momofuku!

For quite some time now, there's been a buzz about David Chang, a former line cook at Craft (another brilliant dining institution that I haven't had a chance to actually try yet), bringing a popular and wildly successful noodle bar to the East Village.

For long enough, we've postponed trying out Chang's creations for ourselves, but after tonight we can tell you the facts: My friends, Momofuku lives up to everything you've heard and more.

The interior and the decor: simple. minimal. truly reminiscent of the noodle bars crowded with Tokyo salarymen.
The service: stellar.
The food: Divine. Awesome.
I was going to say 'divine', but then, I want to do this place justice: This isn't the $400 foie-gras and truffle meal at Per Se with a bottle of Krug. This is eating-on-a-counter noodles-your-mom-could-never-make with side dishes reminiscent of traditional Chinese staples, but with a wild twist downed with a bottle of Hitachino (or, if you must, Stella).

This, my friends, is just plain old good ramen. The way it was meant to be.... And then. It's also not.
It's everything great about eating a good old bowl of ramen loaded in with Berkshire pork.
And with side dishes like spicy (I mean spicy!) tripe and roasted rice cakes.
It's everything you think the old staples are - and what they're not.
And it's executed so flawlessly, that horrible, ugly word fusion never once entered my mind.

What did come out of my mouth though (between the inhaling of the noodles, pork, and side dishes) was the repeated phrase to my wife, "My God. This is damn good." (or something to that effect).
And what did go through my mind was: Man. This David Chang guy really just gets it.

恭喜發財

A somewhat traditional plate of oranges and a red envelope for the new year

... And preparations for our own red envelopes that we handed out for the first time this year. (Note the messy desk)

In Memoriam

Early February 12, 2007 we lost a relative to liver cancer.


In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the following:

American Liver Foundation
http://www.active.com/donate/alfliverwalk07/alfJSy

or

Continuum Hospice (Beth Israel Jacob Perlow Hospice)
1775 Broadway
Suite 300
New York, NY 10019

Nakanunara, nakumadematou, hototogisu

From this page on wiki describing the Sengoku period in Japan


Famous Sengoku Daimyo

• Oda Nobunaga
  
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi
  
• Tokugawa Ieyasu
  

The contrasting personalities of the three leaders who contributed the most to Japan's final unification—Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu—are encapsulated in a series of three well known senryu:

• Nakanunara, koroshiteshimae, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it.)
  
• Nakanunara, nakashitemiseyou, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it.)
  
• Nakanunara, nakumadematou, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it.)
  

Nobunaga, known for his ruthlessness, is the subject of the first; Hideyoshi, known for his resourcefulness, is the subject of the second; and Ieyasu, known for his perseverance, is the subject of the third verse.


Inspired by Ieyasu's wisdom, I will wait.

Much like Ieyasu, I find myself surrounded with difficult challenges between me and my goals.
And much like him, I find myself coming up with plans on how to set the wheels in motion to hopefully make my plans a reality.

But this feels like the time to wait. And to slowly set the stage....

Disappointed.

I'm sure you've all read and heard stories in the press about bonuses at Wall Street firms averaging half a million dollars per employee. And the billions of dollars that those firms are spending to pay their employees. And the sensationalized way that the media is asking, "How will these people possibly spend all of that?"

Trust me.

It really isn't anything like that at all.