Went to Momofuku Ko with Ellie. See below:

thingsiateingeneral:

On the last Sunday in February I made my way out of Fort Greene to meet Hannah Kuo for lunch at Momofuku Ko. If you care about these things you will know what a huge deal this lunch was for me, so I won’t expound on it other than to say that I had fully accepted that I would never eat at Ko. My completion of the David-Chang-NYC-Quadrifecta (not a real word, quadrifecta) is proof that Hannah is made of magic.

Ko doesn’t allow photography, but I did photograph the front door, the bathroom, the kitchen (surreptitiously), and, later, the kimchi onigiri we were given to take home. I also wrote down a description of each course as it was served:

1. Fried Brussel sprout with cabbage mayo and apple

2. Kushi oyster with yuzu gelaise

3. Curried vegetable soup with crispy fish and dill

4. Potato souffle with carrot ricotta and chives

5. Braised turnip with horseradish and Hackleback caviar

6. Crudo plate

7. Wild mushroom salad with with charred jalapeño and pickled red onion

8. Grilled octopus, potato, and pistachio miso with potato gelee and fresh lily bulb

9. Puffed egg, bacon dashi, braised kombu

10. Bento box - duck meatball with black garlic, charred mustard green with house made exo, grilled rice with pork fat and sea salt, fish consomme with garlic oil

11. Orecchiette pasta with ham, broccoli, grated black truffle

12. Roast monkfish with shellfish stew, uni, fresh orange

13. House made charcuterie with burnt onion mustard and rye bread crumbs

14. Shaved Hudson Valley foie gras with lychee, Riesling gelee, and pine nut brittle 

15. Squab - fried leg and slow roasted breast with barley walnut salad

16. Goat cheese sorbet with gummies and red sorrel

17. Quince sorbet with toasted rye and rosemary sugar

18. White miso ice cream with toasted forbidden rice, mochi, and sweet sticky rice in a toasted rice waffle cone

19. Kimchi onigiri to take home

Afterwards, we wandered out into the sunlight (satiated, but not stuffed - a testament to the coursing plan) and I immediately insisted that we walk over to St. Mark’s so that I could pick up a bánh mì to bring back to Baltimore. So. I’m not sure what the takeaway is here. Greatest meal of my life? No. Most memorable meal of my life? No. The big huge fancy-schmancy hyped up ones never are. Meal of a lifetime? Yes. Definitely.