Lunch’er Kimberly tipped us off that Cafe Amande, the generic deli on 37th street formerly known as Cafe Du Monde, has reopened as Blacksmith Cafe. The good news is they are still serving up Korean goodies. The bad news, she reports, is that the Korean food has gone downhill.

Café Amande/Du Monde on 37th St between 5th and 6th has reopened as Blacksmith Café… but the Korean grandma who womaned the Korean station in the back was nowhere to be seen today! Her disappearance is also seemingly marked with the absence of her delicious recipes.

I was still able to get the soft tofu soup (no more visible Korean menu, you just have to ask for it), but it tastes completely bland – the guy also wouldn’t put any kimchi in it, so the only spice is some pepper oil that floats on top of the container. The only contents in my soup are broth (hot water, basically), tofu, pieces of beef (?), three scallion pieces, approximately three pieces of onion, and the rice I dumped in there in an attempt to salvage the already dire situation. Disappointment does not even begin to describe my feelings.

On a more positive note, the hot/cold salad bar was on sale for $3 something/lb today. Not sure how long that’s going on. For the price of my miserable soup and rice, I could have gotten almost 4 pounds of something tasty.

Sad face. When I stopped by and did a quick loop inside, I didn’t find anything that made me want to stick around, much less order food. Even if Kimberly’s right and you can still order Korean food off of what is seemingly a secret menu, if it’s not good, what’s the point? You’ll probably be happier to walk the few short blocks to K-Town…

Earlier this week I reported that the generic deli named Cafe Du Monde was forced to change their name to Cafe Amande.  But the far more exciting news about the place came via email from Lunch’er Amanda:

Did you know Cafe Du Monde Cafe Amande on 37th between 5th and 6th has Korean food in the back? Bibimbap to rival that of Koreatown. Comes with miso soup and extra chili sauce (make sure you ask if they don’t give it to you because they almost always do). No sides but I usually just take some kimchee from the pay per pound buffet (it’s homemade by one of the cashier ladies!)

Korean food from a generic deli? Homemade kimchee? I’m in.

A large number of the generic delis in New York City are owned by Korean families, and even though I can’t stand most of the delis themselves, I love the trend that has caught on in the past 3 or 4 years of serving Korean food. If the owners are Korean, why not serve the authentic cooking of their country for those of us who have no interest in boar’s head turkey sandwiches and pay by the ingredient salads.

Cafe Duke (on 51st btw. 6+7th) was an early pioneer, and since then we’ve seen many others follow suit… like Ambrosia (on 45th btw. 5+6th), and Pro Hot Korean on 56th (which started as a bagel deli).

At Cafe Amande, the korean food is in the back and mixed in with sushi, udon, teriyaki, and bento boxes. They have bibimbap, as well as bulgogi (and according to the menu kalbi as well, a thicker cut of beef.) On Amanda’s recommendation I ordered the bibimbap ($7.95). At a korean restaurant bibimbap is served hot in a large bowl, with a number of different ingredients (beef, veggies, fried egg) on top of rice. It’s meant to be all mixed together, along with a sweet and spicy chili paste, into a dish almost like fried rice. Order dolsot bibimbap, and the dish is served in a hot stone pot, so the bits of rice that are stuck to the side of the pot get all crispy (and then it’s really like fried rice.)

Clearly the restaurant version is going to be better than a deli version, which is more like a salad, but as deli bibimbaps go Cafe Amande’s is pretty damn good. Unlike Cafe Duke which gives you the rice on the side, Cafe Amande puts the rice in the container along with the bulgogi (Korean bbq’d beef), julienned veggies, and a fried egg.

The real point of the fried egg, is to break the yolk over the rice and mix it all in. And a lot of deli versions of bibimbap give you a cold, fully cooked fried egg, defeating the entire purpose- but Cafe Amande’s egg was cooked to order (a huge bonus).

The big drawback of Cafe Amande’s bibimbap is the lack of banchan (the little Korean side dishes you get at the beginning of the meal.) But they do give you a really good miso soup. It’s not only flavorful, but comes jam packed with stuff like seaweed, tofu, and strips of fried bean curd. Really good stuff.

I went looking for the kimchee on the buffet, but couldn’t find any. So when I got my bibimbap, I asked the guy behind the counter if it came with kimchee. He kind of smiled in a way that said, “Really! I can’t believe this white guy is asking about kimchee” and went back into a styrofoam conainer and gave me a small scoop in a cup. I almost felt like he was giving me part of his lunch, just to be nice. And he made it clear it doesn’t really come with it… but maybe if enough people ask they’ll start to give it out- or at least sell it regularly. I’m glad I asked too, it was probably the best kimchee I’ve ever had from a deli. And if it really is homemade by one of the register ladies, I’d like to meet her and shake her hand.

Part of the reason that Cafe Duke, Ambrosia, and Pro Hot Korean are such godsends is because it saves those lunchers who work in the 40s and 50s a trip to Koreatown. People who work around Cafe Amande (which is on 37th btw. 5+6th) can just walk the extra five blocks to 32nd and be in NYC’s Korean food Disney World. But take out deli bibimbap is kind of a dish unto itself… and if you’re craving it, Cafe Amande’s version is one of the better ones I’ve had.

Cafe Amande, 37th Street btw. 5+6th Avenues

File this one under “Knew That Was Gonna Happen”. The generic deli “Cafe du Monde” (on 37th btw. 5+6th) was forced to change their name to Cafe Amande. Apparently the name Cafe du Monde is already in use by, oh, I don’t know… the most famous fried dough maker in the country. The funny thing is, I don’t think the owners of the NYC Cafe du Monde even knew about the New Orleans institution. Yesterday I asked one of the girls behind the counter if they had to change their name because of Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Her response: “Yeah! How did you know?” She was completely surprised to hear it was a pretty famous place.

Related:
Cafe Du Monde is Coming to Midtown
New Orleans Jazzfest 2007 Weekend Wrap Up