some of my pet peeves

besides peope that wear sunglasses indoors (no, you don't look cool, you look like an asshole), ranking on top of my list of pet peeves is (1) ordering the wrong dish or (2) overpaying for so-so food.

both happened last night when i met up with celestial for dinner at momofuku ssam. being a fan of the original momofuku and having read many good reviews about momofuku ssam i was pretty excited to finally try it out. the buzz was that it was an affordable restaurant with great meat (i.e. swine) dishes and i was excited to try the momofuku ssam.

celestial was running a bit late, so i was escorted to the back of the restaurant and told to stand around a square, metal island until the whole party was there. . .why i couldn't sit at the bar which had plenty of seats i dunno. five times i was asked if i wanted to order a drink which just seemed awkward standing in the back of the restaurant, drinking by myself, standing next to a short metal island. nevertheless, i was tired of being asked so ordered a glass of the sparkling shiraz (which turned out to be quite delicious and refreshing).

i half browsed through the menu and watched the cook staff prepare food (i do like that feature of the restaurant). . i did a double take when i read through the menu. the average entree was $25, the most expensive was over $100 (tho you get a whole pork butt). . so much for cheap eats. according to celestial, the menu had changed significantly from the restaurant's early days- prices had gone up and a lot of the cheaper items had been replaced.

celestial and i shared the eggplant tatine (essentially roasted vegetable bruschetta) and the short ribs. the eggplant tatine was good but not great. the short ribs were pretty tasty- slightly tangy marinade and the meat fell off the bones, and there was definately enough to fill us both. don't get me wrong, i don't think momofuku ssam is a bad restaurant, in fact, i think they turn out solid, tasty food in a casual, trendy atmosphere. yet somehow, i left feeling a bit let down and unsatisfied.