Momofuku Ssäm Bar
207 2nd Ave (At 13th Street)
(212) 254-3500
Late last summer, we brought you inside the kitchen of Ssäm Bar to see its inner workings just before its grand opening, and we spoke to David Chang to hear what his new restaurant concept was all about.
In the 9 months since opening the restaurant, many things have changed. Gone is the original simple menu , replaced with a much more expanded list of offerings, focusing on small plates/appetizers and special/seasonal items. The notable exception to the small plates is the $180 Bo Ssäm, which needs to be asked for in advance, and is the Koreanized equivalent to a Roman pig orgy.
Last night, I was invited to join a group of very nice publishing folks at Ssäm Bar to indulge in a group session of Bo Ssäm, something that should only be undertaken alone or by a couple if you are (A) Insanely hungry or (B) Plan to eat lots of pork for the next several meals.
I’m posting what I remember from memory, I’ll be correcting the descriptions later. Time to sleep off all this …. MEAT.
Momofuku Ssäm Bar is a love letter to the wonders of Pork. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
The calm before the storm at Ssäm.
I didn’t get to this succulent plate of ham fast enough.
Ham closeup.
A plate of pickles.
Another plate of pickles.
Uni (Sea Urchin) with Tapioca Balls and Whipped Tofu
Asparagus with Poached Egg
King Oyster Mushrooms, Radishes with Pistachio Puree
Sardine Appetizer with Fried Artichokes
Executive Chef/Owner David Chang
The line cooks doing some finishing touches on Pork Buns.
Berkshire (Kurobuta) Pork Buns.
Pork Bun Closeup
Veal Head Terrine Appetizer
Grilled Sweetbreads
Soft Shell Crab Appetizer
BBQ Spare Ribs with Jerusalem Artichoke Salad, Pickled Tomatillos
Spare Rib closeup
More spare ribs
Bo Ssam accoutremants
Lettuce wrap for Bo Ssam
Raw Oysters on the half shell — comes with the Bo Ssam.
The Bo Ssam, in all its glory.
Bo Ssam, after tearing apart
Bo Ssam (Pork Shoulder) closeup
Bo Ssam portion in lettuce wrap, with Ssamjang sauce
Ssam Bar in full swing.
Off The Broiler 
[…] Off the Broiler was there the next night — ’tis the week of pork […]
Just wondering why the name of the restaurant is a Japanese/Korean composite. Momofuku sounds Japanese and Bo Ssam is Korean, I understand the food is Korean or Korean-inspired. Any idea?
That’s because the chef, David Chang, is Korean-American, but he spent a lot of time in Japan. See the podcast I did on him last year, it explains a lot about his thinking.
[audio src="http://www.theuw.net/~perlow/podcast/Off_The_Broiler-%2329%20Chef%20David%20Chang.mp3" /]
Great stuff, Jason. Looks like a place after my own heart. Thanks for the pics and descrips!
[…] NYC Dining: Momofuku Ssäm Bar Momofuku Ssäm Bar 207 2nd Ave (At 13th Street) (212) 254-3500 Late last summer, we brought you inside the […] […]
How come there are two pics of daisy may’s ribs in there? Everything looks so delicious but I’m not too keen on the sardines with fried artichokes.
They aren’t Daisy May’s ribs… they just serve the wet naps with the ribs, its a bit of an inside joke because David likes to eat there,
[…] the Broiler visits Momofuku Ssäm Bar and indulges in the Bo Ssäm food […]
omg i saw this on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations as well and it looks awesome. I really would love to try it out.
http://www.vidafine.com