-
Momofuku Ko
I can add no words to about the Momofuku Ko experience that would really add any value to what is already on the web. You can read about Frank Bruni's experience or Adam Platt's take on it. And if you prefer your reviews with glorious pictures, check out The Wandering Eater. I am just going to write a little bit about the experience of dining there, but not the food experience. Oh and I will show you a gabillion pictures.
When my former roommate scored a reservation at Momofuku Ko and said I could tag along, it was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was excited to dine at a place that only a select few have tried thus far. In fairness, this makes me kind of sad. Oh noes!
We sat at the far end of the restaurant, the two seats closest to the bathroom? I only mention this because it is also right next to the little room where they have the dishwasher and espresso machine; it is also the room where the maestro hides most of the time. David Chang was in the house on this night. There were three dudes behind the counter cooking, a tall white dude on the other end of the counter, an Asian dude in the middle, and a youngin' right in front of me. The youngin', and let us call him 'J', was clearly the youngest one there, and perhaps very green.
One of the first things that I do when taking pictures is figure out the white balance. And yea, I mess up probably 80% of the time still. But David Chang saw me fiddle with my dslr. At the time he was standing in the doorway to the side room, and right when he saw it, he backed into the room to make sure I did not take his picture.
At some point early in my meal, the cook in front of me, J, screwed up a little or went too slowly and David stepped in to help him out. I like action shots of people doing stuff. DC took exception and asked, "Please, no pictures of me or of the guys." I told him that it was only of the things they were doing, and none of their faces would be in the shot (as you can see above, it was only forearms). He then told me it did not matter since the guys did not like it and it was tough enough as it is to be working, but to also have someone photograph you was too much. He nodded towards J and said, "He is nervous enough as it is, he does not need it."
Fair enough, I stopped taking action shots of them working. One thing that was apparent was that DC was visibly agitated. I used my super power of mind reading to determine what he was thinking at the time. And here at food in mouth, I like to share, so below you have the thoughts of David Chang:
You little punk @$$ prick, WTF are you doing taking pictures in my restaurant? You are making this dude fcuk up and WTF are you doing talking back to me? Effing bloggers, trying to make my life more miserable. !@#$
But actually he was very polite about it even though he probably wanted to just tell me to STFU and eat. I can appreciate that. As a coder, the last thing I ever want is someone looking over my shoulder to look at the code.
Later on J also messed up some more doing something else and DC was right on top of him with stern instructions. It was one of those situations where J would just take the instructions and just shut up and do it right. Obviously, no back talk in a kitchen like that. But throughout the night, Chang never had to talk to the other guys. It could not have been easy to be J last night.
Towards the end of dinner Martha Stewart walked into the restaurant. David Chang went over to greet her, but she did not stay for a very long time. She was not there to eat, but perhaps just to say hello? Also towards the end of dinner, the diner to my right asked the guys behind the counter about why certain diners get some dish and do not get others. Chang told him that it was based upon availability and also if it was a repeat customer, they tried to switch it up.
Perplexed by how anyone could go there multiple times, DC told us some guy has been there FIVE times, a real friendly dude that brought a new lady friend each time. I think they know that is really effing suspicious, and I think someone out there has a bot. The mad rush to get a ressy at 10am provides the same odds for everyone out there. But if you have a registered account, a bot that can read the colors on the screen (and I do believe that is possible because someone told me about poker bots that can read screen caps), then when it is green perhaps fire an email to an acct that goes to a Blackberry. So if I were them, I would check to see if multi-ressy people always get cancellation ressys or get them in the morning. Just a thought, I could be wrong though.
And one last note about taking pictures in a restaurant. I know there are detractors out there, and people who hate on the fact that I cannot just sit there and eat my food. Actually I do not take photographs of every meal. Chefs have this idea that 'bloggers' are these hanger-ons trying to get famous via blogging by writing about something they are creating. Since many cooks and chefs are humble and hardworking, I can respect that.
The thing is, as a blogger, I do not take myself very seriously. Come on, half of my links are to youtube. However, I am serious about the process of getting better. Whether this means taking better pictures or making less grammatical errors (of which there are many!) And the vibe I got from David Chang was more like, "Yo why you gotta come in here and take a million pictures? Can you just enjoy the food?" I see where he is coming from but it seems that it is impossible to convince just one respectable chef that not all bloggers are equal, and most of us are nice people too. I am not trying to make food look bad and if you scroll through flickr, you can see that too. In the grand scheme of things, food blogging is still just BS really, it is just shooting the $hits as they say, having fun. Me thinks many chefs think bloggers are disrespectful and tactless, but in the process of asking me to recognize their humanity and hard work, they fail to see that I am also trying my best to better my product. For that, I am sad.
Oh, and it was a FANTABULOUS meal. Go try and get a reservation. Good luck.
Momofuku Ko
Address: 163 First Ave. New York, NY 10003
MapPosted by Danny on April 22 2008 at 12:24 pm
Subscribe to my RSS
I'm with Chang. Pictures are annoying and they are disrespectful to chefs (at a place like Ko, at least) and especially to fellows diners.
If I'm at Ko and you're next to me with a DSLR while I'm trying to eat, we'll have words. This ain't Arby's, put it away.
Chris on April 22 2008 at 3:39 pm
Ooooh words. I love words. Are they edible? Look, how is it disrespectful? Granted, the 'normal' things you take into a restaurant do not include things like a camera. However, what is disrespectful about it? If you cannot stand the shutter sound, that is only because we are forced to sit close together due to real estate in NY and restaurants needing to make as much as possible per square foot. And what if it is silent?
I think chefs are smart and that you are completely wrong. If it is in the best interest of a restaurant to let the cooks maintain their honor and respect, they would just ban all cameras. They would respectfully ask, and individuals who feel scorned with not go, while everyone else would go (and I would be included in that group.)
However, if you are right, then Chang is allowing me to be disrespectful in order to make a living while seething on the inside. His love for cooking must supersede my disrespectful acts then, right? In other words, if it is bothering THEM enough, they should DO something about it.
Danny on April 22 2008 at 4:07 pm
He did do something about it! He told you to stop taking pictures of him and the other chefs. He dressed you down in a polite way, because you didn't know how to behave in a nice restaurant. A more socially aware person would have taken the hint and put the camera away. Instead you concoct some fantasy where it's all about BLOGGING and why do people hate BLOGGERS so much? You completely miss the point that the ACT OF TAKING A PICTURE is the annoying part.
Here's a clue: your camera ISN'T SILENT. It's a big honking dSLR, with a shutter. You're taking it out, putting it back away. If you want to take a picture or two to celebrate the moment, fine. As a fellow diner, I can live with that, as long as you turn off the flash (which I'm sure you do). But taking a picture of every course and dish is disruptive and obnoxious to your fellow diners. Some may say it doesn't bother them, still more may ignore you respectfully, but it does bother many.
Here's another clue: Adults grant other adults a level of trust and respect, and expect that you pay attention to social cues. Just because someone doesn't grab your camera, slap your hand, and post a big sign that says "NO PICTURES", doesn't mean you should go all Annie Leibowitz on your dinner. You're taking advantage of other people's graciousness.
I'm not trying to blow this out of proportion. I'm sure you're a great person. But I do think that taking picture after
Chris on April 22 2008 at 4:51 pm
(cont'd) ... after picture in a nice restaurant is disrespectful to your fellow diners, in the same way that talking loud, bumping up against someone repeatedly, or not taking a bath would be. You may think they don't even notice, but trust me: THEY DO. We are there for the food, and are paying good money for it. Things that distract from that are annoying.
Ko adds another layer onto this issue, because the chefs are right in front of you. I'm not a chef, so I can't speak to how distracting photo-taking is. Fortunately, one already weighed in, to your face. So there's your answer.
I don't understand the petulant reaction to this situation. You are being informed that a small subset of your behavior is obnoxious to other people. You should strongly consider ceasing this behavior.
Let me offer some broader advice, as a fellow photographer: The next time you find yourself in a private, intimate location and want to take a picture, consider asking for permission. Blog or no blog, it's the courteous thing to do.
Chris on April 22 2008 at 4:52 pm
Well. It seems like there are some 'words' here. If I could throw in my two cents: I think taking pictures of people is one thing, but taking pictures of food and people in your party are another. There is nothing about taking pictures in a restaurant that is inherently obnoxious. If you think that then I think your definition of appropriate behavior may need adjusting. I took pictures of food at restaurants long before there was blogging to help me remember a good meal, to help capture a memory. It was like taking a group picture at the end of meal. I think it's a bit far fetch to say taking picture of a meal is taking advantage of people's graciousness. Also, a shutter is not that loud and is often drowned out by the ambient noise in a restaurant. A flash, on the other hand, now that is annoying! Either way, this blog is about the love of food, not a forum on etiquette.
Jonathan on April 22 2008 at 6:32 pm
hey buddy, take a xanax. as a fellow photog, I can assure you that you need to relax and have a bud. this is about what annoys individuals and apparently everything offends you. hey, whatever floats your boat. it is not about bloggers. but you still have not told me what respect means. what does it mean to respect a chef? to enjoy food the way the chef intends? either way I am actually 8 yrs old and I need to go have a freeze pop now. toodles.
Danny on April 22 2008 at 7:07 pm
It's more obnoxious when people talk loudly at a restaurant. The sounds of a shutter isn't really that intrusive. I'd rather have someone sitting there quietly and taking pictures instead of having someone talking loudly or drunkenly.
Ang on April 22 2008 at 11:03 pm
I didn't know you had this site...so fabulous!!
I feel the same way as you about the whole photo thing. I' sometimes reluctant to pull out my camera, but then I feel like the chefs/restaurant owners should be OK with it because it's publicity for their restaurant. Anyway, your photos are amazing. And Martha Stewart...WOW!
Sues on April 22 2008 at 11:10 pm
J on April 23 2008 at 8:31 am
Fabulous pictures! And it looks so delicate.
Lilian on April 23 2008 at 5:46 pm
haha chris is the man
jeremy on April 23 2008 at 11:07 pm
Intrusive and disrespectful would be someone sitting on your thigh on a crowded train, someone talking abnormally loud across the restaurant, know it alls..etc etc etc... For you to pay the amount of money you do for a dining experience, I'm sure you would want pictures for remembrance. And if photography was that much of a problem, they could always just ban it like some facilities. I still think DC is too arogant for his own good.
wonders on April 24 2008 at 1:21 pm
I was reading the New Yorker article on David Chang (3/24/08), and he sounds like a nice guy -just a bit neurotic. Maybe he doesn't like getting his picture taken, unless it's by Platon.
Jonathan on April 24 2008 at 1:55 pm
I was there the night you were there, unless Martha has been in multiple times.
She was looking for a table. Took the (very nice) brush-off very well.
As far as pictures go, truth be told, I think it's disruptive to the diners, to the cooks, if it is not so subtle that no one sees it.
An alternative, would be to ask.
SLH on April 25 2008 at 4:23 pm
Somehow, it does seem rather unseemly to be taking pictures with a big SLR camera if you're at a restaurant like Le Bernadin.
David Chang has a right not to be photographed, but the food itself is anyone's game. If you're paying that much for the food, it's yours to eat and photograph prior to eating.
I guess the tradeoff is that other diners will judge you, but that's their problem.
Ang on April 25 2008 at 5:16 pm
SLH,
I am about reality and not theory. You were there that night. And you also believe that pictures are disruptive to diners. Please tell me how I disrupted your dinner. Unless you were not there as a diner?
Danny on April 26 2008 at 9:59 am
How much did the meal cost per person? Great photos as usual Danny.
NYC Food Guy on April 28 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hey Lawrence,
Thanks for stopping by, man. The meal was $85 without any alcohol, and it was worth every penny. If you can get a ressy, GO, and bring superwoman with you.
Danny on April 29 2008 at 12:45 am
People, people, just settle down. Bloggers must take pictures of the food - they're simply not talented enough as writers to describe the dishes with mere words. And then where would they be? How could they afford Digital SLRs without taking pictures of food? Bloggers don't go to David Chang's place of work and start taking pictures, so what gives him the audacity to ask the same of a blogger? It's as if David Chang is taking food out of blogger's mouths by asking them to refrain from taking pictures.
some guy on May 3 2008 at 8:28 am
Hi Some guy, you are just too hilarious. I ROTFL'ed. You should do stand up, you know, because you are full of talent and wit that is just unmatched.
Danny on May 3 2008 at 10:53 am