Momofuku Ko needs no introduction here. David Chang's 12 seat space has been open for two weeks now, and natch, the people have already posted about their meals on forums, food blogs, and user review sites galore. The critics already got to have their say during the previews, but what do the people think? As with any endeavor, there is some good news and some bad:
1) Good News: Cleaned My Plate has one of the first food blogger reviews of the Ko, and she likee: "By the end of the course we were dipping pieces of crab from the other dish into the creamy and spicy dressing. If they sold bottles by the door, I would have bought two. Pea Soup with cannelloni of vegetables ruined me for any future pea soup I may try. It was, hands down, the best pea soup I’ve ever had...The triumph of the night, a reason in itself to try and secure a reservation and shell out $85 for the menu, was the shaved foie gras atop Riesling gelee, lychees, and pine nut brittle...It doesn’t get much better than this." [Cleaned My Plate]
2) Sort of Bad News: "We had a great time. The food was very good, even great at time...On the downside, I can see a lot of people thinking that $175pp (including wine pairing, tax and tip) is a lot for a meal you are eating at a bar. With very limited service. For that kind of money, you can have a good 3-star sit down meal and feel pampered. I think you need to be a certain sort of person to enjoy this place. Which sort of leads to the other negative...Now this may be a passing phase, but the crowd was a little too pretentious. The people on both sides of my group were trying to guess every ingredient and quizzed the chefs about too much of their every step. So much for the magic of the meal." [Eater Inbox]
3) Ecstatic News: The only Citysearch review just loses it all together for this place. It's a bit over the top, even for Citysearch: "This is some of the most exciting food anywhere in the U.S -- provided you can get a reservation in the 45 seconds before tables are fully booked on-line each day at 10 A.M. David Chang et al. are geniuses, serving an 8-10 course menu for the bargain price (really!) of $85. While everything on the menu works in a seamless progression -- complemented uncannily by the $50 wine pairing...Not since an eating expedition to San Sebastian, Spain have I had such exhilirating food. The most interesting aspect of the restaurant is that you are served by one of several chefs, who stand directly behind a long counter preparing the food. For both the chef-struck and merely chef-curious, this is a fascinating experience." [Citysearch]
4) Bad News: Most of the Chowhounders seemed blown away by Momo' Ko, but this one did not have a great time: "I hate to be a party pooper but I wasn't blown away by my meal there a few Saturdays ago. I go to Momofuku Ssam Bar a lot and I've had several dishes there which we just as good. I'm probably over influenced by the price though. It ended up being $180 p/p with the wine pairing (tax and tip included)...I didn't love the egg or deep fried short rib that everyone else is raving about. The texture of the outside of the egg (the white part) was odd and slightly chewy. The deep fried short rib tasted, well, deep fried...the server pointedly joked that the apple pie was not from McDonald's which immediately caused me to think, wow this is kinda like a McDonald's apple pie." [Chowhound]
5) Good News: The eGulleters have been all over this place from day one. But here's a review from someone who went after the public opening: "A really outstanding dinner last night ...LOVED the house-made english muffins with whipped pork fat and fresh bay leaves. Pretty comprehensive wine list...Watching the guys cook was great, although we seemed to be the only ones chatting with them about what they were doing...which they seemed to like. At one point one chef brought us a plate and asked us to tell him what it was - fun! Finally, interesting to note that my wife and I (I'm in my late 30's and she's in her mid 40's) appeared to be the oldest people in the room all evening. No sign of friends, insiders or other industry types as far as I could tell." [eGullet]
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