Supper at Ssam Bar

On Friday after Eataly, we first headed to the Whitney to see the Lee Friedlander “America by Car” exhibit and also the new Hopper exhibit. No photos from there. Then we went to see Rory and Chris at their new apartment on the Upper East Side. Sorry, no photos there, either, even though Chris made delicious hors d’oeuvres (ricotta crostini with honey and pear) and their view is breathtaking. Photos of dinner? Yeah, we’ve got that. Momofuku Ssam Bar, and here are the pork buns:

So on our other trips to Momofuku Ssam, we’ve never had much of a wait. Maybe we were lucky then. But I thought the 45 minutes the hostess gave us as an estimate would be on the long side. Turns out, the hostess said that this Friday was “crazy,” and we had to wait the full 45. We were pretty hungry (and not a little buzzed) by the time we sat down. So we ordered those pork buns right away.

Lighty, fluffy, porky, cucumbery, pickley. Delicious!

And a couple of beers and a bottle of wine. Hunna and Rory:

Our first course was described by our waiter as “super-oceanic.” I guess so!

Santa Barbara Uni with oyster crema, lily bulb and wild sea beans:

It was like eating the Atlantic. Loved it.

Next we went with a plate of ham. Having had Benton’s a few times before, we went with something we hadn’t tried yet, Mountain Man Soft Cured Ham from Cana, Va.:

Mmm. Mountain Man. And the Red Eye Gravy was great as usual — the coffee in there is my favorite.

Our view of the kitchen. They’ve put in a few more tables here in the back since the last time we were here:

Our waiter and his USPS hat, which he told us he’d stolen off a teddy bear hanging off a truck:

Photos of the gang. Chris and me:

Les dorkages:

Pay attention, people!

And now for our next dishes. Honeycrisp Apple Kimchi with Maple Labne and Jowl Bacon:

This was my favorite dish of the night. Kimchi flavors, but on freshly cut apples. Sweet, spicy, everything. Lot goin’ on there.

Definitely a winner.

Here we have fried duck necks with pickled corn, garlic chive and baby carrots. While it’s the most visually arresting dish we’ve had, unfortunately it was also our least favorite. The duck necks just aren’t that fun to eat, and the sauce didn’t give it the oomph it needed either. The pickled corn and carrots were very tasty, but because they were cold, the dish wasn’t that satisfying.

And then another unfortunate choice, the Roasted Northern Pufferfish with black garlic, spaghetti squash and lavender:

Bony, oily. Nothing unctous about it.

Thank god for the cotechino!

Cotechino with maitake, brussels sprouts and jalapeno:

Totally and completely delicious. The heady spices in the sausage made up for the other dishes, which left me cold and flat.

We decided one thing we really missed at Ssam Bar was ssam. The sausage, meats and other goodies wrapped in lettuce with a dipping sauce — which no longer appear on the menu except for as a $200 dinner for 6. Oh well, next time, we’ll just have to call ahead and order.