Compost.... mmmm appetizing

 

It's the only one for me

I am a fan of all things Momofuku, including every curse-laden comment from David Chang's mouth (and the Momofuku cookbook). It is beyond me that someone can constantly develop new and successful businesses, hear praise from critics and customers alike and then curse everyone out. But this is New York, and grumpiness should be expected in print as much as on public transportation. There was a precipitous climb - in price - from Noodle Bar, to Ssäm Bar to Ko, only to have it all come right back down with Milk Bar, a dessert-only offshoot conveniently connected to Ssäm Bar via a very narrow hallway. I remember going to dinner at Ssäm with my sisters and brother-in-law, then making our way to Milk Bar for the first time. This is notable because David Chang is way into pork and my brother-in-law is having none of it. Ever. Needless to say, dessert raised his opinion of the evening.

By opening up a dessert place, desserts virtually vanished from the Ssäm Bar menu, save for two unappealing choices, and moved next door / down the hall. However, Milk Bar is not all dessert; just 99% dessert.On the far-right side of the menu board posted behind the Milk Bar counter is one noteworthy non-dessert-ie (or is it non-dessert-ish) item - the pork buns. They are awesome. And this post is not actually about them, great as they are.

The names are interesting, and the flavor combinations intriguing. Frozen yogurts are homemade and come in some fairly nontraditional flavors, milk shakes are made with flavored milk. Cereal milk figures into both. Thanks to the cookbook, I know that the cereal milk is a mix of corn flakes, sugar and milk, which is eventually passed through a sieve to leave only the cereal-flavored milk. How apropos a name.

Perhaps the most interesting - and best - item is the compost cookie. Straight from the menu, it is a mix of pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips. "Potato chips and pretzels in a cookie?" you say. I do. Saltiness and sweetness rock. Try one. Try three actually. If you don't like the first one, I will gladly buy the other two. 

Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 Second Avenue (at 13th Street)

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