The sixth in a series of posts about the exceptional food I ate in 2.5 days in New York.

I’m not going to lie: Momofuku Ssäm Bar let me down. Maybe it was that I had walked 30 blocks from my midtown adventures with Mr Pickle and was famished.

Maybe it was the rave reviews from my friends. Or David Chang’s reputation. Or the delicious pork buns at Tomukun that couldn’t possibly be as good. Or the fact that there are blogs dedicated to cooking through the Momofuku cookbook.

Whatever it was, well, I didn’t have the magical experience I was hoping for. The pork was flavorful, but the famous steamed buns were soggy – verging on wet. I did enjoy the wee jar of pickles, though, and sampled all of the unidentified condiments on various parts of my meal.

Hoping to redeem my experience, I popped across the street after lunch to Momofuku Milk Bar, the famous spin-off bakery that serves such insane things as crack pie, cereal milk, and compost cookies.

Photo by @superamit

I’d tell you all about what I ate, but I was so bowled over by the insanely heady aroma of baked goods that I couldn’t bring myself to indulge. And THAT is saying something.

Momofuku: eh. I’d give it another try if traveling companions wanted to do so, but I certainly wouldn’t make another epic trek across Manhattan for it.

If you go:
Momofuku Ssäm Bar
207 2nd Ave (between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003

My friend Jenny raves about their prix fixe lunch. Momofuku Milk Bar is just across the street for dessert.