so, we walked right past it. we’ve done stuff like that before, but i always hope that it won’t happen again. this time was even worse. we walked past it, i looked inside, thought, wow, that place looks cool, but didn’t see a sign and kept walking. eventually, after walking around the block, and consulting the web on my phone, we found it, and imagine my surprise when it was the cool place i saw on the first trip around.

 

momofuku is a burgeoning empire growing on the lower east side. david chang became one of food & wine’s best new chefs a couple of years ago for this place, making pork buns and ramen noodles. now he has three restaurants, and, from all accounts, sounds like a manic workaholic.

 

anyway, we find it, and walk in, and are seated at the bar. there is a long bar that stretches the length of the joint, and a couple of big tables off to the side. everything is in bamboo and blond wood. very clean lines, very minimal.

 

including the menu. that’s the point, i guess: do very few things, but do them well.

 

 

we also shared a plate of pork buns (the taco looking things behind the pickles), which were ridiculous. i could’ve eaten eight more orders of these. the buns were soft and fluffy, and the pork was insane. it was roasted, i presume, and had a crispy skin and melting middle. there was a little hoisin-y sauce on it, and a crisp cucumber pickle. it was gone just soooo fast.

 

we also split two orders of ramen, and were surprised that they were different kinds of noodles.

 

first we got the traditional pork ramen. it was a bowl of broth with regular ramen and had a pile of braised pork scallion and some sort of root vegetable. could have been turnip again, or maybe parsnip. it was really good.

 

we also got the miso ramen, which was a more substantial noodle. almost like linguine. that had some sort of greens in it, and baby shiitake and radishes. the miso broth definitely had a miso flavor, but it was very subtle. more subtle than i have ever had miso. i rarely have miso because i always think its too strong, so this was perfect.

 

the only dessert option they have is soft-serve ice cream. and the flavors are peanut butter and cracker jack. i wanted them both, and you can get it in a twist, but i’ve had peanut butter before. i was very interested in the cracker jack. it was awesome. it was kind of a salty caramel ice cream, and they sprinkled it with toffee and chocolate crispies.

 

there are two other momofukus: the ssam bar, which, best i can tell, is has a little more extensive menu, and ko, which doesn’t have any menu, from what i hear. ko is the place that is getting all the buzz right now, because you can’t get in. there are 12 seats, all at the chef’s bar, no waiters. you sit at the bar, and the chef serves you food. whatever they felt like cooking that day. yes, i want to go. critics and celebrities are complaining because they can’t get in. they only take reservations on their web site -- no phones, and no special treatment for anyone. its awesome.

 

 

oh, and speaking of the bowery, we went down, and for like four blocks, it was solid, wall-to-wall restaurant supply stores. it was insane. only one was open, because it was sunday, but it was crazy. i want a street in tampa that is nothing but huge, warehouse sized restaurant supply stores. i went into the one that was open, and i also went to the the soho sur la table and the broadway panhandler, which was nice, but i had been hoping for something different. somehow, i wanted more intense. it was very much like sur la table. which is awesome, but for that, i have sur la table.