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1090 I Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20001. Phone: 202.602.1832

Worth visiting in a 20 mile radius.

Fusion cuisine is one of the hardest arts for a chef to master. To truly be an amazing fusion chef, one has to know how to prepare two different cuisines well. Those two cuisines have to be able to mix well together. The chef must know what parts of the two cuisines would make a good meal, and what would not. The chef has to be creative with his or her dishes, since the art of fusion cooking is invention. It’s easy for a fusion chef to fail in this art, given the difficulty. But food created by a fusion chef who has all of these qualities can be something special, as it is at Momofuku CCDC.

Momofuku CCDC, which serves Korean/American fusion, is headed by none other than celebrity chef David Chang, owner of the Momofuku restaurant empire. CCDC is his first venture into Washington D.C., set in an airy, modern space that is part of a complex known as the CityCenter (hence the name CCDC). Its menu changes and offers an array of dishes from filet mignon to pork ramen.

We were served a plate of banchan (side dishes usually complimentary in Korean food) by Mr. Chang himself, which I am sorry to say might not be the experience for all diners, as he owns more than 15 restaurants and can only be at one of them at any time. The banchan was quite varied and contained a good number of different kimchi and veggies, all tasty and most of them unusual. Particularly interesting were the fiddleheads, a swirly looking mountain root that is a common banchan in Korea. Mr. Chang informed us it was the only banchan he hated as a kid because his mom wold make him eat it every day.

To my slight disappointment, my dad ordered the brisket bun. Asian buns are something I’ve never liked and I thought I never would. When I took my first bite, I was expecting a soggy, heavy texture that accompanies many Asian buns. I was not prepared for what I tasted; a hot, freshly made bun packed with good meat, onion, and slathered in strong horseradish sauce. Momofuku CCDC changed my mind about how buns are prepared and how good they can be. The brisket bun exceeded my expectations the most out of any plate.

For a salad we ordered the “Young Greens,” an intriguing mix of greens, Asian pear, jalapeño, and kimchi vinaigrette. The greens were strong with a bitter edge, and while they mixed well with the kimchi vinaigrette and jalapeños, this strong and spicy salad is an acquired taste.

On to the entrees! We’ll start with the pork ramen. The filling noodles and pork with fresh veggies in good broth were tasty, but I would not get this dish if I came again because it was by far the least interesting dish we ordered, both in taste and creativity. If you want to play it safe, though, this is a good option.

Speaking of interesting entrees, I highly recommend the Sichuan skate wing (a skate is similar to a ray). My Korean mom says that she’d only ever eaten skate wings raw and dipped in spicy sauce, but Chef Chang has put an American twist on this dish by frying it. Frying a fish can sometimes mask its flavor and make it only taste like batter, but not in this dish. The tangy flavor of the skate wing is still prominent under the delicious dough. This is a must try.

The filet mignon was served with beef jus and mushrooms. The meat was very well marbled and tender, and it tasted even better soaked in rich beef jus. However, considering the price of the steak ($29), I thought the portion was a little skimpy.

The dessert menu comes from Milk Bar, the dessert bar that Chang runs, which has a shop right next to the restaurant. I ordered “crack pie” a la mode. Dessert as a whole was underwhelming. The ice cream wasn’t sweet at all, with no distinct flavor, and it was so heavy with cream I couldn’t eat it. By contrast, the crack pie was overwhelmingly sweet, although, like the ice cream, it didn’t have much flavor. Both were served with a side of cornflakes, which I found to be odd and out of place, and did not go with either of the desserts well.

Service was excellent. The waitstaff attended to our every need in a friendly and professional manner. Entrees range from $15-29. You can also order “large format dinners” if you are coming with a large party. Examples of these include fried chicken and rotisserie duck, and prices range from $115-135. Momofuku CCDC serves excellent food, and is creative with its dishes, but you’d best go somewhere else for dessert.

 

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3226 11th Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20010. Phone: none

Worth visiting in a 10 mile radius.

Forget Din Tai Fung and Baekjeong. Bad Saint is the new king of incredibly long restaurant waits. It’s located in the ethnically diverse Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C., which is mostly made up of brightly colored row houses, and has a thriving restaurant scene. On a Monday afternoon, my family wandered past Bad Saint around four o’clock on our way to get groceries. We were planning to go to Bad Saint for dinner, and had read about the epic wait times, but were not prepared for what lay in front of us: a line of at least 25 people! The Filipino kitchen (which is named after St. Malo, the first settlement of Filipinos in the United States) does not open until 5:30. We hurriedly got in line to save our spot, because the tiny interior only seats 24 people, and they don’t take reservations. After the first wave of patrons is seated, co-owner Genevieve Villamora takes phone numbers and texts people when their tables are ready. We didn’t get texted until about 9:15, 45 minutes before the restaurant stops seating new customers. The moral of the story? Be patient if you want to get a seat at Bad Saint. There’s also another moral, one that only people who end up getting a table will realize: good things come to those who wait.

Bad Saint’s 24 seats are crowded into a small space, most of which is taken up by the open kitchen. Loud music blasts overhead, which contrasts with the more traditional décor. Patrons boisterously chatted while we were given our menus, which consisted of a few each: vegetarian dishes, seafood dishes, and meat dishes. The plates were rather small, so the waitresses suggested 3-5 plates for a party of two.

We were served a complimentary appetizer which consisted of mangoes to be dipped in a spicy and savory sauce. I liked the mangoes and the sauce by themselves, but together it seemed like the flavors of sweet, spicy, and savory were locked in combat.

The first entrée we got was sisig. It is a fried mixture of pork jowl, onion, and chili peppers served with a side of chili vinegar. Most bites of this dish weren’t spicy unless I added the chili vinegar. Occasionally, though, I would hit a chunk of hot chili pepper and flames would engulf my mouth. I also wound up with a bad case of onion breath the next day. Nevertheless, the combination of pork and onions made for a simple, tasty plate.

The vigan (not “vegan”) empanada is an empanada stuffed with beef and bean sprouts, lined on the inside with egg and also served with a side of chili vinegar. I love empanadas and I was very excited to try this. The beef and bean sprouts were both fresh. However, the egg lining the inside ruined the empanada. It was gooey and flavorless, yet somehow it still overwhelmed the other, better ingredients. This dish was a disappointment.

The chilled octopus salad is reminiscent of octopus ceviche. It consists of octopus tossed with onions, fingerling potatoes, greens, and a lot of lime juice. People who say they don’t like octopus have may never have had octopus at Bad Saint. You will find no rubberiness in Bad Saint’s octopus. Instead, you will find tender meat that infuses lime juice into your mouth with every bite. The octopus also couples well with the vegetables, especially the fingerling potatoes, because they tone down the strong taste of the octopus a little bit. I thought I didn’t like octopus, but I loved the chilled octopus salad.

For dessert we were served something that looked like a damp, gray veggie sausage. I wasn’t very excited about eating it until the waitress told us that the “veggie sausage” was actually a steamed plantain covered with sweet sauce. One bite, and I was sold. Steaming the plantain might have made it lose its color, but certainly not its flavor. The sauce makes it a little sweeter, but not overly sweet like typical American desserts. Best of all, this dessert is complimentary!   

Bad Saint’s prices are reasonable considering the quality of food you’re getting. Plates range from $13-$37. Keep in mind that the menu changes frequently. Service was friendly and the waitstaff was good at explaining every plate. Almost everything was amazing. Bad Saint is well worth the extremely long wait.