread, and the sauces blended perfectly together. In addition, the freshness of the apple slaw was a great contrast to the slight heaviness of the beef. I highly recommend visiting We Rub You.

Pork Sandwich: Pork marinated in We Rub You Spicy Sauce with kimchi, cucumber and perilla chimichurri on a brioche bun. My friend ordered this sandwich and she was equally pleased.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream: Also known as lingering fire, this ice cream is composed of dark chocolate ice cream with Saigon cinnamon and ground chili flakes. The ice cream had a great creamy texture and the lingering fire was no lie. By the time I was finished, I was left with an ironically refreshing burn in my mouth.

Hester Street Fair: Hester and Essex Street New York, NY

 

Don Antonio, a Neapolitan pizza locale located in Hell’s Kitchen, is the creation of Kesté’s Robert Caporuscio and his old mentor Antonio Starita, the owner of one of Naples’ oldest pizza places. The atmosphere in Don Antonio is really vibrant, and with a bar at the front, it is far more livelier than its West Village sister restaurant Kesté (previously reviewed). Though both need to be kept in the pizza rolodex, there are far more pizza options at Don Antonio, and most specifically they offer up the Antonio Starita Specialty the Montanara (Neapolitan fried pizza), which is the pizza that is not to be missed here! Though I’d probably say Kesté wins out with a slightly more flavorful hot crust, and maybe even slightly fresher ingredients, there are certain pizzas that you can only get at Don Antonio. Plus the openness of the kitchen, as well as friendly manager and staff, give Don Antonio the edge in ambiance.

Pistacchio E Salsiccia: With fresh pistachio pesto, sausage, homemade mozzarella, pecorino romano, basil and extra virgin olive oil, it is one of the most unique pizzas I’ve ever tried, and I loved it. The pesto has such a great nutty flavor and everything comes together to make for a flavor combination that is spot-on.

Burrata Roberto: This pizza is like the one at Kesté that I’m obsessed with. It is topped with homemade burrata, grape tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil. While I’d probably think it was awesome, had I never tried the one at Kesté, this was our least favorite pizza of the three. It was good, but the one at Kesté is just better. It just didn’t give me the same “OMG this is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth” moment.

Antonio Starita’s Specialty: This is the Montanara (Neapolitan fried pizza). It is lightly fried pizza dough topped with signature starita tomato sauce and imported smoked buffalo mozzarella finished in their wood burning oven. This is one of the greatest creations ever. Think of it as the original Pizza Hut pan pizza—not as greasy with fresh cheese and all the fried goodness. This is the pizza you want to make sure is on the table. SO GOOD!

Don Antonio: 309 W 50th Street New York, NY ($$)

Pure Food and Wine has the reputation of taking raw and vegan food to the next level. I had tried samplings of the food at events before, and each time I was incredibly impressed by the freshness of the produce and the combination of flavors. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I didn’t leave all that impressed. One dish really blew me away, but everything else had flaws. The atmosphere is nice and the health-conscious element is always appealing, but when you’re spending as much as you are spending at Pure Food and Wine, I would expect the food to be better.

Salad of Chicories with Bourbon Cask Sour Cherries: This salad was also topped with salsify bacon, lapsang smoked walnuts and a buttermilk dressing. I definitely liked this salad. The buttermilk dressing was really tasty, the smoked walnuts added a nice crunch and the cherries felt like little treasures when you came across one. While I know you need to approach vegan dishes without trying to compare them to their meaty counterparts, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the salsify bacon. Obviously it is in no way like bacon, but the crunchy flat rods were overseasoned and they overpowered all the other great flavors in the dish. To me, it lacked the salty accompaniment that bacon normally adds to a dish and instead took over with “barbecued” flavoring that really didn’t resemble or taste anything like bacon.

Zucchini, Local Heirloom Tomato Lasagna: This dish was the winner with a basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara and macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta. The flavors were amazing, the textures were just right, and it’s a much healthier version of traditional lasagna. The tomato and zucchini were layered perfectly to resemble true lasagna and even had a texture that would have you questioning whether or not there were layers of pasta in there. I particularly liked the pistachio pesto and the “ricotta.” Again, both had a great texture and really great flavor. If you’re ever at Pure Food and Wine, this is the dish to get.

Hen of the Woods Tacos al Pastor: Watermelon radishes! I was very excited when this dish came to the table but disappointed with the proportionality of the components. 3 or 4 VERY SMALL tacos that looked more like uncooked taquitos came atop a dish that was mainly hearts of palm with smoked guacamole, chayote squash, and pickled onions. The tacos were pretty good, but seeing as there were only 3 the size of my thumb, I questioned why this dish was called Hen of the Woods (a type of mushroom) Tacos, when it was more about the hearts of palm. I can tolerate hearts of palm, but the texture isn’t my favorite, and I wouldn’t have gone for this dish if I knew it was the main component. I also felt that the flavoring, in order to be good, needed to be perfectly blended in each bite. You had to have a little guacamole, squash, hearts of palm and pickled onion in each bite to really enjoy the flavor combination, which was frustrating. Overall I thought this was a failed dish.

Frozen Black Forest Shortcake: This came with chocolate cherry ice cream, almond chocolate cream and sake sesame fruit. It reminded me a lot of an Italian tartufo. I liked the cherry ice cream and I liked the almond chocolate cream. The shortcake, however, tasted like a stale biscuit and the sake sesame fruit didn’t have a particularly strong sake or sesame flavoring. Overall I thought it was all right, but for the price, I could have done without it.

Pure Food and Wine: 54 Irving Place New York, NY ($$$)

Co. (pronounced Company) is a restaurant in Chelsea that is under the direction of Jim Lahey, the owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery. While at pizza places like Kesté, the ingredients are the focus, elevating the pie to the next level. Here, the focus is the bread. It’s perfectly crisp and really flavorful, and while the ingredients themselves aren’t unique, the combinations on some of these specialty pizzas are certainly different and special to Co. I think this is a really great go-to place for consistent pizza without the wait that you’ll find at some other places.

Bread with Olive Oil:
As I mentioned above, the bread here is the star. If you want to “carb-out,” or you’re just looking to order bread with a cheese or charcuterie plate, it’s definitely really great.

Mushroom and Jalapeño Pie: This pie consisted of béchamel, pecorino, gruyère, garlic confit, seasonal mushrooms, shaved jalapeño and fresh dill. And it was really fantastic. I find that mushrooms can sometimes overwhelm a dish with its flavor and texture, but this pizza, though covered in mushrooms, tasted so good. The mushrooms were cooked nicely, had a perfect texture, and the flavor went incredibly well with the cheeses and the spicy bites that included the jalapeño. The dill didn’t seem to really add anything additional to the flavoring though, acting more like a garnish than a flavor. All in all, I’ve never had a pizza with this flavor combination, and I will definitely be returning for it.

Flambe: This pie has béchamel, parmesan, mozzarella, caramelized onions and lardons (cubes of pork fat) and is also really great. The caramelized onions nicely complement the saltiness of the pork, and the cheeses are packed on. Though perhaps heavier than some of the other pizzas, this is one not to be missed!

Meatball: This pizza had tomato, mozzarella, veal meatballs, caramelized onions, olives, aged pecorino and oregano. This was the weakest pizza that I tried at Co. The pizza was fairly bland and lacked a sauciness that I sort of expect from a pizza that has meatballs on it. Though the meatballs were nice and flavorful, again there was a dryness to them. They also didn’t feel like they were really part of the pizza, but instead were a sparse afterthought. Though I did like the olive flavoring here, probably because it was very subtle (and as I’ve mentioned before I don’t love olives), my friend felt that they were barely part of the pizza.

Banoffee Pie: I thought it was only appropriate to end the evening with a sweet “pie.” This was made with coffee whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts, dulce de leche, sliced banana and a graham cracker crust. Though a solid dessert, as I love anything with bananas, it didn’t blow my mind or anything. I really liked the toasted hazelnuts. They added a nice crunch and toasted flavor. But I think it was lacking in the “coffee” flavoring, which was just a little too subtle. Nevertheless, it was a nice end to the meal.

Co.: 230 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY ($$)

I recently fell in love with the little Italian spot Sorella, unassumingly located on the Lower East Side on the corner of Allen and Delancey. When you enter, it is filled with lots of exuberance, while the back is far quieter and works better if you have a larger group. From the second I walked in, I had a great feeling about the place. Sorella definitely falls in line with other Italian restaurants, Rubirosa for instance, that aren’t offering up the traditional, stuffy dishes of spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmesan, but instead are really elevating Italian food and making it young and trendy. The food at Sorella is both incredibly thoughtful and delicious. Each ingredient seems to serve a taste and textural purpose as it should. Chef and owner, Emma Hearst, who was just named a semifinalist for the 2012 James Beard Awards, often times combines ingredients and flavors you wouldn’t expect to work together, but oh they really do. Though it’s a place more suited for sharing, as the entire menu consists of Italian small plates, the portion size ends up being far more filling than you realize. Sorella offered up an incredible evening of food; make sure you don’t miss out on dessert.

Ginsalata: This had gin, cucumber, lime and basil. Though the color of the drink is questionable, it was a great, refreshing drink and possibly the favorite at the table.

Focaccia: This was a special they had one night and is seriously one of the best flavor combinations I’ve ever had in my mouth. The focaccia was soaked in olive oil and topped with stracciatella, sliced wild boar, Marcona almonds and honey. With each bite you could taste every flavor here: the saltiness of the boar, the crunch of the almonds and the sweetness of the honey atop that salty olive oil base. If this is available, I highly suggest getting multiple plates for the table.

Tajarin: This dish was intended to be a play on the traditional pappardelle with meat ragu. It had thin, long, ribbon-like pasta with a lamb ragu, black pepper ricotta, pistachios and mint. These all seemed like unusual ingredients to pair together, and yet it just worked so well. The pasta was clearly made fresh and the texture was just so delicate and light. As for the lamb ragu, it is possibly the best ragu I think I’ve ever had. I’m not always such a fan, if the ragu is less meat and more soffritto (a partially fried mix of onions celery, carrots, etc.). But the soffritto here was finely chopped and the lamb took on the dominant texture. There was a nice large scoop of ricotta that added great flavor and texture, and I was excited and pleased every time I had a bite that included a pistachio, another contrasting texture/flavor, but one that was not in every bite. Overall it was a really stunning dish.

Agnolotti: These were small pockets of beef short rib covered in parmesan and sage butter. I called these little pillows of flavor. Though it was very good, it was a very small plate of food. And I get that the restaurant consists of small plates, but this seemed even smaller in portion size.

Pici: Pasta with a porcini and pancetta ragu and pecorino.

Tempura Fried Quail: This comes with “picnic potatoes,” sweet pickles and “sugo segreto.” The person who ordered this dish said it was great, but noted that the potatoes came as a cold potato salad, and it was an odd pairing to have cold potatoes with the hot tempura-fried quail.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake: This came with crumbled graham crackers, chocolate fudge, a pretzel crust, chocolate covered pretzel bits and a lemon sorbet. It is as good as you would imagine it to be. The combination of salty and sweet was just perfect. Yum.

Torta: This was a great piece of chocolate cake composed of chocolate mousse and fudge with a scoop of cocoa nib gelato on the side. One of our friends does not even really care for chocolate, and even he could confirm that this was quite delicious. It seemed that the different chocolates complemented one another well both in texture and flavor and washed down nicely with the incredible gelato. To note, there was a separate gelato menu with interesting flavors that I definitely want to try next time!

Sorella: 95 Allen Street New York, NY ($$$)

The Fat Radish is a cool spot with a diversified, fresh menu. It’s local and organic with a variety of interesting dishes for all kinds of eaters. They also have a nice wine/beer list making this a nice spot for a girls’ night out or a date. Located off the beaten path on Orchard in the heart of the LES, it is one of those places that makes you feel like you have found a secret place that no one else knows about. So if you’re looking for a cool, vegetarian-friendly spot with fresh produce and heavy flavors, this is your place.

Deviled Brussels Sprouts: These were interesting. They were brussels sprouts wrapped in bacon, and while they tasted good because everything wrapped in bacon is good, I’m not sure how successful these really were. They were emulating the bacon wrapped figs you can find at most tapas bars, but lacked the salty/sweet combination and the texture that makes the bacon/fig combination successful. Brussels sprouts are just a little too bulky for this kind of thing.            

Beet Crumble: Almost more like a dessert than a dinner, this comes baked in a bread loaf pan and is filled with warm beets and topped with a goat cheese, aged cheddar, hazelnut and oat crumble. This is my favorite thing I’ve tried from the menu thus far and what I love about it, is it’s unlike anything I’ve had anywhere else. I like beets, though they aren’t normally my favorite, and in this context, I just can’t get enough. The contrast of savory and sweet here makes for a really nice dish.
 
Celery Root Pot Pie (with garlic and gruyere): I had this on my first visit to The Fat Radish, before I had started writing the blog, and I remember finding this dish dry and underwhelming. Though an interesting concept and a great presentation, I recall making a mental note, that while I liked it, I would probably never get it again.

Winter Squash Risotto: This came topped with a scoop of spiced mascarpone and pecans. While I did enjoy this dish, I felt that the mascarpone scoop was too heavy-handed and ultimately overpowered the dish with its flavor. It also wasn’t covered in enough pecans, which I thought added a nice textural crunch when found in a specific bite. It was good, but it was a large portion for risotto and just too rich. My friend and I who were splitting the dish couldn’t even finish it. We were just too full.

The Fat Radish Plate: This is a beautiful plate of vegetables and is 100% vegan. It’s a dish like this that I think makes The Fat Radish such a great spot. They use really delicious local and organic produce, and offer up vegetarian and vegan options that vegetarians and vegans actually want to eat. The watermelon radishes were a really nice visual touch and even tasted good! I don’t usually care for radishes, but these I liked.

Peeky Toe Crab Gratin: Leeks, aged white cheddar and sherry.
 
Monkfish Vindaloo: I also had this the first time I visited and I remember it being nice. The yogurt was cooling to the spicy vindaloo and the fish was cooked right; however, I do remember feeling a bit overwhelmed and overpowered by the dish.

Roasted and Fried Brussels Sprouts: These were great, standard roasted/fried brussels sprouts.

The Fat Radish: 17 Orchard Street New York, NY ($$$)

Red Farm exceeded all of my expectations and is the first restaurant in awhile to leave me excited, wanting to return with every person I know. Often times the restaurants that I think are amazing come with a hefty price tag, but Red Farm is incredibly affordable, especially considering the portion sizes and the quality of the food. Since it has been getting a lot of “it” restaurant publicity recently, I expected there to possibly be a ridiculous wait, especially since you cannot make a reservation; however, for four on a Wednesday, we ended up waiting probably only about 30 minutes once our whole party arrived. I also really liked the layout and décor of the restaurant. I felt like it successfully achieved where restaurants like Momofuku Noodle Bar fail. It was very minimalist and earthy with the shared bar style tables, without the feeling of being cramped in a tiny location, even though the restaurant is fairly small. Though I didn’t take a trip to the bathroom, I was told that the bathrooms were really cool too with multi-buttoned toilets that offered such things as a butt wash. Not sure I’m looking for that at a public restroom, but it certainly created some dinner conversation at the least. And then there was the amazing food. Every dish was delicious and I was most impressed with just how spicy and flavorful the food was. Usually I find myself underwhelmed with the spice level, but everything from the dumplings to the curry had a real appropriate level of spice for that dish. Not only did all four of us love Red Farm, but I also think it has come up in conversation every time we’ve seen each other since. 

Katz’s Pastrami Egg Roll: This is as amazing as you’d imagine it to be. The fried outside has the texture and greasiness of the really good fried noodles you get at a Chinese restaurant to start. The inside has Katz’s pastrami with traditional chopped vegetables and cabbage. This comes with a side of mustard instead of duck sauce to compliment the deli theme. What I thought was most interesting was that what I thought was spicy mustard turned out to be honey mustard, and I didn’t identify this until more than three quarters of the way through. This was clearly a subtle and genius flavor pairing; the spice and flavor of the pastrami required something more cooling such as honey mustard. Right now, and yes I know it’s early, this very well may end up on my 2012 best bite list.

‘Pac Man’ Dumplings (4): This isn’t just called the ‘Pac-man’ Dumplings for any old reason. The dish is in fact created to look just like the video game, making it one of the coolest, most creative platings I think I’ve ever seen. You’ve got Pac-Man on your right, which is fried sweet potato in guacamole (both very good). And then you have 4 different dumplings in the shape of Pac-Man’s four enemies: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. Each dumpling has a different inside: lobster, crab, shrimp and leek. Since we were four, we each took a dumpling, so I only got to try the lobster one (the red one on the far right), and it was one incredible bite filled with so much flavor and spice. If anything I was disappointed because I was only able to eat one! 

Vegetable & Chive Dumplings (4): These were good, standard vegetable dumplings, but nothing exciting. The texture of the inside of the dumpling was nice and the flavors were pretty good, but having eaten the Pac-Man lobster dumpling first, I felt like there was no comparison between the two. Unless you’re a vegetarian, I think there are more interesting dumpling options on the menu.

Spicy Crispy Beef: It was spicy; it had a nice crisp; it was everything you’d want from a spicy crispy beef. What I liked most about it was that it wasn’t super greasy or heavy. I didn’t feel like I was going to be feeling it in the pit of my stomach all night.

Mussels & Heirloom Tomatoes in a Lobster Broth

Diced Lamb with Chinese Broccoli & White Asparagus: I’m a big lamb person. It is one of the first things I gravitate toward on a menu, so when I saw this dish came with Chinese broccoli and white asparagus, I knew this was the dish I had to try. The lamb was cooked perfectly and had a great flavor and texture; the asparagus and broccoli were perfectly crisp too. And whatever sauce this was in had such a great flavor and bite. This was a dish where I felt surprised by the spice factor. Often times brown sauces are very mild and lack that extra kick I’m usually looking for. But believe me, this had plenty of kick and really brought the dish to another level.

Okra and Thai Eggplant Yellow Curry: This is a big bowl of yellow curry with tons of vegetables in it, including okra and Thai eggplant. And to say it is amazing is actually an understatement. My friend ordered the dish and couldn’t finish the whole thing, so I found myself trying to spoon as much of the curry out of the bowl from across the table. I just couldn’t get over how good it was. It was spicy, with a subtle sweetness and might possibly be the best curry dish I’ve had in the city. If you like curry, do not miss out on ordering this.

Stir-Fried Udon Noodles with Shrimp & Vegetables

Red Farm: 529 Hudson Street New York, NY ($$$)

Per my expectations, Momofuku Noodle Bar served up some solid, delicious food that I’ve been thinking about ever since. I’m no ramen connoisseur, but as far as I’m concerned, the Noodle Bar portion of David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant Empire is worthy of its hype. While I was left with no complaints about the food, I do have some criticisms in terms of the layout of the restaurant and the service. While I’ve personally never been to any of the other David Chang restaurants, the friend who accompanied me to the Noodle Bar has been to Momofuku Ssäm and experienced a similar rudeness at the front of the house. I get that you’re “Momofuku” and you don’t really need my business because there are millions of other people lined up behind me waiting to eat your food, but it makes people not want to frequent your restaurant when the hostess has an attitude problem. She was rude when she seated us and she was even ruder when she asked us to get up to allow for other people to slide into the shared table. This brings me to my issue with the restaurant layout. The tables are “bar style” where you sit next to other groups. This is trendy and often times a very fun way to eat at a restaurant. But with one end of the table connected to the wall, people have to get up and slide out mid-meal in order to allow the group that has finished to leave and then again 5 minutes later for the new group to slide in. This is clearly a huge restaurant flaw and is probably why the hostess isn’t the nicest person come evening. With that said, I guess that leaves the question of whether or not I will be returning to Momofuku Noodle Bar despite these inconveniences. Well… the answer is yes because the food really is that good.

Pork Buns: The pork buns are what the Momofuku brand is known for and these certainly live up to expectation. Very simply it is pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers and scallions and very simply they’re delicious. Is it the fattiest, melt-in-your-mouth piece of pork belly I’ve had? No. But these are awesome and I’ll definitely be getting them again.

Momofuku Ramen: The ramen here really blew me away. It’s a simple, flavorful broth with pork belly, pork shoulder, a poached egg and a nice portion of al dente noodles. The poached egg is perfectly cooked and when you open it up the yolk oozes into the bowl and the broth absorbs the white part of the egg. With the noodles made just right and this perfect combination of flavors, I ended up consuming the whole bowl down to the last bite. They also serve the soup with a side of Sriracha, which I enjoyed being able to add for a little extra punch. If I had to pick on something it would be the pork, which I thought was a tad on the dry side. But no worries, I’m already planning my next visit because it was just that good.

Soft Serve: Sorry for the half-eaten soft serve image. This is actual crack and I couldn’t control myself long enough to remember taking a photo. While I said I was no ramen connoisseur, I certainly know my ice cream and this is the smoothest, creamiest soft serve ice cream I’ve ever had. And that’s just the discussion of its texture. The two current flavors are pumpkin ale and pretzel, and my friend and I decided to get a twist of the two. Both flavors were as authentic and tasty as you’d imagine and came atop a chocolate pretzel crunch on the bottom, if the awesomeness of the flavors themselves weren’t enough. DO NOT skip out on getting the soft serve for dessert. You will thank me later.

Chocolate Chip Cake Truffles: These are like cookie dough balls with some passion fruit flavoring. I’m not sure if the flavoring varies per night, but when we were there it was passion fruit. For me, this was a little dense and had a bit too much of the passion fruit. While an interesting concept, I don’t think I’d order them again.

Momofuku Noodle Bar: 171 1st Avenue New York, NY ($$-$$$)