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Momofuku Fried Chicken Dinner
Posted: 11:58 pm, September 26th, 2009 in Midtown Connections
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53 Comments
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$100 for 2 fried chickens, plus a few veggies and sauces? To split among 6-8 people? Will I get a whole wing out of this? Let me think... no.
You do realize you're on Midtown Lunch, right? Even splitting that 8 ways makes it over $10/pp, "not including drinks/tax/tip." I'm not going to pay out the nose for a morsel of chicken, just to say I've done the "momofuku thing."
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16 pieces of chicken for $100? lmao.
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I don't know... looks pretty freakin' amazing to me
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/08/momofuku-fried-chicken-dinner.html
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i'll bite. moo shu is a weakness of mine.
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stevenp - imagine the cost if we went there. Our indian pizza outing bill was 50% food 50% booze (and some people didn't drink!)
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adam--yup, and I bet the drinks are 2-3x the price. Part of the momofuku scam: build hype with the hipster crowd, and charge way too much and compel reservations for a generally interesting but not insanely-great menu. Let the cachet of the hype keep business up, for all those lemmings willing to pay for the name-dropping privilege. I challenge you to find a single person who ate at any momofuku and *didn't* tell their friends all about it, even if they weren't crazy about the food. Which is why I refer to them as the "Emperor's New Restaurants."
We need another outing soon, and a happy hour. (I vote Rudy's of course! Or 1849, for those brave enough to head tothe village.)
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Judging things on price alone without trying it is kind of lame. Lots of irationally expensive things are awesome.
People laughed walking by me waiting in line for $16 soup at that little place just off Ninth ave a few years back. Remember that place? I'd pay $20 for that chicken chili soup if I could get one today. Seeing as that's about 5 times as much as a normal soup, the ratio holds up on the Momofuko chicken.
Just sounds like "poor guy sour grapes" to me.
Truth is, for some people, no soup is worth 16 bucks. For others, it's so good they think about it four years later and would pay even more for some. I'd wager the same is true here. But until I try it I really don't know WTF I'm talking about, do I?
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I think the Momofuku's are worth the hype - the food is consistently good and innovative. Ko was one of the better tasting menu's i've had in New York (better than dare I say, Le Berndardin's) and i've heard nothing but high praise for the Bo Ssam and Chicken dinners, both of which I hope to try.
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Yup Mike, thats exactly the point. You're free to spend $20 on awesome soup. Different people have different tastes.
( it's just that, we're free to ridicule you for it )
:)
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Poor guy sour grapes would only apply to those of us who couldn't afford it. I didn't want to chime in on David Chang and his MomoFuk-U empire, but I can't help it now. I had the bo ssam (the whole pork butt dinner) and really, I can tell you now, it wasn't that amazing. Some of the pork was fatty and delicious and succulent. Some of it was dried out and hard to chew/eat. All of it was mildly flavored (I have the same issue when I make pulled pork, but I've only done it 2-3x in a slow cooker, I'm not sure what his excuse is) and not very interesting. What WAS interesting was the stuff he chose to pair it with - not the lettuce, not even the spicy red sauce (was it gochujang?) or scallion oil which was quite yummy and added a ton of flavor to the otherwise blah pork... it was the oysters.
HOWEVER, having said that, even so... I don't think it was worth the price paid, nor do I think it was even amazing food. So he said "put some oyster in your lettuce with pulled pork" and yeah, that was really interesting, but beyond that, so what?
If I'd eaten at any Chang place and enjoyed it more, I would probably be really into him as well. I have yet to actually really like any of his offerings except the compost cookie at Milk Bar which was DELICIOUS but he didn't even make that himself, so props don't even go to him!
I am a little sick and tired of everyone who's drinking the Kool-Aid and talking about him as though he were God, or as stevenp says, the Emperor's new clothes, but for the most part, I keep my mouth shut and let it roll off my back because honestly, it doesn't matter. Chang fans/lovers will keep going to his restaurants, while I will occasionally try something (and I will be honest when I finally find something I like! I can't wait!), but for the most part decline invitations. Politely. Let it be.
Having said alllllll of that, the point of this post was to find people to dine with the OP. So let's stop shitting on the guy and let him find some eating buddies. Good for him for using the forums, let's stop being trolls (I think that's the proper term).
Hope you find some dining buddies.
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Yeah, stop shitting on the guy. Let him enjoy his "8 people, 2 chickens" experience.
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you know what jtothexo... you get the reservation and my wife and I are in! I actually loved the bo ssam when I had it, and have been wanting to try the fried chicken (despite the high price.) Coincidentally enough, I also like kool aid.
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I suspect he'll get the rest of his people very easily now.
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Can someone clarify the pricing?
I get a whole rotisserie chicken from Malecon (yum)cut up in a takeout bag and I can plow through that like it's a friggin snack. Seriously. The meat on one chicken is what I call an adequate hero filling.
I'm laughing now at the thought of us all paying $100 bucks for two birds and me 'accidentally' pounding a whole one down before anyone gets a wing. It's gotta be two birds each, right? I don't understand the pricing.
I'd love to go but I don't like all that asian stuff they serve it with. For me, fried chicken goes with mash, gravy, cornbread, etc.
And besides, I'm really not cool enough for these super-trendy places.
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adamprato, I wonder if they'd get pissed if I brought some extra popeyes with me. You know, for when the 'good' chicken is gone and the fat guy still has the hungry eyes?
I kinda want to go now, but I bet all the seats are taken, since a celebrity will be in attendance. I'd also like to see what they'd do when I broke out my popeyes for a 'pepsi challenge' wit the momofuku birds.
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@Yvo: Well-said. ANd I've said my piece, so I'll let it rest.
Mike: "poor guy sour grapes" doesn't work here. I make $100 in about half an hour, which means I earn enough for a whole M-Fuk-U chicken special faster than I could eat it. I strongly believe in value. The cheapest things are usually not the best, but the priciest ones are often a rip-off too. I don't blink at spending $100 on a good meal (usually tabs aren't that high for me because because I'm not a wine drinker), but it had better be good (service/quality/etc.) if I'm paying a premium. Others may have a different philosophy. I'm used to seeing it on the chowhound site, where discriminatory tastes run a distant second to name-dropping by the regulars. ML ain't chowhound, so here I feel it's reasonable to vent agains overpriced fare.
On the other hand, Zach is ready to jump on this meal, so maybe I'm wrong. Then again, he can probably deduct it as a business expense. ;^)
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Adam, your "8 people, 2 chickens" comment reminds me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it......
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I agree it's *way* too expensive for fried chicken... but here's how I justify it. Split between 6 people, it's $15-20 apiece, and you'll end up getting 2-3 pieces per person. Add a few other dishes from the Noodle Bar menu to share (pork buns,rice cakes, etc.) and a couple of drinks, and the meal will come out to $50-60 per person... completely worth it for the quality of food you get at Momofuku (IMHO). I admit if you think of it as $100 for two whole chickens, it feels more like ripoff.
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If I had a job, I'd be in. If that changes in the next few weeks, I'll let you know. I agree with Zach - while it is pricey, that's what you get at Momofuku and it's usually worth it!
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I tried this dinner already some time in August. Even though I am a real cheapo I do recommend trying it at least once. The chicken was pretty good and I loved the sauces, the pancakes, and all the pretty veggies that came with it. I only got the $2 soda and the $3 chips that I split w/everyone. Unfortunately there was only 4 of us so it ended up being way too much chicken for us.
Everytime I opened my eyes, there was more chicken left. The good part about it was that I was able to take a lot of it home and eat for the rest of the week which meant more money saved in the end for me. My friend wants to do the roast pork dinner and while I don't eat oysters and rice it is roast pork and I can't say no to that.
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You know what, now that I understand the pricing, I don't even think that's even a very expensive meal. It's not a midtown lunch, but I've spent far more and gotten less. And crappier, too!
Now I really want to go. Man I love fried chicken.
Is Popeyes the only decent option in midtown?
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I really like Momofuku. But I honestly think the wings at what used to be Bon Chon were a lot better. They are similar in style, but I think the old Bon Chon just pulled it off better. The bottle of the house sake at Momofuku isn't a bad deal with the meal if you share with friends.
However, I feel like the best part of the meal is sharing good food with good company. As long as you are with the people you like and the food is tolerable, you will have a good time. So enjoy your chicken eating experience, sir. Just make sure you make it a good one.
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Zach, but it *is* $100 for 2 whole chickens. Any other food you order and pay for is independent of that fact.
I can imagine the "ppr man's M-Fuk-U" dinner: A bucket of chicken from Popeye's, plus 2-3 of bottles of sauces and some mu shu pancakes from the ethnic aisle of the local supermarket. (Who needs friggin' vegetables?)
Mike: Popeye's is the best fried chick I've had in midtown. The fried-everything place on 8th Ave at 39th is kinda scary and a bit too greasy. (P.s. The pricing is still $100 for 2 chickens--glad you understand it now! ;^)
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stevenp, that's pretty funny. A 'Momo-F-U' dinner. We can get some cold beers, invite some bums and set up a table out in front of Momofuku. Do it up right.
Tell you what, buddy, my birthday dinner is always Mom's fried chicken (she's a southern girl and that chicken kicks ass) with some of that western Connecticut butter and sugar corn on the cob about an hour out of the field, mashed potatoes and fresh home made strawberry over homemade biscuits. I'll call that the 'Momo-who?' fried chicken dinner.
Wait - are the sides, the asian stuff, pancakes, etc. included for 100 or is that all a la carte? It still doesn't sound bad. At least then I'll have something to talk about to sound cool ;-)
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Mike--Does your mom deliver? (*Food*, dammit!) Sounds awesome. Can I get grits with that? I had a southern gf way back when who made awesome fried chicken too.
The mu shu and veggies come with the 2 birds--that's the stuff I would eat just to fill myself up after the chicken quickly disappears.
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the bottom line is that if you dont walk away like your life has been changed, you will feel ripped off, but whatever, you gave it a shot didnt you? and this is coming from someone who did the whole bo ssam thing over the weekend.
asides from popeyes, the zach suggested fried chicken at cafe cello is pretty quality. sadly, the same cant be said for the french fries that come with it. -
Thankfully, my name is NOT "Momofuku." If it were I would fucking change it --- QUICKLY.
But I guarantee you that I can prepare this "meal" and serve it in a clean, rodent-free, dining room full of Southen' ambiance for $12.00 (sans 'mu shu pancakes' and 'shiso leaves' --- LOL!).
We will substitute jalapeno corn bread, hushpuppies, and fried green tomatoes for the mu shu, the shiso, and the other crap that a Southern person wouldn't eat in the first place.
And, by the way, 'Momofuko' wouldn't know a "Southern-style" fried chicken if it pecked him on the ass.
You New Yawk City folks are truly amazing.
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gotta pay to play... 100 is not a lot of money
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lmao 2 me agreeing w/ the Arkansan mentalist. Maybe these are blue footed hens and the meat served rare, ha ha
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The main thing is that the moo shu pancakes, the fresh veggies, and the sauces are unlimited, as to my understanding. I can keep ordering them and they will keep refilling them. I asked them if it worked with the chicken too, but they said no. =(
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well DocChuck, momofuku isnt trying to make an authentic southern dining experience, theyre trying to make a momofuku dining experience which if you're not aware, is mostly asian/asian-influenced cuisine. hence the mu shu pancakes, shiso leaves, etc.
and "momofuku" is a word, not a name. -
I want to try this 8 on Saturday would suit!
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I think we can stop arguing price. This is just not an expensive meal.
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If you guys need one more, i'm down!
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I am down as well if you can get a reservation.
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If their fried chicken is anything like their wings I expect mediocrity. Their wings paled in comparison to Bonchon or Lunasa a few blocks down.
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You can get 9 pieces of Popeyes Fried Chicken for 5.99?
Thats about 144/146 pieces for $100.00... -
not sure if this deal is still around but thought you all might enjoy it.
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FYI:
Harris Teeter grocery stores are selling "USDA grade A" whole fryer chickens this week for 57 cents per pound.
Let's see -- that's a little over $2 for an average-sized 'Grade A' chicken.
WHY? Because the chinese government has embargoed the United State's imports of chickens.
So "Momofuku" capitalizes on the cheap prices of chicken and does the New Yawkas a favor by charging them $100 for a 2-chicken dinner (with a couple of sides of cheap crap).
Why? Because "Momofuku" just LOVES their New Yawk City customers, while the 'bosses' upstairs are counting the money and laughing at the idiots downstairs.
And some of the New Yawk City folks say, "Hey! That's a great bargain!"
Give me a fucking break, and kindly permit me to go back and review my bank accounts.
My friend and I want to eat the fried chicken dinner at Momofuku Noodle Bar. It includes two whole fried chickens, one southern style and one korean style. The dinner comes with mu shu pancakes, long spicy peppers, baby carrots, red ball radishes, shiso leaves, bibb lettuce, four sauces, and an herb basket for $100 (not including drinks/tax/tip). We need four to six more people. We'll probably do Fri or Sat night at 6 or 8. Anyone wants to join us?