Best Midtown Dinner Partyin'

Soon there's going to be a post about how there has been so much partying lately and originally this post was going to follow that post but, guess what? Now this post comes first and, with luck, after the partying post will make a little more sense.

Saturday night there was a big awesome party when us five (Brigham, Emily, Eliza, Cristy, Tyson) had a little dinner at Ma Peche.

What's Ma Peche? It's the "new" Momofuku restaurant that opened in the basement of the Chambers hotel on 56th street. Back in December I ate from their limited mezzanine menu (food served in the hotel's lobby) but this was my first visit to the real dining room where Tien Ho, former head chef at the Ssam Bar, does some serious work.

See anything awesome, anything familiar in the background? And did you know that Tyson was my roommate in February of 2009? And that while he was my roommate he lived in the closet of the room I sublet? All true. But hey, look at that painting there in the background.


You will notice no food photos (but, if you're dying to know what anything looked like, I've linked to flickr photos when I could). I was just partying too hard and enjoying my eating too much to take any. But let me tell you: This dinner. Was spectacular. Completely exceded my expecations by many, many levels. Reviews generally have been positive but not impressive and I hadn't seen anything on the menu I was too stoked to try BUT whoah. Dinner came correct, definitely one of my best Momofuku dining experiences.

We Ate:

Heirloom Tomatoes with Watermelon, Yuba, and Basil
Summer Rolls of Pork and Shrimp with Lettuce, Daikon, and Peanut
Pork Ribs with Thai Basil in a Lemongrass Caramel sauce I had heard these were good but there's hearing and then there's tasting and then there's me trying to tell you that these are gooood.
Striped Bass with Shrimp, Sweet Potato, Coconut Good, but the dish least fit for sharing between five.
Steak Frites a beautiful 12oz piece of meat served with 'rice fries', this was a winner. I'd never been head over heels for a Momofuku steak dish (that I didn't cook myself) until this one. This and the ribs are your can't miss must tries.
Corn with Lardo, Scallion, and Chili
Fairytale Eggplant with Chili Vinaigrette, Raisin, Mint Wonderful. My favorite of the vegetables. Never thought I'd say that about Eggplant, but then again, Tien Ho taught me to love Brussels sprouts. He's conquering the world one underappreciated vegetable at a time.

Looking back and thinking it over, what Ma Peche really had going for it was that every dish came served in or with a different magical sauce component of the sort that leaves you wondering what you can sop it up with, if spooning would just be acceptable, and shooing the server away when they try to side a dish that the naked eye would consider "finished."

Also of note? Surprisingly reasonably price, final damage was $30 each with tax and tip (actually less, but who pays $27.85 when you could plop down two twenties and fight over for the one ten on the table?)

Dessert? There's a Milk Bar upstairs and the Marshmallow/Corn Flake/Chocolate Chip cookie is back. At last.

While we dined two different parties enjoyed Ma Peche's Beef 7 Ways meatfeast. Before I was content with the idea of never trying it. Now that I've had people digging into it right beside me, now that I have smelled it, a need has emerged. Learn About It Here. If it seems like the sort of thing you'd be into, holler at me.