Ssäm Bar

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we decided to go to Dave Chang’s Ssäm Bar. Since reservations are not accepted at Ssäm Bar it’s a little unsettling since you don’t know if you’re going to find a line out the door or not – not that it would’ve stopped us.

Since we had driven out from Cleveland that day we were pretty tired so we wanted to eat earlier (6:30pm on a Monday). As luck would have it we were seated right away.

A bar runs the down the left side of the restaurant where people can sit across from each other. Down the right side are a collection of tables for larger parties. In the very back of the room is the kitchen.

As we sat down, a server took our drink order and gave us a rundown on the menu. I already knew we were going to try the famed Pork Buns, but found myself struggling to narrow down my choices. We finally settled on the Cured Hamachi and Pork Buns for appetizer – both of which I highly recommend.

I got the Spicy Pork Sausage & Rice Cakes and Regina tried the Pork Sandwich. I’m not going to go into the play-by-play of each dish, but I thought the Spicy Pork Sausage was monster. Certainly not for those who are averse to spice (or grease for that matter), but is a must try. The spice and the texture of this dish made it absolutely impossible to lay down the chopsticks. I kept picking the rice cakes out and getting a good bit of stuff to go with it.

The service here is a collective effort. The person that takes your drink order may, or may not, be the same person takes your dinner order, which may be the different from the person who rings up your check. We decided against dessert since we were going to Milk Bar (which is connected to the back of Ssäm Bar.)

I love the vibe here. The seating, the food, the music, the service – it’s all great.

Momofuku Ssäm Bar
207 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500
momofuku.com/ssam/default.asp