Featured Brunch: Momofuku Ssäm Bar
Arthur Bovino — March 05, 2010
From top clockwise: English Muffin French Toast with Thyme Rum Sabayon and Benton’s Ham, English Muffin with deep-fried soft poached egg, and Pork Scrapple.
Momofuku Ssäm Bar may not be the first place you would think of for brunch, but it kind of makes sense for a few different reasons. First off, their menu is filled with plenty of pork to help cure your hangover. There are four different types of country ham (Broadbent’s, Benton’s, Edward’s Wigwam, and Col. Newsom’s), and by ordering steamed pork buns you can do things dim sum style. The lunch prix fixe is offered every day— you get to choose three dishes for $25. And of course, there’s an obvious breakfast move, the Pork Scrapple with fried egg, Benton’s bacon, and fig mustard.
There is a different special every Saturday and Sunday, but the Holy Grail is one that we tasted at the end of January, which they made no promises to repeat: English Muffin French Toast with Thyme Rum Sabayon and Benton’s Ham. It was as if someone packed the savory flavors from the best Monte Cristo into French Toast squares just a bit smaller than tea sandwiches or conventionally cut squares of pork belly, then accented it with concentrated sweetness. As good as Buttermilk Channel’s Pecan Pie French Toast with Bourbon, Molasses, and Toasted Pecans is, this is even better.
If you need to console yourself for not being able to taste it, you could always swing through the Milk Bar for the famed Saturday and Sunday only special, the housemade English Muffin sandwich with deep-fried poached egg, caramelized onions, and lardons.
AlwaysPartying: Superbowl Edition
Jeff Zalaznick — February 05, 2010
The spread.
Throwing a Superbowl party is something that must be done in style. Always Hungry style. The goal is to put together such an epic combination of food that your friends at the game wish they had stayed home. Normally this takes great meditation and planning, but if you stick with us, we will put it together for you. Follow these instructions and we guarantee that you will have the best Superbowl spread that any of your guests have ever seen.
Here is the move:
- New York’s best Buffalo Wings from Cercle Rouge
- Sloppy Joe Sandwiches from the Town Hall Deli
- A Bo Ssäm to-go from Momofuku Ssäm Bar
- And cook a Bacon Explosion just to ice the cake, and give the apartment that signature smell.
Always Hungry: The Restaurant List
Jeff Zalaznick — January 05, 2010
Dishes from The Always Hungry Restaurant List.
If I had to choose, what restaurants would I take with me into 2010? Off the top of my head, what places do I know that I will choose to return to in the coming year? These are the questions that I asked myself as I thought about this year’s restaurant list. As I made the list, I have made sure that it not only reflects what restaurants to go to, but that it also lets you know exactly what to eat when you get there. As always, our goal is to arm readers with the information that they will need in order to have the best eating experiences possible. This list is a guide to a slice of the Always Hungry life. It is a roundup that will help you unleash your inner fat kid to the fullest in the New Year. If you have not tasted all of the dishes mentioned below, then you have a lot of work to do, but if you start now, you have a whole year to make it happen. So, without further ado, I present The Always Hungry Restaurant List: A Strategic Guide To New York Eating. Keep this close in 2010, and it will ensure that you Never Eat An Insignificant Meal Again.
AlwaysHolidays: On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — December 23, 2009
Technically, the Twelve Days of Christmas don’t start until Christmas Day, but we’re already in the spirit. To celebrate, here’s the final verse of the carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ AlwaysHungry-style, featuring some dishes we tasted in 2009 that we’d be willing to sing about.
Twelve Drummers Drumming. A drummer beats a drum. But the only kind of beat we’re going to recognize in this carol is the beet you can eat.
Today’s final verse of our Christmas food carol begins:
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my waiter brought to me… twelve beets for eating,
From Lupa, Beets with Pistachio.
Best of 2009: A Few Dishes
December 22, 2009
A few of AlwaysHungry’s favorite dishes of 2009.
There is no question that a lot of eating has gone down this year. Rookies have introduced new favorites and standbys have reminded us that oldies can still be goodies. To celebrate the conclusion of the ninth year of the aughts, we’ve compiled a little photo tour of a few of our favorite dishes and organized them into nine of our favorite food groups.
Click Here for a few of AlwaysHungry's Favorite Dishes of 2009 >>
AlwaysHolidays: On the Tenth Day of Christmas
Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — December 21, 2009
Technically, the Twelve Days of Christmas don’t start until Christmas Day, but we’re already in the spirit. To celebrate over the next two days, here’s the carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ AlwaysHungry-style, featuring some dishes we tasted in 2009 that we’d be willing to sing about.
Ten Lords a Leaping. Lords/gourds (gourds include: melons, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers). Leaping/heaping. Hey, these higher numbers get tough.
Today’s verse for this Christmas food carol begins:
On the tenth day of Christmas, my waiter brought to me… ten gourds a-heaping,
From Bobo, Chocolate Pudding.
Best of 2009: AlwaysHungry’s Top Stories
Arthur Bovino — December 17, 2009
Clockwise from top left, AlwaysHungry’s most popular posts in 2009.
From bacon to doubles, Anne Burrell to Kenny Shopsin, AlwaysHungry has been all over your New York City food radar. So while you’ve probably already seen these awesome articles, in the spirit of the end of the year and all that is the December-holy-round-up (just in case you’ve had too many eggnogs and have forgotten), we present the top ten most popular posts for AlwaysHungry’s inaugural year.
Click Here for the Top Ten Most Popular Posts on AlwaysHungryNY.com during 2009 >>
Seasonal Spotlight: Just Beet It
The Gluttoness & The Hungry Goat — November 04, 2009
A beet-centric meal. Dishes from The Harrison, Enoteca Barbone, Lupa and Momofuku Ssäm Bar.
Beet season is in full swing and chefs in New York City are capitalizing on the versatility of their natural sweetness in both savory and sweet applications. Whether they’re roasted or turned into something greater than themselves, the following dishes combine to create an un-beet-able meal.
AlwaysHungry: This is How We Bo Ssäm
Arthur Bovino — October 29, 2009
Bo Ssäm: Whole Pork Butt.
If anyone doubted our claim to being AlwaysHungry allow these pictures from Tuesday night’s Bo Ssäm feast at Momofuku Ssäm Bar (view) to serve as a visual aid. Joining Jeff, The Hungry Goat and myself to kick the pork butt were internet guru, Matthew Weinberg, contributors GutterGourmet and Michelle Kiefer, and assistant video editor, Ryan ‘Big Dumplings’ Lee, who regaled us with chicken bone marrow eating tips while finishing the pork butt marrow.
SEARCH: Good Food, Late at Night
July 22, 2009
You can use Always HungryNY.com’s Very Advanced Search Engine to search for new restaurants or to learn more information about places that are already your favorites, but you can also use it to discover restaurants that are open when you need them to be.
If you’re looking for late-night good food in New York City, select “Until 1am” from the By Meal drop-down menu and select “A and Above” from the By Rating menu, and the Very Advanced Search Engine will generate a list of recommended restaurants for late night grubbing.
Whether you’re looking for food in the Village or a place in Murray Hill, it’s just another way that AlwaysHungryNY.com ensures that you will never eat another insignificant late-night meal again.
AlwaysInformed: Momofuku Noodle Bar’s Fried Chicken Dinner
The Gluttoness — July 21, 2009
We have very exciting news: Momofuku Noodle Bar has installed a new Ko-style reservation system for their new reservations-only Fried Chicken Dinner.
You can now take Momofuku Ssäm Bar’s Bell & Evan’s Fried Chicken experience to the next level. The $100 dinner at the Noodle Bar (restaurant page) features two whole fried chickens, one prepared Southern-style with a buttermilk and old bay batter, and the other done Korean-style (triple fried with a light spicy glaze). This awesome duo comes with mu shu pancakes, long spicy peppers, baby carrots, red bell radishes, shiso leaves, bibb lettuce, four fabulous sauces and a basket of herbs so you can spice things up yourself.
The meal feeds four to eight people, and is available for lunch everyday at noon and 2pm, and dinner (Sun-Thurs at 6pm and 8pm and Fri-Sat at 6pm, 8pm and 10pm). It’s a brilliant idea, but then we’ve come to expect no less from David Chang. You can be sure that AlwaysHungryNY.com will be devouring this fried chicken feast very soon.
CLICK HERE to make a reservation.
AlwaysInvestigating: Ippudo’s Buns
The Hungry Goat — April 17, 2009
Whoever said that steamed buns are the new banh mi was definitely on to something. Now that the wildly popular Vietnamese sandwich has had its glamorous New York Times Dining cover story, the New York City gastrosphere is hungry for its next Asian snack obsession.
Of course, David Chang’s Momofuku team deserves credit for getting the ball rolling on this Asian open-faced bun craze, with Fatty Crab later adding fuel to the fire. And now, it seems that imitations of this signature open style are popping up on menus all over town. As we reported earlier this week, Rickshaw Dumpling Bar has hopped on the bandwagon with their new Braised Pork Belly and Bulgogi Beef Buns, and Macao Trading Co. started featuring a version on their Late Night Menu last week.
Ippudo’s buns are another example of this trend. Buns are sold two per order ($8), either pork belly (above left) or chicken (above right). Both are served on thick, doughy steamed buns (larger than Rickshaw or Momofuku), and are dressed with fresh lettuce and a squirt of mayo. While not as interesting as Momofuku’s crunchy pickled cucumbers, the crisp iceberg lettuce provides a welcome textural contrast, particularly to the pork. The pork belly, while tender, could benefit from a thicker slice, but the nutty, savory sauce adds depth and a generous dose of heat.
The lettuce/mayo favor combination is reminiscent of the flavor of a McDonald’s McChicken sandwich in the best way possible. As expected, the pork bun is far superior to the chicken. This pork bun is without a doubt a Top 5 contender, and a fine accompaniment to a bowl of the city’s best ramen. As a side note, though the chicken bun is lackluster, if you are in the mood for chicken, the peppery sesame seed-coated crispy Chicken Wings (shown right) are absolutely outstanding.
Slashfood Round-Up: Primanti’s Takes the Cake
March 17, 2009
It’s not surprising that an AlwaysHungryNY correspondent has taken the trek to Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh simply to cross the famed eatery off their sandwich bucket list. What is surprising is that of all the sandwiches in this great nation, Primanti Brothers’ Cheesesteak has won Slashfood’s title of Best Sandwich in America. The country-wide poll was voted on by Slashfood readers, and 54 esteemed restaurants made the cut. New York City was first represented by Porchetta in the 10 spot. Momofuku Ssam Bar’s Pork Bun came in at No. 25, followed by Baoguette’s Baoguette at No. 26. Number 46 went to the Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s Deli, and the biggest shocker of them all is No. 49, The Natte at The Hungarian Deli. We promise a follow-up investigation on this one.
The Round-Up: NY Magazine’s Best of ‘09
Jeff Zalaznick — March 03, 2009
New York Magazine has compiled their annual “Best of” list to help New Yorkers avoid a harrowing internal struggle when searching for which restaurant has the the tastiest “Cutting-Edge Chinese food” or most delicious “Newfangled Dessert”. While I can live with most of NY Mag’s ’09 pics, there are a few things that I have to say. Either way, here is a round-up of their single picks as well as some commentary for your enjoyment.
Bar Snack: Buttermilk Channel
Maple and Bacon Roasted Almonds
Jeff: “This could still go to the Bacon Peanut Brittle at The Redhead.
Biscuits and Gravy: Momofuku Ssam Bar
Jeff: “Fine, but why don’t we just save everyone time and just call it the ‘Momofuku Award’?”
Chicken Wings: Tailor
Tailor Made Hot Wings
Jeff: “AlwaysHungry sides with Cercle Rouge on this one.”
Cutting-Edge Chinese: Shang
Turnip Cake
Singapore Slaw
Jeff: “I am so happy that they created a category to applaud Lee’s genius.”
Traditional Chinese: Grand Sichuan
Sichuan Wonton Soup
Smoked Tea Duck
Jeff: “I could not agree more.”
Neighborhood Bistro: The New French
Chicken Liver and Date Crostini
Pulled Pork on Brioche Roll
Chocolate-Chip Cookie: Downtown Cookie Co.
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Jeff: “Honestly, the one that I had at Hill Country today could give it a run, and at the end of the day, how could this not go to Momofuku Milk Bar, but I am very happy that they did not give two awards to Momofuku.”
AlwaysInformed: A World of Ingredients from David Chang
The Gluttoness — August 25, 2008
I was lucky enough to watch Chef David Chang conduct a demonstration at The French Culinary Institute last week. A huge fan of the Momofuku line of restaurants, yet a cynic of Ko’s near-impossible reservation system (I’d obviously feel differently if I could beat the 5-second rush), the demonstration was truly exciting—and quite informative.
Chang sees Ko as a representation of technique, and his Fluke Sashimi with Buttermilk was a prime example considering that haphazard knife skills could ruin the delicacy of this simple yet whimsical dish. Chang explained that his biggest dilemma is the lack of superb Asian ingredients in America, but he is hopeful that the situation will improve in the same manner how once-rare Italian olive oils are now readily available in the U.S. Unfortunately not everything can be simply shipped overseas, as true Japanese miso could never exist in such a mass-produced state. Speaking from experience, Chang explains how the best miso is cultured in barrels that were first used to age sake, than sold to the soy sauce industry and finally gifted to the makers of miso.
Because most of us will probably never get to Ko to have Chang personally craft our dinners, I figured that I’d share my newfound knowledge with you all as a mere consolation gift to a reservation system gone awry. After time spent studying his craft abroad, it is clear that in Chef Chang’s case that the ingredients make the Chef. So many intriguing products were mentioned throughout the hour that I could barely keep up with my pint-sized pocket notebook. But thanks to persistence and a keen interest in international cuisines, I’ve managed to compile a hefty list, while also learning that Pork, Kimchee and Oysters amass the Holy Trinity of Korean BBQ.
Click HERE to learn what tasty tools Chang has up his sleeve. >>
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