Momofuku Ssäm Bar (2006–2007)

[Sneakeater]

You used to have to go that restaurant on 23rd St. and pay a premium for that kind of treatment.

[SheenaGreena]

ughhhhh ssam is so good. never went to the restaurant as I live in boston

so do people eat ssam like its a taco or do they eat it properly and put the whole thing in their mouth at once?

[Sneakeater]

The point about Ssam is that you don't really eat the ssam at Ssam. The restaurant has sort of evolved way beyond that. Ironically, when Ssam concentrated on ssam it was a failure.

[rich]

The point about Ssam is that you don't really eat the ssam at Ssam.  The restaurant has sort of evolved way beyond that.  Ironically, when Ssam concentrated on ssam it was a failure.

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SE, is Ssam on the menu anymore?

[Sneakeater]

Sure. At lunchtime, it practicually IS the menu. But lunch business isn't this place's point anymore.

I think at dinner there's some ssam on the menu.

[larrylee]

Ssam is on the dinner menu but it's still that hybrid burrito-type thing.

I just had bo ssam at Cho Dang Gol and for $30 it was quite tasty. Oh right, I have to post about that somewhere...

[Megan Blocker]

Yes, I'm disregarding comfort and the trappings of fine dining (though I hasten to add that the service at Momofuku Ssam Bar is excellent: friendly, knowledgeable and attentive).

Except for the time they banged me in the forehead with a plate.

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Megan, was that you??? I'm sorry.

Anyway, I hope is was at least one of their best dishes.

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I'm pretty sure it was when they were clearing the table for the Bo Ssam, so I'm cool with it. Was a bit tender on the spot for a few days...

[docsconz]

Largely because of the raves in this thread, I had great expectations when I visited Momofuku Ssam bar last night with my wife and some friends. I hate to be a spoiler, but while the food was good, I fail to see what the great fuss is about. The food was imaginative, tasty and nicely presented, but nothing blew me away. The service was friendly and knowledgeable but there were several elements that left us scratching our heads.

Since we would be driving 3+ hours home last night after dinner we went early arriving right at 6PM. Even though we arrived right at the time the restaurant was supposed to open it was already mostly filled. We did get seats at a tightly packed community table and armed with recommendations from this board, we proceeded to order.

Our opening salvo were the Cracked Empress Jonah Crab Claws with yuzu mayo. I hadn't seen these discussed here and possibly with good reason as they were rather ordinary. The Maine Diver Sea Scallops with pineapple, dashi and scallion oil were up next and delicious reminding me of preparations that I had enjoyed at the old Union Pacific, where I first fell in love with raw scallops. It was with this dish that we first noticed the main service oddity of the restaurant. Although the food is served family style and diners are encouraged to share, they don't make it easy. That is not a dish well served by chopsticks and they only give out individual spoons. We asked for an additional serving spoon for this dish and subsequent ones, but we still had to ask for one each time a dish was served. They were never served with serving tableware! This was a real annoyance, especially after we had to ask several times.

The Maine Sea Urchin with tapioca, whipped tofu and scallions was very good but perhaps suffered from extreme expectation. I love uni, but felt as if it were subsumed to the rest of the dish.

The Roasted Mushroom Salad with crosnes, pistachio and red ball radish was good, but small and a relatively poor value compared to some other dishes on the menu.

Migliorelli's Apple Salad with Benton's bacon, lychee and peanuts proved to be our consensus favorite of the meal. The balance and execution was exceptional with the smoky bacon the unifying force.

Tello's Chawan Mushi with black truffle, snails, edamame and scallions was hedonistic. While very, very good, it does not supplant the chawan mushi I had last year at Ame in San Francisco as the best example in my memory.

Steamed Buns with pork belly, hoisin, cucumber, scallions were very tasty with plenty of moist, flavorful pork belly goodness.

Fried Brussel Sprouts with chilies, mint, fish sauce seemed pretty vegetarian friendly to me. They were pretty friendly to us carnivores too.

The Banh Mi was a fine sandwich with great crusty bread. i can see how it can become addictive. The Grilled Sweetbreads with pickled roasted chiles and lime had a nice crispy, charred outside with soft insides in the thicker parts. The thinner parts were perhaps a tad too charred.

We finished with the mochi sampler consisting of plum paste with mango, lychee, chocolate with coconut and tiramisu flavors. I found them to be more interesting texturally than flavor wise as the flavors were not particularly vivid.

In sum, the food though good to very good did not make any of us swoon at any point. We did enjoy it, but if this is the best food in NYC right now, the City's culinary scene is in greater trouble than I thought. The bigger problem though is that I think the restaurant's new found popularity may have caught up with it as none of us found dining there to be a particularly pleasant experience. The restaurant filled up completely shortly after our arrival. The much mentioned music wasn't much of a factor as it wasn't particularly noticeable over the din of the crowd. The uncomfortable benches and stools at our cramped, shared table with no place to put our jackets other than over our laps didn't help matters either and the issue of a lack of serviceware with family style dining was simply inexplicable. That being said, I can understand how people would have loved this place before it was crowded. Unfortunately, I cannot share the unbridled enthusiasm based upon my experience so far.

I took photos, but I don't believe that they ad anything or cover new ground from Larry Lee's excellent shots linked to above. I will be happy to post them though if people want.

[slkinsey]

Interesting to hear your reactions, Doc. I wondered when something like this might happen, and I'm glad your post brings some balance to this discussion and brings the expectations back to reality. Momofuku Ssäm Bar is awesome, in my experience, but it's not "unpretentious Asian-fusion 4-star quality in a casual room."

I've seen any number of times when a very good restaurant gets hyped into unreasonable expectations. For example, I can remember when Ouest opened, and people were so happy to have a real upscale restaurant on the Upper West Side that they hyped the hell out of it. And Ouest was very, very good when I visited. But I had several friends who went to Ouest with hype-based expectations that it was going to be "Jean-Georges North." Of course they came away disappointed, because Ouest is not on that level.

Momofuku Ssäm Bar is a great restaurant for what it is. And I can only imagine that, had you stumbled onto the place having heard nothing about it and had no expectations, you might be raving. If your expectation was "$24 and under" level food in a casual setting, I'm guessing you would have been blown away. Going in there with the hype-based expectation of low 4-star/high 3-star level food in a casual setting (which it isn't, in my opinion) is a setup for disappointment. I think I've been with you and these friends on several other occasions when very high expectations were met with disappointment, but the fact is that even a place as consistently high-quality as, say, Patsy's East Harlem is going to miss the mark a few times -- and is also bound to disappoint if one comes in with the expectation that it's going to be better than Sally's in New Haven.

I will say that, based on my experience, you haven't had the best of Momofuku Ssäm Bar if you haven't had the Bo Ssäm.

[Fat Guy]

Even though we arrived right at the time the restaurant was supposed to open it was already mostly filled.

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Just a quick point of clarification: Momo-Ssam is open from 11am until 2am, and serves straight through. The restaurant doesn't open at 6pm. Rather, it switches over to the dinner menu at 6pm.

[docsconz]

Interesting to hear your reactions, Doc.  I wondered when something like this might happen, and I'm glad your post brings some balance to this discussion and brings the expectations back to reality.  Momofuku Ssäm Bar is awesome, in my experience, but it's not "unpretentious Asian-fusion 4-star quality in a casual room."

I've seen any number of times when a very good restaurant gets hyped into unreasonable expectations.  For example, I can remember when Ouest opened, and people were so happy to have a real upscale restaurant on the Upper West Side that they hyped the hell out of it.  And Ouest was very, very good when I visited.  But I had several friends who went to Ouest with hype-based expectations that it was going to be "Jean-Georges North."  Of course they came away disappointed, because Ouest is not on that level.

Momofuku Ssäm Bar is a great restaurant for what it is.  And I can only imagine that, had you stumbled onto the place having heard nothing about it and had no expectations, you might be raving. If your expectation was "$24 and under" level food in a casual setting, I'm guessing you would have been blown away.  Going in there with the hype-based expectation of low 4-star/high 3-star level food in a casual setting (which it isn't, in my opinion) is a setup for disappointment.  I think I've been with you and these friends on several other occasions when very high expectations were met with disappointment, but the fact is that even a place as consistently high-quality as, say, Patsy's East Harlem is going to miss the mark a few times -- and is also bound to disappoint if one comes in with the expectation that it's going to be better than Sally's in New Haven.

I will say that, based on my experience, you haven't had the best of Momofuku Ssäm Bar if you haven't had the Bo Ssäm.

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Sam, I might feel different with the Bo Ssam, although that is not really an option other than with significant advance planning. My issues weren't so much with the food, which was very good, though not spectacular, but with the overall experience. It was cramped, uncomfortable and had inexplicable service points. This last part was also a problem with the London Bar at Gordon Ramsey. Some things just don't make sense and serve to irritate the diner. That was the case here. In addition, although not outrageous this place is by no means cheap. We left having spent $55pp with essentially no alcohol.

[docsconz]

Even though we arrived right at the time the restaurant was supposed to open it was already mostly filled.

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Just a quick point of clarification: Momo-Ssam is open from 11am until 2am, and serves straight through. The restaurant doesn't open at 6pm. Rather, it switches over to the dinner menu at 6pm.

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That clarifies that point. We were under the impression that it opened at 6.

[robert40]

I am planning on taking my son next week. Needless to say I'm a bit apprehensive now being we share about the same driving distance to the city.

Certainly not a trip around the block.

[Nathan]

Its not Per Se...its simply not going to live up to three hour drive each way expectations. That's not just going to happen and apologies to anyone who traveled that far just to eat there.

It is however, in my view, some of the best food in the city right now.

I can't speak as to the crab claws because I've never seen them on the menu...one of the things about Ssam Bar is that dishes change weekly if not daily.

[docsconz]

I am planning on taking my son next week. Needless to say I'm a bit apprehensive now being we share about the same driving distance to the city.

Certainly not a trip around the block.

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No, but we came down for Friday night dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We made it home last night from the UWS in 3 hours!

[docsconz]

Its not Per Se...its simply not going to live up to three hour drive each way expectations.  That's not just going to happen and apologies to anyone who traveled that far just to eat there.

It is however, in my view, some of the best food in the city right now.

I can't speak as to the crab claws because I've never seen them on the menu...one of the things about Ssam Bar is that dishes change weekly if not daily.

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Are you saying that is more of a neighborhood place rather than a destination restaurant?

[robert40]

Its not Per Se...its simply not going to live up to three hour drive each way expectations.  That's not just going to happen and apologies to anyone who traveled that far just to eat there.

It is however, in my view, some of the best food in the city right now.

I can't speak as to the crab claws because I've never seen them on the menu...one of the things about Ssam Bar is that dishes change weekly if not daily.

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Wish I would have gotten advice like this before my drive to Di Fara's a few months ago.

[Nathan]

I'd put it this way:

...I've had only one meal in my life that I would travel more than an hour for.

[JosephB]

Our dinner early yesterday evening was quite a change of gears from the five-hour affair we had the night before at the rustically elegant Blue Hill at Stone Barns. One thing these places have in common is the proprietors' substantial commitment to serving quality ingredients. Beyond that, one's experience at these two places is naturally very different. Having these meals back to back made me think about how really meaningless it is to describe a restaurant as "best" compared to other restaurants that are so vastly different in every respect, even if one were to rate the food of one restaurant to be better than the others.

We were four plus my little girl, who is almost three years old. She is ordinarily does well in restaurants if we get out by 8:30 pm. Unfortunately, she was a bit unruly yesterday evening because she skipped her regular nap, which was a bit of distraction for us. But Momofuku turned out to be a good place under the circumstances, the din drowning out the raucous. We felt even less self-conscious when a couple arrived with two infants and were seated at the bar, and the mother began breast feeding one of the babies. This is definitely a family-friendly restaurant.

Doc has already described what we ate, and I generally agree with his comments and conclusions about the food and service. I would add that the problem with sharing dishes was difficult not only because the concept of a serving spoon seemed foreign to the servers, but that even with a serving spoon some of the dishes would be best enjoyed as a single serving. For example, after spooning some of the various elements of the sea urchin dish into my plate, I found it difficult to scoop together a bite which included all the elements, which I presume is the chef's intention. There's really no point in eating a plate of tapioca pearls separately from the other components of the dish. Another example was the scallop dish, which was delicious, but required that the dashi broth be included with each bite. It was difficult to get all the elements onto the spoon on one try. I was frustrated that I couldn't keep enough of the broth on the spoon while trying to coax some pineapple on top of the scallop. This dish would have worked great served on some of those flat spoons that are commonly used to serve the amuse. But I guess that would be too formal and slow down the kitchen, which I understand. We all loved the apple salad, but I was thinking how nice it would have been if the apples were served as rounds on a plate with the other elements of the dish piled on top of each piece, which one could pick up with one's hands, and get the full effect with each mouthful. Needless to say, the chawan and mushroom salad presented similar challenges. I was so relieved when the brussel sprouts, which were also delicious, arrived and were easily divisible.

I would go back on a weekday before the crowds arrive. But next time I'll order the scallops, apple salad and some buns or a banh mi with no intention of sharing the first two dishes with my companions, only because it would be in the best interest of those of us dining together.

[dagordon]

We bumped into Doc at Ssam last night; it was our first time as well. I think overall our impression of the food was a bit more positive than Doc's, though, as in his case as well, nothing blew us away. Perhaps the claim that they're serving the best food in nyc right now was simply meant to be provocative, but I'd have to agree that this just isn't the case.

I agree that the uni was overwhelmed by the rest of the dish.

The chawan mushi, fried brussels sprouts, scallops, and hamachi were all excellent, but not earth-shattering.

We got the middle country ham of the three listed; I've had the Benton's before, which I love, so I wanted to try something new. It was fanastic, perfectly cut, not too smoky, the red eye gravy was a great touch. The Sullivan St bakery bread was awesome.

The asparagus was very good; the egg and miso butter sauce itself was fantastic, though it was kind of hard to appreciate it on the asparagus; the asparagus flavor dominated. If they could find another application for that sauce...

Bahn mi was very good, but seemed totally standard. Sea bass was perfectly cooked but forgettable.

My dining companions were stuffed at this point and just wanted the mochi dessert, but I insisted on trying the spicy tripe. This was easily one of the best dishes of the meal. Completely cravable. The tripe was in this intensely flavorful broth with some kind of braised meat in it, maybe brisket or short rib.

I have to agree with slkinsey that if I'd just stumbled into the place I'd certainly be raving. But not that it's serving nearly the best food in the city. Our meal was very, very good; we'll certainly be back.

Edited April 1, 2007 by dagordon (log)

[Fat Guy]

I think for those who value the trappings of fine dining Momo-Ssam really tests the hypothetical, "Would I enjoy four-star food on paper plates sitting on an upended milk crate in the back alley by the restaurant's dumpster, during a slam-dancing competition?" I really think if you went out back by the dumpster and put the five best dishes at Momo-Ssam up against the five best dishes at Jean Georges, on paper plates, you'd find that Momo-Ssam has the edge on flavor.

[dagordon]

I think for those who value the trappings of fine dining Momo-Ssam really tests the hypothetical, "Would I enjoy four-star food on paper plates sitting on an upended milk crate in the back alley by the restaurant's dumpster, during a slam-dancing competition?"

We, at least, couldn't care less about the trappings of fine dining, unless it's some special occasion where that's part of what we're looking forward to. And I should add that we didn't have any problems at all with the service or ambiance at Ssam.

That is to say, one should not discount someone's failure to be blown away by the food at Ssam on the basis that somehow the larger context of the meal was preventing him from fully appreciating the food. It may be that the food just doesn't speak to everyone in the way that it evidently speak to you.

I really think if you went out back by the dumpster and put the five best dishes at Momo-Ssam up against the five best dishes at Jean Georges, on paper plates, you'd find that Momo-Ssam has the edge on flavor.

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We haven't been to Jean-Georges in several years. But even if that's true, it might be that the five best dishes at Jean Georges are not remotely the five best dishes in the city, whatever that could mean.

[Fat Guy]

That is to say, one should not discount someone's failure to be blown away by the food at Ssam on the basis that somehow the larger context of the meal was preventing him from fully appreciating the food.

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I wouldn't call it a discount. I'm just reading comments like

My issues weren't so much with the food, which was very good, though not spectacular, but with the overall experience. It was cramped, uncomfortable and had inexplicable service points.

(Docsconz)

I would add that the problem with sharing dishes was difficult not only because the concept of a serving spoon seemed foreign to the servers, but that even with a serving spoon some of the dishes would be best enjoyed as a single serving. For example, after spooning some of the various elements of the sea urchin dish into my plate, I found it difficult to scoop together a bite which included all the elements, which I presume is the chef's intention. There's really no point in eating a plate of tapioca pearls separately from the other components of the dish. Another example was the scallop dish, which was delicious, but required that the dashi broth be included with each bite. It was difficult to get all the elements onto the spoon on one try. I was frustrated that I couldn't keep enough of the broth on the spoon while trying to coax some pineapple on top of the scallop. This dish would have worked great served on some of those flat spoons that are commonly used to serve the amuse. But I guess that would be too formal and slow down the kitchen, which I understand. We all loved the apple salad, but I was thinking how nice it would have been if the apples were served as rounds on a plate with the other elements of the dish piled on top of each piece, which one could pick up with one's hands, and get the full effect with each mouthful. Needless to say, the chawan and mushroom salad presented similar challenges.

(JosephB)

and taking them at face value.

It's certainly possible for someone not to enjoy the food at Momo-Ssam, or to be less than completely impressed by it. Who could dispute that? And it's also possible for the restaurant to be inconsistent. But there has also been an extraordinary level of support for this place, from many of the usual suspects we'd have expected to take a contrarian stance. And the restaurant is a category buster. It's not serving spectacular bistro food. It's serving something that's much more akin to what's being served at the leading edge of the three- and four-star level. On stools.

[Nathan]

Has it ever been formally characterized as "family-style"?

I believe that only applies to the Bo Ssam.

[docsconz]

Has it ever been formally characterized as "family-style"?

I believe that only applies to the Bo Ssam.

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That is what we were told by our server when we said that we hoped to share.