The FOUND 9

Subscriber favorite restaurants, Mission Chinese Food, Café Carmellini, Essential by Christophe, Jônt x Saga, May pop-ups, Greenwich dining, job satisfaction, sabbaticals, MORE

May 07, 2024

∙ Paid

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Prodigal Son Summer

If a pop-up counts as a return, maybe the third time's the charm for Mission Chinese Food.

Backstory: A decade ago, Danny Bowien's San Francisco import took Orchard Street by storm, with four-hour waitlists, kegs of beer for the waiting throngs, critical acclaim, and regular visits from the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Ferran Adria. Cut to: Shuttered for building code violations, a failed burrito side-project, a revival in a bigger space on East Broadway, an expansion to Bushwick, some intra-restaurant scandal, the closure of both spots, and suddenly, no more MCF in NYC. As far as these things go, one hell of a fall from grace.

So what a weird sensation it is to see Mission Chinese reanimate yet again, this time as it was first born in SF’s Mission District, as a pop-up within someone else's Chinese restaurant. In 2024, that restaurant is Cha Kee, and that someone is Akiko Thurnauer, herself an alum of Mission Chinese Food 2.0.

The old-school MCF menu board is back on the wall, along with its classic hits — that kung pao pastrami, those thrice-cooked bacon and rice cakes, the mouth-numbing Chongqing chicken wings. But last Wednesday, a friend and I opted for some "lighter" fare: a cabbage salad of massive leaves, delightfully crunchy, shiny with a sesame slick; lamb dumplings dense in structure, in a murky, “tingly” broth dense with flavor; and beef chow fun nearly indistinguishable from the kind you'll find anywhere else in Chinatown, and thusly excellent.

But as was the case at the old MCFs, the menu’s biggest rewards are often hidden among its less sexy, more discreet offerings. To wit: The pumpkin broth that first appeared on Mission's maiden menu in New York as a winter melon soup now plays host to a fistful of pea greens, surrounded by ribbons of yuba bobbing around it.

Mission Chinese is, as ever, a crowded, loud restaurant, blasting fun, dumb music, and most dishes screaming with flavors. Dishes like Bowien’s pea greens in pumpkin broth make all that go quiet, a perfect and profound reminder of his deep aptitude as a cook. A reminder of his wackier impulses can be found in some noodles with Sprite in them that we didn't order, and a dessert of lemon custard, black tea granita, and Pop Rocks that we did — giggly, lowbrow-brilliant fun.

The one element entirely different from any other version of the place, though? We waited only 15 minutes for our table at 7:45p. This won't be the case for long — in what's invariably going to be one of the summer's hotter tables, the more things change, the more they'll stay the same. Get there before they do. –Foster Kamer

→ Mission Chinese Food @ Cha Kee (Chinatown) • 45 Mott St • Wed-Sat 5-10p • Walk-ins only.

RESTAURANTS • Fine Dining Report

Our fine dining correspondent Lee Pitofsky dines at Per Se about as often as most civilians order delivery. Here, now, his New York City report for FOUND:

RAMPING UP: The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s Café Carmellini (Nomad) has yet to cool down since its autumn opening. Now, a recently introduced Chef’s Table adds another way to experience the restaurant, up close and personal: High-top tables, located within the kitchen, offering a front row seat to Andrew Carmellini’s cooking. For now, one can still order à la carte — same menu as the dining room, one of the best in the city right now — though word has it that an exclusive pasta tasting menu will roll out soon. A recent dinner featured white asparagus “Maltaise” with blood orange hollandaise, and veal medallions and spring peas all’Ortolana with prosciutto, spring onions, ramps, confit potato, and veal and black pepper jus, all phenomenal. Reserve; for Chef’s Table bookings, contact the restaurant directly.

INCREASINGLY ESSENTIAL: Inside an Upper West Side townhouse, chef Christophe Bellanca’s namesake restaurant Essential by Christophe has come a long way in the last year and a half. The restaurant is executing a top-notch tasting menu at extremely reasonable prices ($150 for three courses, $190 for four, or $240 for seven). The food is just as good (and not very different!) from the fare at now closed L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, where Bellanca used to work. A recent standout: Mediterranean turbot finished tableside with Louisiana crawfish, morels, fava beans, and a fennel-shoyu emulsion. Reserve.

QUITE THE JAUNT: Jônt x Saga: An incredible collaboration between chefs James Kent of Saga and Ryan Ratino of Jônt in Washington, D.C. This one-night-only pas de deux saw the two chefs collaborate on dinner at Saga, 63 stories high at 70 Pine Street. Highlights included white asparagus “chawanmushi” topped with a healthy serving of Hokkaido uni, king crab, and warm crab consommé. The main course, Elysian Fields Farm lamb in all its forms — loin, belly, ribs, sweetbreads, and sausage — was served with snow peas, dates, green almonds, wasabi mustard, kombu, and lamb jus. Now, keep an eye out for when Saga heads south to Jônt, as worth the trip to D.C. as anything. –Lee Pitofsky

RESTAURANTS • Intel

MAY FLOWERS: Bookable special events and pop-ups that have hit FOUND’s radar for May:

Tonight, Mexico’s Selva Oaxaca, recently ranked in the top 50 best bars in North America, pops up at Jac’s on Bond (Noho) for an event highlighting four Selva cocktails. Reserve. On Thursday, Selva heads to Bar Calico (Gramercy) for another go. Reserve.
Wine bar Tolo (Dimes Square) is staging a dinner series called “Tolo & Chinatown Friends” tomorrow night and May 22, offering a special five-course prix fixe menu in collaboration with Fong Ong, Aqua Best, and Kong Kee food market. Tickets are $75 per. Reserve 5/8. Reserve 5/22.
Starting Sunday, Nom Wah Tea Parlor impresario Wilson Tang is popping up a Hong Kong diner called Cha Cha Tangs inside John McDonald’s Hancock Street (Greenwich Village). It runs Sundays and Mondays into early June. Reserve.
Tribeca standout One White Street is popping up at Eli’s Table (Upper East Side) for a four-course tomato dinner on May 15 highlighting produce from Eli’s NYC greenhouse and One White Street chef Austin Johnson’s upstate Rigor Hill Farm. Tickets $160 per, wine pairing $85 per. Reserve.

NYC RESTAURANT LINKS: Indefatigable Jean-Georges Vongrichen planning members-only club in former Spice Market space in MePa • On love and loss at Prune • Claim: NYC’s three best steaks are being served at Porterhouse, Delmonico’s, and Carne Mare • Claim: Carroll Gardens is Brooklyn’s hottest restaurant neighborhood • How Spanish cocktail culture crept into American bars, like El Quijote at Hotel Chelsea • New York City’s urban winemaking renaissance has arrived.

WORK • Tuesday Routine

Mexico in Connecticut

MIGUEL LEAL • CEO and co-founder • SOMOS
Neighborhood you work in: Stamford, CT

It’s Tuesday morning, where are you working?
On Tuesdays, I’m at the SOMOS office in Stamford, CT. We have a hybrid work model, but a few days a week, all of our tri-state area team gathers at our office so we can collaborate in person, which I find essential to building a strong company culture. Before I head there — just a short drive from my home in Old Greenwich — I work out at Crossfit Affinity.

What’s the Tuesday morning scene at your workplace?
Our office is bustling on Tuesday mornings, since all our team members are working together in person. Each day is different but one thing’s for certain: We will be eating Mexican food. We’re often taste-testing new SOMOS recipes, which is one of the biggest perks of working at a food brand.

What’s on the agenda for today?
For the past several months, our team has been hard at work preparing for and attending Expo West in Anaheim, the Super Bowl of food trade shows. For us, Expo is one of the most important weeks of our year. It’s an opportunity to get SOMOS in front of retail buyers and showcase our Mexican food products. Today is our first back-in-the-office meeting after attending Expo last week, so we’re focused on following up on our existing and new retailer connections, and promoting our new product line, Simmer Sauces, which allow for quick at-home Mexican preparations using what’s already in the fridge.

What’s for lunch?
I grew up in Mexico, which means I’ve always eaten rice and beans with almost every meal — including lunch. I really try to make my own lunch instead of eating out. Something quick and filling is the key for me, and rice and beans are the base I turn to time and time again. A base of brown or white rice topped with black and/or pinto beans, a few slices of avocado, and any leftover protein I have in the fridge (like chicken or steak), plus a drizzle of salsa macha (aka Mexican chili crisp) gives me the energy I need to power through the afternoon. Sometimes I’ll pair it with the crunchiest bag of tortilla chips I can find for even more texture.

Any plans tonight?
Tonight, I’m meeting a friend from business school, and we’re going to Siren, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant with amazing, non-alcoholic options, in downtown Old Greenwich. I’m looking forward to enjoying the gambas al ajillo, patatas bravas, and a non-alc michelada.

If I arrive a bit early, I’ll go across the street and do a bit of work at Joe’s Cafe, our local independent coffee bar. They have really comfy sofas and great natural light. After dinner we might head out to Old Greenwich Social Club for drinks and to watch some NBA playoff action.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I just bought myself a new Wilson Ultra V4 tennis racquet and I’m loving it. I picked up tennis about eight years ago and this is the first time I’ve bought a brand new racquet. I play tennis a couple of times per week and I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people through the sport.

What store or service do you always recommend?
I’ve been loving ButcherBox, a subscription service that helps me keep my freezer stocked with high-quality proteins, from chicken to meat to fish.

WORK LINKS: How Hudson Yards went from bust to boom • 'There is just no market at all': Why New York property owners aren't selling • Europeans have more time, and Americans more money • As market for private company stock soars, controversy follows • More ketamine: Is it the next fix for workplace depression?

WORK • Surveys

Take this job and love it

It’s hard to know how employees actually feel about their jobs. Last year everyone was quitting, quietly and otherwise — or maybe they were just posturing for the trend pieces. Today, the Conference Board, which has been tracking worker sentiment since 1987, brings the survey data suggesting employees are happier at work than ever.

Sixty-three percent of respondents said they’re satisfied with their jobs, a tick up from last year and a full 20 points higher than 2010. The best satisfaction indicator? Culture. More than 75% of people who expect to remain with their current jobs said they were happy with their workplace culture, compared to 22% of people who expected to leave. Last year, wages were the primary driver. Guess those new couches are working.

Oddly, despite the rise in overall satisfaction, employees reported less satisfaction in each of 26 drill-downs in the survey — wages, workload, people, etc. (Another troubling indicator: Women are five percentage points less happy than men.) The Conference Board says maybe employees have simply bought into their companies’ missions and values, allowing them to overlook the particulars of their dissatisfaction. If so, congrats to all the people & culture and internal comms teams out there!

Here’s another possibility: Employees are not actually going to work! Almost 7% are on sabbatical, including 8% of Gen Z, per payroll platform Gusto. Nice work if you can get it. –Josh Albertson

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RESTAURANTS • The Nines

FOUND 9: NYC Restaurants

We’ve been asking new subscribers to tell us their favorite restaurant right now since we launched in April 2023. One year in, we’ve come to these broad conclusions: 1) FOUND subscribers have good taste and 2) NYC has a lot of favorite-worthy restaurants (80% of named spots have been named only once). But the repeats are also piling up. Here, the most-named spots one year in:

9(T) Crown Shy (Wall Street)*, chef James Kent’s gift to Wall Street