Momofuku noodle bar
When the Autumn weather picks up, I start craving food that warms up my body. In the past, that meant a trip to Chinatown to purchase a whole box of ramen for ten dollars. Now that I work for the man and can afford overpriced ramen, it gives me the opportunity to try a place like Momofuku Noodle Bar. David Chang owns the joint and the popularity has led him to open a saam bar and also to open an expansionto the noodle bar. $14 dollars for ramen? Hmmm...
Actually really close by Momofuku is another ramen place called Ramen Setagaya. The ramen there is $10 dollars. If Setagaya sets the price point at $10 for the amount of 'stuff' you get in your ramen, then Momofuku's ramen is priced about right at $14. All this talk about how much food costs probably makes you think I worry about cost too much. (Why yes, I am a cheap !@#$!, thank you for asking).
Momofuku's main selling point is their love of pork. You can see in the picture that there is some pulled/shredded pork, and also a few slices of pork belly (I think?). The pork really is delicious. David Chang knows how to treat pigs. Vegetarians do not have much to choose from at Momo's and I think nearly everything on the menu has a touch of animal somewhere. The noodles is slightly above average, easy to slurp, but it could use more bite. There is a huge egg in the middle and it is barely cooked. I am going to assume the egg is organic because they use Berkshire pork, why skimp on the egg? Usually I eat eggs from unsustainable egg producers because that is how I roll, and you know what? Organic egg tastes like... egg. Wow!!!! Amazing!!!! I think some people can taste 'quality' in everything, but for me, eggs are eggs.
Does the ramen at Momofuku warm the soul? If you like pork, the answer is a definitive yes. Expect long waits if you go during prime dinner hours, but maybe it will get easier when they open up in the new spot in a week or two. And also expect to hear everything you neighbors talk about while you eat because personal space is nonexistent. And if you want to discuss the physical attributes of the server versus the hostess with a friend, you can try disguising your conversation as if you were talking about the Boston Redsox. It works. There was a David Ortiz and J.D. Drew comparison going. (Oh, now you are saying, Danny how misogynistic of you! Comparing women to assets to a baseball team! As if you could just pay for them!) Oh would ya look at that, lunch time.
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Ave.
New York, NY 10003
212-777-7773
I should hope you were talking stats and not physical attributes, because, fugly!
Barb
November 6, 2007 11:41 am
hahahaha.
come on! don't be hatin'.
plus, at one point it was noted that perhaps the comparison should not be with big papi, but instead with coco crisp.
Danny
November 6, 2007 11:46 am
btw, you are killing grace with jealousy with posts like this
Jonathan
November 6, 2007 11:55 am
i'm tryin best ;)
Danny
November 6, 2007 5:03 pm
I still can't believe his name is coco crisp. I like the Setegaya noodles better than Momofuku's (once again, David Chang is overrated).
Ang
November 6, 2007 11:12 pm
I like the stuff Momofuku gives you but Setagaya does have better noodles.
Danny
November 6, 2007 11:47 pm
coco? man, slim pickin's on a weeknight at momo!
just kidding. nice posts, and beautiful photos. RSS working out well for my Google Reader as well - good on you!
Barb
November 7, 2007 6:24 pm
haha, well we eventually went with Manny. the scouting report might change with subsequent reviews, and play comparisons change with team budget.
Danny
November 8, 2007 11:01 am