Momofuku

While art may not be my favorite class, I still like my art teachers. So, when they asked me to go with them to Momofuku, I happily obliged. Even though it took more than a year in the making to make that plan be realized, it was worth every minute of the wait. As the wind blew against my face, I finally saw my visual arts teacher, Carin, approaching me. As we hurried to the restaurant, located on first avenue and 11th street, I pictured all of the delicious food that we would be enjoying in less than an hour. After walking for an extremely extended period of time, we finally met up with my old art teacher Melissa, and her friend Ari. We entered the densely packed restaurant, the warm air compensating for the cold, the wafting smell of noodles drifted into my nose. We sat down at our crowded table, and immediately ordered our meal. Some of the items on our list included steak tataki, sliced fluke, roasted pesto cauliflower, seared scallop, chicken buns, pork buns, rice cakes, chilled spicy noodles, and ginger scallion noodles. We finished it off with angel food and strawberry lemonade soft serve. It was a lot of food. We ordered the prix fix menu, along with about twelve other courses off of the menu. My favorite course was the chilled spicy noodles. With all of the other dishes, the serving was immaculate and beautiful, but this dish was sloppy and undecorated and messy, which made it so much better. It had spinach and nuts and sausage all mixed in with it, and it was a perfect blend of spicy and cool. The other noodle dish was loaded with vegetables, which made it healthier, but less enjoyable. A few high points of the meal were the pork and chicken buns, which were both very intense, and the steak tataki, which was grilled to perfection. I really enjoyed Momofuku because I got to enjoy some time with my teachers, and also because I got to experience a new restaurant. While the service is cold, and the decor a little bland, I still feel that Momofuku deserves a 8.7/10.

Knickerbocker Bar and Grill

There are many options for a midday lunch in New York City. You could run into a cafe to grab a bagel and some chips, or you could go to a sit down restaurant and be gluttonous. Since it was raining, my friend Will and I, inadequately dressed in shorts and T-shirts, had to run to my dad's office, our stomachs incessantly reminding us of our hunger. After what was supposed to be ten minutes of work, but ended up being an hour, we departed swiftly into the swirling mist and rain that some call University Place. Forty-nine seconds later, partly drenched, we stumbled into Knickerbocker, one of my dad's favorite restaurants. My dad had already promised me a hamburger, so I didn't even have to glance at the menu, but I did, noticing there was a variety of choices: seafood, steak, pasta, burgers, you name it. Then, after ordering with our Kristen Wiig look-a-like waitress, we noticed something life changing was taking place at the very same time. The people next to us had ordered a mouth-watering chocolate souffle, and we ordered one on the spot, even though it was three o'clock, and I rarely even get dessert. Our bacon cheeseburgers arrived, beautiful, and fresh. We devoured them and the fries, but knowing that, even though the burgers were amazing, they would not be the high point of the meal. Out of the abyss the waitress arrived, every step resonating in my head, just waiting for the delicious chocolate, whipped cream and more chocolate to reach my salivating stomach. The chocolate sauce was gently poured over the souffle. The whipped cream softly spooned over it. Then all madness erupted. In less time than it had taken us to run to the restaurant from my dad's office, the souffle was gone, and still-hungry spoons were leading the rescue parties for last bits of cream and chocolate sauce. While we may have been pigs, and we may have gotten fat, this was still one of the top 10 meals of my life. Knickerbocker definitely earns a 9.2/10.