Momofuku Noodle Bar

"Since 2004, this first David Chang restaurant has been slinging ramen using wheat noodles made on the premises. There is usually a choice of two bowls per day, and on a recent evening, the selection ran to smoked pork belly and garlic chicken ramen, both good. The bowls are kept simple and the clarified broths are deeply flavored. This, along with Rockmeisha, were two places that helped usher in the current ramen craze in the city." - Robert Sietsema

"It’s a tough life, living in the East Village. On a daily basis, one is saddled with a very difficult choice: Do you Ssäm or do you Noodle? Brutal, we know, and probably the toughest decision you’ll have to make all day, other than whether or not to shower in the morning. You should shower by the way, the unlucky human stuffed inside your armpit on the rush hour L-Train will certainly appreciate it. Momofuku Noodle Bar probably drives ramen purists crazy. It’s the ramen equivalent of going to Disney World, with Chang’s massive bowl of Momo Ramen starring as the giant turkey leg, smiling at the camera, ready to be photographed. Authentic or not, we don’t care. We fucking love this place. We love the massive photo of The Band on the wall. We love the playlists - everything from Atmosphere to Wu-Tang to Hall & Oates. We love the energy. We love being comfortably uncomfortable in the stools. We love that our water glass never gets past half empty before being filled. And most of all, we love the f*cking food. Like Ssäm, Noodle is not for everyone (i.e. haters of salt), but Noodle Bar’s ramen is indeed excellent. Yes, yes, yes, and yes to Ippudo, Totto, Ivan, Rai Rai Ken and whatever other ramen you want to challenge with - they’re all awesome too. You know why? Because RAMEN IS DELICIOUS. However, ramen isn’t the only reason to come. You can have a great meal and not even order noodles. The ever-changing menu of meat, fish, and vegetable options are always stacked, sometimes with more exciting listings than what you’ll find over at Ssäm. Plus, staples like the steamed buns, soy sauce egg, and chicken wings never leave, which is good because we order those things every damn time. So, which Momofuku should you go to tonight? We’ll leave that decision up to you. The good news is that there is no wrong answer. Food Rundown Fried Chicken Dinner First things first, we need to discuss the large format fried chicken dinner that they offer at Momofuku because it’s by far and away the best fried chicken experience you can have in NYC. A bold statement, we know, and nothing but the truth. Get your best chow-down crew together and make a reservation, it’s a blast. This heaping plate arrives at your table and features two whole fried chickens, one Southern-style and one Korean-style with mu shu pancakes, bibb lettuce, four sauces, and a bunch of vegetables. Lettuce wraps for days. Steamed Buns They don’t even put the classic pork buns on the menu anymore, but don’t you worry. They have them. Plenty of them. We’d love to see some numbers on how many they move in a single day. Our love for these three bites of heaven are well documented, so we’ll just leave it alone for now. Order a pork bun. Order a brisket bun if they have it on the menu. Maybe a shrimp bun. A vegetable bun. A chicken bun. You can never have too much bun. Soy Sauce Egg One of our favorite things at Momo Noodle. Whatever they do to these little scallion covered eggs, we like it a whole lot. Smoked Chicken Wings A staple on this menu, we love us some waaaangs and order them often. Now that we’ve had the fried chicken though, we wish these wings were both fried and smothered in their Korean-style sauce, because then they’d be the best wings in NYC. Rice Cakes Not at the level that Ssäm does rice cakes. However, still excellent. The Korean sauce we speak of above that we’d love to see on the wings? That’s what’s all over the spicy rice cakes. Order ’em both and borrow some of the sauce for the wings. Momofuku Ramen This is their most gangster and most popular bowl of ramen. A massive bowl of salty pig broth, pork belly, pork shoulder and a poached egg. Poached egg > hard boiled egg. Spicy Miso Ramen Smoked chicken, sesame, and a poached egg. This is the ramen I wind up ordering when I don’t want the heavy pork ramen, and then remember that it’s nowhere near as good. It’s just not as satisfying. Ginger Scallion Noodles A crave-wrothy brothless bowl of noodles with shiitakes, pickled cucumbers, cabbage, and a bunch of other things healthier than pork. On a warm summer day, this is a great idea. Chilled Spicy Noodles If you enjoy the sensation of a match being lit inside your mouth, then get the cold spicy noodles with sichuan sausage, spinach, and cashews. This sht is insanely spicy, so tread with caution. Milk Bar Soft Serve + Truffle Ball Cakes There’s a Milk Bar soft serve machine in house with a rotating list of flavors. That’s how you end a meal at Momofuku." - Andrew Steinthal

"You’ve probably heard of Momofuku Noodle Bar. Maybe you even ate there 10 years ago when it was relatively new. If you haven’t been back in a while, you should know that it’s still very, very good. The pork buns are still a great way to start a meal, and the arctic char and fluke crudo should be on your table as well. And if you see the extra spicy pork ramen on special, order it. Just be aware that this place still gets busy and doesn’t take reservations. That said, trying to get a table on a Saturday night no longer feels like a waking nightmare (that smells good)." - bryan kim, hillary reinsberg

"No, it isn’t the fanciest in David Chang’s restaurant empire, but Ssäm Bar is perhaps the most agreed upon, for good reason. While a no-nonsense staff hustles diners to their crammed table and through a quick dinner, once dishes both mammoth and petite arrive, a reverent silence takes over. In addition to starters with outrageous flavors spanning the globe, the surest bet for a group is the whole-roasted fish ssäm, with flakes of fall-apart tender seafood wrapped in lettuce, herbs, and funky ginger-scallion sauce." - Paul Schrodt

"Linger over at bowl of the excellent, inventive cacio e pepe, made with fermented chickpea miso instead of cheese, at this Italian-Korean David Chang-owned spot. Momofuku Nishi in Chelsea got revamped in fall 2017, with the same chef, Joshua Pinsky, some new, more Italian menu items, and comfier seating. Other highlights include the capellini a la fideos (a pasta dish with clams), fried head-on shrimp, and the Caesar salad." - Alexandra Ilyashov