Momofuku CCDC Revisited

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018Leave a comment

It has been over two years since we visited Momofuku CCDC and the restaurant has had some momentous changes since then, so it was time for a return visit. Back then the City Center hot spot had a menu full of David Chang’s greatest hits plus dessert from neighboring Milk Bar. We liked the food fine-enough, but certainly weren’t impressed with dessert. It was a place that we may have eventually gone back to, but a return visit certainly wasn’t imminent.

Since then, they have installed a new chef, Tae Strain, who has been given complete control over the menu. So long ramen and pork buns, hello bing bread. When we walked in, the noise in the bar & its surrounding dining area was so loud it was intimidating. Fortunately, the host took us down a short hallway to a more secluded dining area, slightly set off from the rest of the restaurant.

Momofuku CCDC in Washington DC

The new Momofuku CCDC is the rare restaurant that actually requires a rundown of the menu from the server, because of the recent menu changes. No matter what you order, you can’t miss out on the bing bread. These housemade, warm, pita-like rounds come with several choices of toppings. Marnay and I went with the sunflower hozon, a David Chang trademarked creation that tastes like hummus.

Bing bread with sunflower hozon at Momofuku CCDC in Washington DC

We also tried the spicy cucumbers which came with almond togarashi and some sort of green paste/puree—cheffy touches that completely transformed the vegetable. As leftovers the next day, they were even more flavorful yet did not lose their crunch.

The true showstopper of our meal was the bronzed whole roasted chicken which comes with a salad and rice. This isn’t just any rice through. This is chicken fat basmati rice, with chunks of pulled roasted chicken, vegetables, dried currants and 3 fried eggs on top. Absolutely decadent…and it was just a side!

The chicken is cut into pieces and served in a large platter, alongside roasted peppers, green olives and herbs. The olives were a bit of a surprise, but they provided a nice mildly salty contribution to the dish. The best part of the roasted chicken was the irresistible crispy wings. Even though the chicken was roasted, they were so crispy they tasted like they had been fried.

Bronzed whole roasted chicken with chicken fat basmati rice at Momofuku CCDC in Washington DC

The new menu has a lot of great sharable items, such as a whole duck and whole short rib. Based on our recent visit, we would definitely return, maybe even with a group. We did not get a chance to try the new, non-Milk Bar desserts, and that is reason enough to go back!

Best Bite
Paul: spicy cucumbers
Marnay: roasted chicken

Address
Momofuku CCDC: 1090 I St NW Washington DC, 20001
Closest Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown or Metro Center

Centrolina

August 29, 2016February 22, 2017Leave a comment

For Marnay’s birthday celebration, we made reservations at Chef Amy Brandwein’s Centrolina, located in CityCenter DC. We were 15 minutes late for our 8:00pm reservation—our fault, although we did call ahead to let them know. However, we were not seated until 8:35pm—their fault. They acknowledged it and made up for it, though, with a gratis cheese plate. Not the first time that I have seen this technique in a restaurant and I think it works really well to engender good will.

Centrolina (pronunciation: “Chen-tro-leena”) specializes in housemade pasta dishes, which we were most excited about. We ordered one small plate, one large plate and two pastas. The melone with cucumber, tomato and extra virgin olive oil was refreshing on a hot day, although it would have been better if the salt and pepper was applied evenly. The few bites I tried with salt and pepper were markedly better than the ones without.

The branzino was a standout, with its crispy exterior. The crisp skin and tender flesh went well with the cool butter beans and yogurt sauce it was resting on. We would get this dish again.

Centrolina needs to hold on to the server we had. She was in charge of the entire room and extremely knowledgeable about the menu. She gave us our space but also understood when we needed some help. Marnay’s Mom loves Prosecco, although it was not on the menu by the glass. Instead, the server steered her towards a glass of Franciacorta, a sparkling white from Lombardy made using the champagne method. That means that it undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle, as opposed to a steel tank like Prosecco.

As mentioned early, we were excited about the pasta dishes. My take is that they were mostly good, although a bit of a mixed bag. The fusilli with tomato, fennel sausage and calamari was delicious, the salty sausage and the chewy calamari going particularly well with the fusilli. The neri, or squid ink pasta, with tuna crudo and spicy nonnata di pesce loaded with Calabrian chiles was good, but also could have benefited from more salt. I have had a similar dish at Osteria Morini in the Navy Yard which was considerably better.

It’s worth noting that the fusilli was the only dried pasta on the menu. I could taste the difference, in favor of the dried pasta. It held its chew and soaked up more sauce than the slippery fresh squid ink pasta.

We tipped off our server that it was Marnay’s birthday, so the pudding-like budino we shared for dessert came with a candle on top. Centrolina is a solid restaurant with good, but not amazing food. It is worth a trip if you are in the area.

Best Bite
Paul: Fusilli pasta
Marnay: Branzino

Address
Centrolina: 974 Palmer Alley NW, Washington, DC 20001
Closest Metro: Metro Center

Momofuku CCDC

June 22, 2016February 22, 2017Leave a comment

On a Tuesday night we made reservations at one of DC’s most popular new restaurants, Momofuku CCDC. This is the DC offshoot of David Chang’s extremely successful Momofuku empire. The restaurant offers limited reservations and we made ours’ a month out.

The space is rather bare, with concrete floors and not much on the walls. There is a giant peach projected above the bar, which is a nice touch. The curved wooden seats do not even have backs. My first impression was that this does not seem like a restaurant where guests are expected to linger. While we reviewed the food menu, we started off with some drinks. I got the Seven Spice Sour, which had some serious heat. It consisted of sake, yuzu, lime and shichimi, that ubiquitous reddish-orange spice found at Japanese restaurants. Marnay got a Grenache rose from Provence, the birthplace of rose.

Our food was coursed out, but it came fast. The first two dishes to arrive were the Shiitake Buns with hoisin, scallion and cucumber and the Rockfish crudo with yuzu, bonji and sliced apples. The shiitake buns tasted like they were filled with crispy bacon. It was incredible what they did with the mushrooms…it was pure magic.

There was no indication on the menu that the Rockfish would be raw until the server told us after we ordered. Not a problem, but a little warning on the menu would be nice. The paper thin slices of raw fish came with bonji sauce, a David Chang trademarked creation similar to soy sauce.

Very soon after these two dishes left the table, the famous Momofuku Ramen arrived. It is a pork based soup with sliced pork belly, pulled pork shoulder and a beautiful poached egg floating in the middle. Piercing the egg provides even more delicious richness to the broth. The bowl was substantial and even though we shared it, we were not able to finish.

Out of all the reasons to come to Momofuku CCDC, we were most excited to try dessert from Milk Bar. Trying their famous Cereal Milk ice cream is almost a cultural experience and we were looking forward to it. Honestly, though…we were a bit disappointed. I guess it tasted like milk-flavored soft-serve, but we thought there would be a lot more flavor. Same goes for the Compost Cookie that we ordered. It was good enough, but we were expecting great. Momufuku CCDC is not about to give Osteria Morini a run for its money as best restaurant for dessert in DC.

Outside of Milk Bar, Momofuku CCDC is very good. I think that the next time we go we will just get dessert from RareSweets. Or, if we’re feeling really adventurous, we will go to the bar at DBGB and order the Baked Alaska.

Best Bite
Paul: Shiitake Buns
Marnay: Momofuku Ramen

Address
Momofuku CCDC: 1090 I St, NW Washington, DC 20001
Closest Metro: Metro Center

Eat Now Run Later

Tag: CityCenter

Momofuku CCDC Revisited

Centrolina

Momofuku CCDC