Launchwire
Howoo, Jeong Yuk Jeom, NY Kimchi, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Le Veau d’Or, Libertine, launch lunches, Sourcery spices, best Madison Ave shopping, MORE
RESTAURANTS • Searching, Finding, FOUND
Grill marks
Korean dining options have come to dominate NYC hit lists for both tasting menus (Atomix, Bōm, Jua, Nōksu) and destination walk-in spots with two hour mid-week waits (Ariari, Nowon, Kisa). The city’s evolving Korean barbecue scene, however, has been a bit harder to track. Nearly indistinguishable establishments come and go with regularity. In the past few weeks, though, three high-profile (and distinct) KBBQ spots debuted in Manhattan. Here, our report from the scene:
→ NY KIMCHI: The hottest ticket of the trio opened 15 blocks north of Koreatown, across the street from the southern entrance to Rockefeller Center. NY Kimchi is the work of Sam Yoo, the chef behind Two Bridges spot Golden Diner and (also new) Korean pub grub spot Golden HOF, which occupies the street level spot here. NY Kimchi is downstairs in a room lined with natural elements on the walls lit by washi paper lampshades and deco-style pendants. Banquette-lined grill tables for four or six frame the moderately sized space, with a few grill-less dining tables in the middle of the room.
Don’t sweat scoring a grill. While NY Kimchi serves KBBQ, it’s at its best when showcasing Yoo’s take on a classic New York chophouse. Oysters Rockefeller with kimchi butter — part of a delightful seafood and raw bar menu — and a Caesar salad made with a ssamjang dressing were both fantastic. More traditional KBBQ, like an egg souffle (this one made with parmesan) and a crispy garlic chive pancake also cleared the bar, but the KBBQ itself wasn’t all that special, nor were the standard-issue, spare, accompanying banchan. Give them a minute, as they’re still finding their footing with well-intended but wildly inconsistent service (our meal for two took two and a half hours).
→ JEONG YUK JEOM: Smack in the middle of K-Town right off 32nd and Broadway, brothers Andrew and Jaeyong Son opened Jeong Yuk Jeom, an LA import focused on in-house dry-aged beef. The duo already counts among its credits the NYC service industry scene’s favorite KBBQ spot, Baekjong (since closed, slated to reopen this fall). Here, they’ve set up shop in a two-story, 175-seat space. To get to our table, we ascended a staircase with a digital display ceiling playing Armand Van Helden’s Boiler Room performance, the telegraphing of vibe pretty clear: You’re here to have fun.
And did we. In a premium set featuring dry-aged rib-eye, Jeong more than delivered on the promise of that dry-aged meat, velvety, slightly funky, and cooked to perfection. The banchan were plentiful, and service was excellent. The room is clubby-but-not-too and features storage for jackets under banquettes (so you don’t walk out smelling of meat, a neat touch). If it’s simply high-quality meat and a fun night you’re looking for, this is your spot.
→ HOWOO: The standout of these three, Howoo (above), is located slightly further south and east, on 31st and 5th, and the first of three restaurants planned for its tri-level space (a seafood spot and a restaurant specializing in housemade tofu will follow). Through a discreet wood door, dim lighting illuminates a check-in room before you’re escorted through another door into a 257-seat dining room. For such a massive dining room, each booth feels like a world unto itself — much of the space is lit by the thin light bars hung dramatically above the tables, and every seat in the house has a grill in front of it (especially cool are the bar seats, set up for parties of two, with grills built into the bar). Imagine Cote without the clubbiness.
But it’s the food that really makes this the hot ticket that it is. All offerings are prime grade beef, with an absolutely exceptional banchan program. Smartly coursed out with the order, the banchan open with an exceptional egg souffle and continue with extraordinary japchae (glass noodles) that we took the gratis re-up on several times. Next, the meat, served with market fresh vegetable ssam, anchovy ssamjang, 1,000-day-aged sea salt, and a narcotically delicious neon green ramp wasabi. Then, an exceptional kimchi stew and a delightful fermented soy short rib stew, served with individual bowls of house-milled rice. To finish: matcha soft-serve.
A substantial cocktail program and a phenomenal wine list full of big red bargains underscored what was already apparent: Beyond being New York’s best new KBBQ spot, Howoo is in the firmament of the city’s best steakhouses — and most fun restaurants for adults. –Foster Kamer
→ SEARCHING: NY Kimchi (Rockefeller Center) • 16 W 48th St, lower level • Mon-Sat 5-11p • Reserve.
→ FINDING: Jeong Yuk Jeom (Koreatown) • 44 W 32nd St • Sun-Thu 1130a-11p, Fri-Sat 11:30-12a • Reserve.
→ FOUND: Howoo (Koreatown) • 7 E 31st St • Sun-Thu 5-11p, Fri-Sat 5p-12a • Reserve.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
→ FOUND PARIS, NYC EDITION: A new uptown lunch option debuts this week at Le Veau d’Or (Upper East Side), which might make the hit French revival slightly more accessible. Tue-Fri. Reserve. Downtown, brunch is returning to another French favorite, Libertine (West Village), starting this Saturday, 1130a-230p. Reserve.
RESTAURANTS • The Ticket
Tuna Demo + Dinner • watch chefs break down whole bluefin tuna and prepare at ‘fire and ice stations’; includes wine & sake pairing • ILIS (Greenpoint) • Wed 03/26 @ 5p, $361 per
Fishwife x Margot Cookbook Launch • tinned fish, wine, free cookbook totes for first 75 attendees • Margot (Fort Greene) • Thu 03/27 @ 630p, $45 per
Artists & Wine Dining Series: Women in Wine • multi-course dinner with wine pairings and wine-related art on view • La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels (Soho) • Thu 03/27 @ 7p, $395 per
NYC RESTAURANT LINKS: East Village outpost of Win Son opening tomorrow • Also opening tomorrow: Confidant in Industry City, from Roberta’s vets • On the Lower East Side, Gem Wine is closing • Prolific Sal Lamboglia stepping in at Carroll Gardens’ shuttered Ferdinando’s Focacceria • PDT team planning new Village bar/taqueria, One Cornelia • Stop asking your bartender to surprise you.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Brain candy
This post appeared in last week’s edition of FOUND LA. Looking for a little more LA in your life? Subscribe to FOUND LA, with new issues dropping each Thursday.
PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER • actor • co-founder & CEO, MOSH
Neighborhood where you work: Brentwood
Neighborhood where you live: Santa Monica
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s always packed and usually has a fun, busy atmosphere. In addition to being the office for MOSH — The Brain Brand that I co-founded with my mom, Maria Shriver — the space is also the office for Shriver Media, The Sunday Paper, and a few people who work with the Women's Alzheimer's Movement at Cleveland Clinic (which receives a portion of proceeds from the sale of every MOSH bar). Lately we’ve been doing a ton of sampling and bar testing in anticipation of some new flavors we’re creating to launch later this year.
What’s on the agenda for today?
First, we’re going to make some new content for MOSH’s Instagram and TikTok. Then, we’re going to be drafting messaging about the brand for the employees at Erewhon and Ralphs to help educate them about our brain-boosting protein bars and our overall mission, which is all about supporting physical and cognitive nutrition. We’ll also be going over final designs for the new flavors we’ve been working on, and making some final decisions about what imagery we’ll be using for the packaging.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
It's my fiancée’s birthday, so we have a packed weekend of food. We're going to Jon & Vinny’s for Italian, then out for steaks the night after (we’re big steak people!). Then I’ll be traveling to New York, Spain, and Germany… so I know I'll be eating a lot of great food very soon.
How about a little leisure or culture?
We like to stay pretty active on the weekends and spend a lot of time outdoors. This weekend is supposed to be nice and sunny, so we’ll probably take our beach cruisers out to the Venice Beach boardwalk, and hopefully hop in the pool.
Any weekend getaways?
We're both working a lot right now, but we try to get to Santa Barbara — which has become a favorite local getaway for us — when we can. The beach is obviously great there, and there’s beautiful hikes and biking. There's a steakhouse there that we love, Lucky’s, and tons of great coffee shops.
What was your last great vacation?
I was in Thailand for seven months [filming season 3 of The White Lotus]. Although it was work, it was also vacation; we got to hop around from Ko Samui to Phuket to Bangkok. We explored the Phi Phi Islands and spent time on some beautiful beaches (including the beach from the movie The Beach).
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I don't buy much, but I did get a new car this past year, which was a big one for me. And I bought some new stocks. Honestly… I usually just spend money on stocks!
WORK LINKS: New Bank of America branch on Bowery is cross between WeWork and Delta Sky Club • Anchor tenants in place, skies clear for supertall at 350 Park • Wine Spectator renews lease at 825 Eighth Ave • Job switchers are hitting a salary wall • Half-past four is the new five o’clock.
WORK • Launches
Lunchwire
It’s launch week at FOUND, with our London and Paris editions set to debut on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. We’ll be celebrating the new frontiers from our home offices, having officially spoken our plans to build a GLOBAL MEDIA BRAND into an inbox near you.
Last decade, when we were launching a series of blogs in more than two dozen North American cities under the Curbed, Eater, and Racked banners, we would celebrate each launch with a special lunch at Curbed HQ in Cooper Square. I went back and checked the tape (i.e. emails to the team from Curbed ops czar Jackie Goldstein) on a handful of these lunches, which peaked during the release frenzy of 2011-2013. It’s a study in the power of pushing the ball forward and the ’10s downtown lunch scene (Torrisi/Parm turkey hero, legendary).
Date: Sept 7, 2011
Sites: Curbed Atlanta & Detroit; Eater New Orleans
Lunch: Torrisi
Date: Jan 25, 2012
Sites: Eater Philly & Vegas
Lunch: “Unfortunately due to the NYT review of Parm we do not think they'll be able to cater to our large order on short notice so we're going to try NO. 7 SUB.”
Date: Nov 15, 2012
Sites: Eater Louisville, San Diego & Minneapolis
Lunch: Rubirosa
Date: Dec 5, 2012
Sites: Racked Boston, Philly & SF
Lunch: Parm
Date: June 27, 2013
Sites: Eater Detroit & Nashville
Lunch: “Parm recently started delivering and is amazingly on Seamless now.”
Date: Sept 24, 2013
Site: Racked TK (Which Racked??)
Lunch: “Amazing newish salad spot Sweetgreen… They don't actually do catering but are doing us a favor, so we have to get them the order today.”
Date: Oct 2, 2013
Sites: Eater Toronto, Montreal, & Vancouver; Curbed Toronto & Vancouver
Lunch: Mile End
Jan 2, 2014 (!)
Sites: Racked Dallas & Miami
Lunch: Parm
Here’s to more lunches in 2025 for all who launch. –Josh Albertson
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Larder
It’s magic
It’s not unusual for grocery store spices to sit on my kitchen shelf for months (or years). And it never bothered me until this winter, when I tasted the ginger from Sourcery and immediately understood the vast difference in fresh ground spices. Sourcery is a new type of spice company that treats spices with the same care and respect consumers have come to expect from their coffee and tea purveyors. They work directly with small farmers to source only peak-harvest (and thus, more flavorful, full-bodied) spices.
I love its ginger, which is sandy, beach-like in color, and lusciously soft in texture. (A little bit in oatmeal or baking mix goes a long way.) I also appreciate that their jars have a wide opening, so my teaspoons and tablespoons can actually reach inside.
Sourcery sells ground and whole seed. The company also offers some lesser-available varieties like jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), mace (a spice that comes from the outer covering of nutmeg), and hing. Preorders for 2025 harvests are live (some are sold out), so go refresh your spice shelf for spring now. –Sylvie Florman
→ Shop: Sourcery • jars from $10 per.
GOODS & SERVICES LINKS: Sneak peek inside Printemps • In Soho, Ray-Ban plans global flagship • ‘Boutique Filene’s’ A.Little Pink opens in Tribeca • Watchmaker Audemars Piguet opening on Fifth Ave • Soho’s Dayla NYC is making custom suits for women • We tossed the Tesla.
ASK FOUND
Today, a desperate request from a FOUND NY subscriber:
What restaurant should we take our picky kids to that’s also somewhere I actually want to eat?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@foundny.com.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Shopping, Madison Avenue
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Jones Road Beauty (1071 Madison Ave), clean beauty brand founded by Bobbi Brown, Miracle Balm with cult following