Dearest David
Let me start out with the obvious. I hate you...no thats not right. I detest you. The mere mention of your name makes me cringe in the most elementary school of ways. Yes, thats right. I "hate" you like that first boy with cooties that I ever had a crush on. I want no one else to know about you or my obsession with you. The sad truth is, I want your mystical dinner theatre to be my own (okay and that hot sous chef you have can stay too).
But, I digress. Lets start at the beginning. Course one. I arrived on scene with my very nervous (what if he feeds us something we don't want to try) best friend (who I have seen eat tripe so I felt no concern for). We opted for the mid range drink pairing. The amuse bouche was a trifecta of flavors. The first was a pea soup with a bite of crab and some delicious crunchy pieces. This was followed by a chicaron that tasted as if it could have come from a bag in a spanish supermarket (and believe me this is not to say it didn't taste good but just to say it was unnoteworthy). The final contingent of this "mouth amuser" was the crowning glory and prompted Susan to say "I could eat this all day". The beautiful sweet, savory, yet caramel-tinged black pepper biscuit (which i dare say borrowed from the best of the asian sweet buns and americas favorite southern biscuit) left us wanting a basket full of these left by us to soak up all the remaining flavors we had yet to indulge (though these nearby would have left little room for anything else). This was paired with a delicate sweet sparkling rose. Yum.
Step 2 to wooing me to your evil ways began with a fluke, a long island fluke that is on a puree of buttermilk, something with a hint of spice, and a sea of poppy seeds (do you ever look in a mirror david?). This was paired with a sake that was slightly sweet but not overpowering. So, okay you're not all bad. They say the third times a charm and well you proved "them" wrong. The third dish was a strange mis-mash of flavors that I didn't entirely follow. You put an oyster, pork belly, and sticky rice together and then threw broth on top(albeit some of the most delicious broth i've ever had). The rice was great, the oyster okay, and the pork belly lacked something in a way that pork belly never should (and I watched your dinner theatre mr chang and this pork belly was fried in advance - perhaps some slow roasting and a slightly crispier texture would have added more to the dish...i'm just saying). This was paired with I believe a new zealand pinot noir that was chilled.
Fourth came perhaps my future breakfast of choice. This was the dish that Susan claimed she feared the most from the onset. The egg. This wasn't just any egg. There was a "bed" of slightly caramelized sweet onions with a splash of red wine vinegar that laughed in the face of all other onions i have ever had in my life, the egg itself that was smoked and served in a fashion that was not unlike a slightly overpoached egg, and then the fantastic bite finishers of cavier and fingerling potato chips. I have never tasted anything like this and will likely crave this as a hangover breakfast until my final days. This was paired with a wine that i believe was a sweet white chardonay.
Now here is where my brain goes slightly foggy with the order of things (and truth be told if your brain doesn't turn foggy after the fourth course that includes wine pairing there is something wrong with the pairing and you should request a refund). I do believe the next course was the one that first let me down. It was a pasta with snail sausage, chicken skin and parmesan. This dish was missing something and david we weren't the only ones who thought so. The snail sausage was good but the chicken skin lacked any of the delicious flavor that i expect from even the simplest of roasted chicken. The pasta was experently made texture-wise but again was flavorless...susan's claim was that all this dish needed was garlic and salt. Personally, I would scrap this idea altogether until I learned how to make chicken skin taste good and then I would put it into the pasta dough itself and add something sweet to the pasta sauce. The saving grace of this course was the red wine it was paired with.
Course numero seis brought back the promise of good flavors, although again it lacked the insane wow factor that the meal began with. This was a halibut that was half encrusted with bread crumbs on steroids and then partially plated on an artichoke puree and then the other half on pickled califlower. Personally, I could have eaten a bowl of the cauliflower and been happy with the dish. The fish was perfectly cooked but was not a dish I would order at a restaurant again. Paired with another white wine
The seventh course was more sweet in nature. It was paired with a strangely flavorless sake. The dish consisted of lychees, peanut brittle, shaved foie gras, and cheese. This was not to my taste bud's liking but many of those around me enjoyed this thoroughly. I couldn't get over the wierd lychee texture with foie gras.
Course number eight was beyond great. This is where I was glad I still had plenty of room. This was a 14 day aged sirloin cooked sous vide. The steak was plated with a puree of the most delicious spicy sweet grilled jalepanos this world has ever created (without the heat of the peppers this dish would be nothing). The beef was cooked perfectly medium rare and served with caramelized brussel sprouts that I would gladly take as my daily vegetable serving and lets not forget the pickled onions that were surreptiously slipped onto the plate. Now this was a dish. And throw some red wine in the mix from the south of france and well there was a party in my tummy. I would run 10 miles a day if I it meant I could have this meal even weekly.
Now there is a certain sadness that surrounds the end of all things. I didn't want my dinner at Ko to end. I wanted more acts. The first of two dessert courses was a gauva sorbet coated in cream cheese paired with a wonderfully sweet muscat. Now, this sounds simple and forgetable, but I urge all those who have yet to taste the beautifully basic flavor love between cheese and gauva to take heed from the hoards of spanish speaking countries and take one bite. You'll never regret it. And David, you did this match made in flavor heaven the justice it deserved. I do however believe that one could have thrown some crisped puff pastry in the mix and rocketed this dessert into the outer echelons of this galaxy...but again I'm just saying.
Last but not least, we visited the Jersey shore. Now how do you end an 8 course meal one asks...why in the fry daddy you fool. The final course was a funnel cake with black sesame ice cream and lemon curd. This was paired with a dry sherry that Susan despised but despite her previous promise did not say she'd have a different drink when offered. Personally, I think the flavor toned down the sweetness of the funnel cake and deepened the flavor of the ice cream and lemon.
Now the true question is do I continue my daily attempts to attain a reservation at Ko or do I accept it as a once in a lifetime event and go on from there (recession be damned)? After all, there are many more restaurants in Manhattan that I have yet to eat at. Honestly, I hate you David Chang b/c I don't want to end up a slave to your ridiculous reservation system any longer, but i do want to have that egg again...oh and that steak...and can you throw some biscuits in there too. I mean it...I hate you. Ugh...I have to go its almost 10 am.
Love always
Let me start out with the obvious. I hate you...no thats not right. I detest you. The mere mention of your name makes me cringe in the most elementary school of ways. Yes, thats right. I "hate" you like that first boy with cooties that I ever had a crush on. I want no one else to know about you or my obsession with you. The sad truth is, I want your mystical dinner theatre to be my own (okay and that hot sous chef you have can stay too).
But, I digress. Lets start at the beginning. Course one. I arrived on scene with my very nervous (what if he feeds us something we don't want to try) best friend (who I have seen eat tripe so I felt no concern for). We opted for the mid range drink pairing. The amuse bouche was a trifecta of flavors. The first was a pea soup with a bite of crab and some delicious crunchy pieces. This was followed by a chicaron that tasted as if it could have come from a bag in a spanish supermarket (and believe me this is not to say it didn't taste good but just to say it was unnoteworthy). The final contingent of this "mouth amuser" was the crowning glory and prompted Susan to say "I could eat this all day". The beautiful sweet, savory, yet caramel-tinged black pepper biscuit (which i dare say borrowed from the best of the asian sweet buns and americas favorite southern biscuit) left us wanting a basket full of these left by us to soak up all the remaining flavors we had yet to indulge (though these nearby would have left little room for anything else). This was paired with a delicate sweet sparkling rose. Yum.
Step 2 to wooing me to your evil ways began with a fluke, a long island fluke that is on a puree of buttermilk, something with a hint of spice, and a sea of poppy seeds (do you ever look in a mirror david?). This was paired with a sake that was slightly sweet but not overpowering. So, okay you're not all bad. They say the third times a charm and well you proved "them" wrong. The third dish was a strange mis-mash of flavors that I didn't entirely follow. You put an oyster, pork belly, and sticky rice together and then threw broth on top(albeit some of the most delicious broth i've ever had). The rice was great, the oyster okay, and the pork belly lacked something in a way that pork belly never should (and I watched your dinner theatre mr chang and this pork belly was fried in advance - perhaps some slow roasting and a slightly crispier texture would have added more to the dish...i'm just saying). This was paired with I believe a new zealand pinot noir that was chilled.
Fourth came perhaps my future breakfast of choice. This was the dish that Susan claimed she feared the most from the onset. The egg. This wasn't just any egg. There was a "bed" of slightly caramelized sweet onions with a splash of red wine vinegar that laughed in the face of all other onions i have ever had in my life, the egg itself that was smoked and served in a fashion that was not unlike a slightly overpoached egg, and then the fantastic bite finishers of cavier and fingerling potato chips. I have never tasted anything like this and will likely crave this as a hangover breakfast until my final days. This was paired with a wine that i believe was a sweet white chardonay.
Now here is where my brain goes slightly foggy with the order of things (and truth be told if your brain doesn't turn foggy after the fourth course that includes wine pairing there is something wrong with the pairing and you should request a refund). I do believe the next course was the one that first let me down. It was a pasta with snail sausage, chicken skin and parmesan. This dish was missing something and david we weren't the only ones who thought so. The snail sausage was good but the chicken skin lacked any of the delicious flavor that i expect from even the simplest of roasted chicken. The pasta was experently made texture-wise but again was flavorless...susan's claim was that all this dish needed was garlic and salt. Personally, I would scrap this idea altogether until I learned how to make chicken skin taste good and then I would put it into the pasta dough itself and add something sweet to the pasta sauce. The saving grace of this course was the red wine it was paired with.
Course numero seis brought back the promise of good flavors, although again it lacked the insane wow factor that the meal began with. This was a halibut that was half encrusted with bread crumbs on steroids and then partially plated on an artichoke puree and then the other half on pickled califlower. Personally, I could have eaten a bowl of the cauliflower and been happy with the dish. The fish was perfectly cooked but was not a dish I would order at a restaurant again. Paired with another white wine
The seventh course was more sweet in nature. It was paired with a strangely flavorless sake. The dish consisted of lychees, peanut brittle, shaved foie gras, and cheese. This was not to my taste bud's liking but many of those around me enjoyed this thoroughly. I couldn't get over the wierd lychee texture with foie gras.
Course number eight was beyond great. This is where I was glad I still had plenty of room. This was a 14 day aged sirloin cooked sous vide. The steak was plated with a puree of the most delicious spicy sweet grilled jalepanos this world has ever created (without the heat of the peppers this dish would be nothing). The beef was cooked perfectly medium rare and served with caramelized brussel sprouts that I would gladly take as my daily vegetable serving and lets not forget the pickled onions that were surreptiously slipped onto the plate. Now this was a dish. And throw some red wine in the mix from the south of france and well there was a party in my tummy. I would run 10 miles a day if I it meant I could have this meal even weekly.
Now there is a certain sadness that surrounds the end of all things. I didn't want my dinner at Ko to end. I wanted more acts. The first of two dessert courses was a gauva sorbet coated in cream cheese paired with a wonderfully sweet muscat. Now, this sounds simple and forgetable, but I urge all those who have yet to taste the beautifully basic flavor love between cheese and gauva to take heed from the hoards of spanish speaking countries and take one bite. You'll never regret it. And David, you did this match made in flavor heaven the justice it deserved. I do however believe that one could have thrown some crisped puff pastry in the mix and rocketed this dessert into the outer echelons of this galaxy...but again I'm just saying.
Last but not least, we visited the Jersey shore. Now how do you end an 8 course meal one asks...why in the fry daddy you fool. The final course was a funnel cake with black sesame ice cream and lemon curd. This was paired with a dry sherry that Susan despised but despite her previous promise did not say she'd have a different drink when offered. Personally, I think the flavor toned down the sweetness of the funnel cake and deepened the flavor of the ice cream and lemon.
Now the true question is do I continue my daily attempts to attain a reservation at Ko or do I accept it as a once in a lifetime event and go on from there (recession be damned)? After all, there are many more restaurants in Manhattan that I have yet to eat at. Honestly, I hate you David Chang b/c I don't want to end up a slave to your ridiculous reservation system any longer, but i do want to have that egg again...oh and that steak...and can you throw some biscuits in there too. I mean it...I hate you. Ugh...I have to go its almost 10 am.
Love always
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