Ko, Momofuku

East Village
163 First Ave., New York, NY 10003
nr. 10th St.

On a whim I decided to fly to New York City for a foodie adventure. After I purchased the plane tickets, I told my friends I wanted to get a reservation at Ko, a restaurant I've been longing to eat at under Chef David Chang. If you've read previous blog posts, you may remember my plug for his pork steamed buns.

Anyway, I was told by several chefs how difficult it would be to obtain a reservation with Ko. I even heard rumors that his own parents have been turned down, but who's to say that's actually true. Thus, my chances were bleak. But then, the morning before our departure, I decided to try one last attempt for a lunch reservation (more expansive than dinner and only offered on weekends). To my amazement, an opening appeared! It took me several minutes with computer glitches, but I managed to get two open seats for lunch!!! I immediately telephoned Gil and told him the good news. At first, no one believed me, especially since it's known how unlikely it is to eat there. Some people have to slave away at the computer and continuously check. Bon Appetit ranks Ko as the 9th toughest restaurant reservations in the USA.* With 12 seats at Ko and reservations only in a week advance, it's no wonder why seats are booked and difficult to obtain.

When the day finally arrived, we walked into Ko with great anticipation of indulging in one of the most amazing meals. Chef Michael Carlson, the executive chef/owner of Schwa, was nice enough to put Gil and myself in touch with one of Ko's Chefs, Jonathan Ory. He was kind and made sure we enjoyed ourselves [the following day he took us to DBDG, Daniel Bouldud's restaurant], even giving us take home treats of nagori wrapped vegetables and rice with korean spices.

The meal was unlike anything I've ever experienced, Japanese/Korean/American with unexpected flavors of burnt onion on salsify and house made charcuteries. In my next post, I will write out the menu with little detail. No cameras allowed, sorry folks.

Until then, keep those saliva glands producing. The best [in detail] is yet to come.



*http://eater.com/archives/2011/07/29/are-these-the-eleven-toughest-reservations-in-the-us.php, website for listing of toughest restaurant reservations in the USA.