Surprisingly Ridiculous

Momofuku "Ma Peche"
(Mezzanine) - Highly Recommended
in the Chambers Hotel
15 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019

The highly anticipated 5th restaurant of Manhattan Noodle King David Chang is weeks from open. (No doubt, he's the Abe Froman of Noodles folks)
Located in the Chambers Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, I'm sure they are going to blow everyone away with their concept of a 90 seat French-Vietnamese twist to American Food.
Currently, the kitchen staff is honing their skills by plating up delicious snacks for room service and also mezzanine service over-looking the lobby of the hotel.

I met up fellow "Dude", Devin last Saturday.
I wanted to congratulate Dev on a great article he wrote on Japan that was published as a cover story on Newsweek. (Yah, our Dudes are wicked smart)
And Ma Peche came to mind.
I signaled the Bat-Call and met up at the hotel. The rest is history and might as well be etched into stone and displayed at the Smithsonian.

Lunch : March 6, 2010 Momofuku Ma Peche (Mezzanine)

Homemade Country Pate **
Great texture and flavor is right on. And with Tom Cat Bakery baguettes, it's nothing but awesome.

Guinea Fowl with Foie Gras Pate **
Great balance with the bird and foie.
Not too much else I can say but that I would order it every time I go to.

Fried Brussel Sprouts with NamPlah Essence ***
One of their great originals. Served at Ssam and sometimes at Noodle Bar. It actually goes really well with the pates and baguettes. Perfect acidity and huge flavor.

BBQ Baby Short Ribs **
Better than most BBQ joints in Manhattan. I know these guys are a huge fan of Hill Country so probably was a little challenge to come up with some kind of "melt in your mouth" BBQ.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with house cured Bacon *
Land o Lakes American Cheese, Swiss and Cheddar all melted and sandwiched between a butter soaked white bread. This thing definitely shouts out Team America
Oh, and did I mention the house cured Niman Ranch pork belly bacon?

Chicken Bahn Mi *
Chicken puree molded into rectangular chunks with Namplah dressed Greens and Cilantro on a Tomcat Bakery Baguette.
House Bahn Mi *
Pork products with the usual Bahn Mi fixins.

Certified Angus Beef Sirloin Steak with Fries ***
Certified Angus Beef cooked on a scorching cast iron skillet, then coated with layers of herbed and garlic butter. Served with perfect crispy fries.

Baked-to-Order Chocolate Chip Cookies with Milk ***
Like it says. Bake to Order. This was probably the best cookie I've ever had in my life.
Twice as thick as any other cookie I can remember. The edges were perfectly crisp, while the center was still warm and gooey. And the glass of milk was great for dunking.
If you don't like this, you are probably a commie.

As you can see by the magnitude of the meal, this was no casual "let's do lunch" type of lunch.
We ate, and ate, and ate. We even took breaks in between dishes... But the food was so damn good, neither one of us wanted to raise the white flag.

Towards the end, Executive Chef Tien Ho and Chef de Cuisine Sam Gelman came out to check up on us.
And to their amazement, our plates were pretty much clean as a whistle.
Being the food geeks we are, we all laughed and talked about the meal, much like how John Madden breaks down a 4-3 defensive package during an opening drive of a Super Bowl game.
Our jaws dropped to the floor when they told us this was "NOTHING"...
"This" being the magnanimous and heroic feast we just were a part of.

They are in the final stretch of an opening, and just had a tasting for all the sous and executive chefs of the Momofuku empire. All signs point to a trail blazing, rock star opening.

So after careful consideration and complete unbiased opinion...
Devin and I are awarding Momofuku Ma Peche, 5 Michelin Stars. :)
Ma Peche may not be on everyone's radar yet... but it would be wise to keep in mind.
You heard it here first ladies and gents... This place is gonna ROCK your World!!!
American food doesn't get much better than this. In fact, it's never been this good.