Momofuku Ssäm Bar (2006–2007)

[johnder]

I made a picnic butt tonight using Chef Chang's recipe from ny mag. It was excellent, but nowhere near as moist and tender as the one I had there last week.

The skin on mine was extremely crispy due to the salt/sugar mix at the end and the crackling mixed in with the shredded meat and kimchee was really a great texture contrast.

I am stuffed now. I will post some pictures to the Dinner thread later, but if you want to see them now, they are in my flickr album.

[Ling]

Here's one of our pork butts, shredded. We did two 3 pounders at 200 for about 6-7 hours.

[BryanZ]

Both of those look great, Ling and John. My question, however, is how Chef Chang keeps his so moist. It really seems closer to a semi-braise then a straight up roast.

[weinoo]

I thought I heard a waiter at ssam say it was cooked in a combi oven with heat and steam. That might keep the moisture level higher, as well as the Berkeshire pork, which might, in and of itself, be fattier than others. Or perhaps it's braised and then finished in the oven?

John, when I've bought a picnic shoulder it tends to be the lower part of the front leg, as opposed to the upper part of the front leg, which is called a boston butt, or boston shoulder roast. They can be on sale for around $1.09 in my local market - is that pretty close to what you used/paid?

Just checked the flickr and that is indeed the picnic as we know it! Nice skin.

[Ling]

Both of those look great, Ling and John.  My question, however, is how Chef Chang keeps his so moist.  It really seems closer to a semi-braise then a straight up roast.

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Having not had the original, I can't offer any suggestions but ours was not as moist as I expected it to be. Our pork butts were quite lean, unfortunately, so I did moisten the shredded pork with rendered bacon grease before serving. That was just a quick fix--next time, I'll probably try braising it before slow-roasting.

[Sneakeater]

It's amazing how often they reformulate old dishes and add new ones.

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Yeah. That's what I love about it. It keeps changing, and it keeps getting better.

[Nishla]

Do any of you know if late Friday nights (after midnight) are terribly crowded? If so, when is the best weekend time to go? I (and Keith) will be in NY in two weekends, and because of all you people I want to go here really, really, REALLY badly.

Also, if anyone is interested in joining us so we can order more food and try more things, feel free to PM me.

[bpearis]

I was there Saturday night around 12:30 and it was only about 1/3 full. Despite the popularity of the original, I don't think awareness of Saam has really set in. Enjoy while you can. That banh mi is something else; also enjoyed the apple/bacon/lichee gelee salad.

Do any of you know if late Friday nights (after midnight) are terribly crowded? If so, when is the best weekend time to go? I (and Keith) will be in NY in two weekends, and because of all you people I want to go here really, really, REALLY badly. 

Also, if anyone is interested in joining us so we can order more food and try more things, feel free to PM me.

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[slkinsey]

I thought I heard a waiter at ssam say it was cooked in a combi oven with heat and steam.

Yes, that's what he said. I'd think this might be approximated at home by keeping a constantly-replenished pan of simmering water in the oven.

[banquo]

I thought I heard a waiter at ssam say it was cooked in a combi oven with heat and steam.

Yes, that's what he said. I'd think this might be approximated at home by keeping a constantly-replenished pan of simmering water in the oven.

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I tried this yesterday and was punished with non-crackling skin. On the other hand, the meat was moist.

[weinoo]

Well, I think if you pulled the simmering water out of the oven for the final 30 - 60 minutes, and cranked up the heat a bit, that should crisp up the skin nicely.

[ned]

Hit M-fuko Ssam for lunch today and once again I was astounded to find that there was no line around the block to get in. What the fuck people. This is some of the best food in the universe. I can't get enough. I've got porky kimchee fiery ssam coming out my ears and I keep going back for more.

[Mayur]

Hit M-fuko Ssam for lunch today and once again I was astounded to find that there was no line around the block to get in.  What the fuck people.  This is some of the best food in the universe.  I can't get enough.  I've got porky kimchee fiery ssam coming out my ears and I keep going back for more.

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Och aye, laddie. Do ye na ken ye'll be bringin' the evil eye 'pon the place? Folk from all round'll be howlin' at the doorstep afore long...

[Nathan]

I actually don't like the ssaam.

but anyway, once the Bruni gives it two...they'll get plenty of business.

[BryanZ]

The ball will certainly get rolling when Eater et al jumps onto the dinner menu Ssam bangwagon.

[Luckylies]

Hit M-fuko Ssam for lunch today and once again I was astounded to find that there was no line around the block to get in.  What the fuck people.  This is some of the best food in the universe.  I can't get enough.  I've got porky kimchee fiery ssam coming out my ears and I keep going back for more.

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Ready? I'm going to say this once. Saam bar sucks at lunch time. There. I said it.

[oakapple]

Do they accept reservations for the evening service? Silly question, I know, but thought I'd ask.

[Nathan]

you have to call ahead for the bo ssaam...so I would imagine so

[Sneakeater]

I'm not sure they take reservations for small non-bo ssam-purchasing parties. (But it can't hurt to try.)

[kathryn]

New York Magazine article on David Chang and Ssam Bar:

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/26568/

Things aren't looking so good with the restaurant not doing a lot of business during the day, having $1 million in loans to pay off, and Momofuku Noodle Bar's profits subsidizing Ssam Bar. Chang even hints at possibly leaving NYC for Vegas (Nooooooo!).

Chang obsesses over his missteps. “The location was a miscalculation,” he says. “If we opened in midtown, we’d do really well.” It might have been an error, too, he now says, to create such a sleek stage for what really amounted to a self-service cafeteria. But mostly he believes that “people really wanted Noodle Bar. I can’t even stress that enough, how pissed off people were that we didn’t open up a bigger Noodle Bar.” What they tend to forget, though, is that Noodle Bar wasn’t an instant smash either. “It’s a restaurant; it’s not a movie that doesn’t change,” he says.

In the coming weeks, Chang plans to add daytime delivery at Ssäm, something Mario Batali has been encouraging him to do from the start. Chang is also making self-imposed management changes. Even though Ssäm Bar started out as a team effort, he says, “I’m such a control freak, my hands were all over it. I’m trying to let go.”

And what if none of it works? There are always other options. “People take a big shit on Vegas, but to a restaurant owner or chef, it’s so fucking hard to open a restaurant in New York City,” he says. “You’ve got to fight the goddamn community board to get a liquor license. You’ve got to go through hoops to get building permits. And here you have people in Las Vegas who want you there, who want to help you. Yeah, it’s a fucking armpit. But at the same time, it’s a legitimate opportunity to do something, make some more money, and to do it without all the crazy headaches. I wouldn’t say no now. I’ve always said if we were going to do another Noodle Bar, it would probably be in a place like Vegas.”

If he gets the right offer, he just might take it, he says. “As long as it’s on our terms.”

[Nathan]

nah...the ssaam thing was misstep...but they've figured it out.

once the dinner menu starts getting reviewed they'll be just fine.

the location was, of course, a mistake...but an overcomeable one.

he should have gone to the west side and offered something like the late night menu from the get-go.

[Noodlebot]

Boyfriend and I went tonight and had a lot of very good food. It's hard for me to recall the details since the √menu online isn't up to date and we'd enjoyed some happy hour drinks beforehand. But, from the best of my recollection, we had: steamed buns, banh mi, chawan moshi (a custard w/sea urchin, edamame, and scallions), seafood hot pot, and the mochi sampler. The restaurant was almost full at 7-ish on a Monday night--it didn't seem to be hurting for business.

[Bond Girl]

Actually, I think places like Momofuku Ssam is perfect Vegas. Chang would be rolling in dough in no time!

[donbert]

Actually, I think places like Momofuku Ssam is perfect Vegas. Chang would be rolling in dough in no time!

For a second I thought you said "Vegans" and did a double take.

Anyone else going to the panel he's going to be on tonight?

[Ling]

I thought I heard a waiter at ssam say it was cooked in a combi oven with heat and steam.

Yes, that's what he said. I'd think this might be approximated at home by keeping a constantly-replenished pan of simmering water in the oven.

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I tried this yesterday and was punished with non-crackling skin. On the other hand, the meat was moist.

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We tried the pork butt again (in a miso brine). We braised it in miso, covered, in the oven for 4 hours at 200 degrees, then dumped the miso soup, and smeared it with the sugar/miso/chopped chilli. Roasted at 200 degrees for the next 4 hours. Much moister than the pork butts we did 2 weeks ago.