Ko.
Ko was a struggle. and as with all obsessions in life, the exquisite frustration of the journey proved to be the main source of satisfaction. the ephemeral object of our desire left a barely perceptible dent upon our collective consciousness/memory (let alone palate)..
for about 2 months, brad, elisa and myself eagerly logged in to our computers at 9:50 am, to launch and fine tune a script required in penetrating the automatic online reservation system at Ko which opened at 10:00:00 and closed at 10:00:01. The frustration soon gave way to a ritual performed with zeal despite the seemingly impenetrable odds.
and then one day we serendipitously were granted a reservation for 4 of the total 12 seats on my birthday
we hoped that the output of this assiduous effort would be 10 exquisite photos of each course (in addition to the phenomenal experience), but much to our chagrin, David Chang bans photography :
http://gothamist.com/2008/06/20/no_pics_for_you_chef_bans_photograp_1.php
first the negatives -- the cheapest wine pairing ($50) was universally disappointing.
don’t get me wrong, i love me the sparkly pink imbued beverages. however, around the 3rd chokingly floral rose i was dying for a sharp dry anything…
the desserts were atrocious -- with combinations that were cacophonous yet somehow also flat. a smear of unsweetened avocado only detracted from a rubbery panna cotta... likewise – none of us could remember the icy granita preceding the principle dessert…
there were several decent courses...
and there were a handful of courses that were so revolutionary and unique, that words seem hopelessly inadequate in describing the genius put before us... there was a delicate dish of a soft boil egg accompanied by thinly sliced potato chips and pickled vegetables that was so sublime that the memory lingers on my tongue .. a strange dish of lychee fruit, some type of granola and a mound of flakes (similar in to appearance as bonito flakes) of shaved foie gras that left me moaning -- sweet, salty, creamy, lustrous, crunchy... every flavor you could possibly desire -- distinct yet blending in perfect harmony. an early course of sashimi with yuzu was similarly remarkable, as was a standard split pea soup with crab.
overall, our impression was of an extremely talented young chef -- who is still in the nascent stages of developing... extremely pleasurable, but not particularly memorable..
The review:
http://events.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/reviews/07rest.html?scp=2&sq=ko&st=cse
September was marked by experiments with fat/organs rather than muscle. First, Brandon and I relished unctuous pork belly, twice cooked in a variety of home made sichuan dishes. And then... a capricious whim to manipulate the delicate pate-like sweetbreads for myself took hold....
