Adam Rubens

Review of Momofuku Ma Peche

I feel as if I can give a very good review of Ma P...

I feel as if I can give a very good review of Ma Peche, as when my party was there for dinner last week, we ordered every entree, all the vegetables, and some of the appetizers. Let's do grades.

scallop (barneget light, nj) - black olive, pine nut, endive - A
I liked the crunch of the pine nuts with the perfectly seared scallops

swordfish (block island, ri) - black bean, chinese celery, crispy shallot - B+
The black bean was a nice compliment to the swordfish, but I wish there was a bit more taste in the fish.

eden brook trout (monticello, ny) - sunchoke, cashew, fish sauce - A
Not enough nice restaurants do fresh water fish. The trout was a perfect representation, that was very pleasing.

duck (jurgielewicz farm, pa) - sausage, spaetzel, scallions - A+
While everything was good, starting here, it just got better. The duck was meaty, rich and delicious.

lamb shank (niman ranch) - eggplant, rice, raisins - A+
The Niman Ranch guys know what they're doing. The lamb was fall off the bone tender, juicy and almost caused a fight of who got to have the last bit of it.

pork chop for two (bev eggleston, va)- potato, cavalo nero, pancetta - A
Much of my party felt this was the best dish (where I was all about the lamb). That being said, the pork chop was amazing. I could have gone for the potatoes a bit crispier, but hey...

carrots - bone marrow, chili, lime - A
Some people were scared off by the marrow. These people are silly. Marrow makes everything better.

grilled cabbage - beef tongue, basil, fish sauce
See above comment, but about tongue.

brussels sprouts - chili vinaigrette, mint, scallion - A-
I really enjoyed these, but they didn't quite have the same umpfh as the other veggies. Brussels sprouts have somehow gotten a bad name amongst vegetables, and I don't understand why.

summer rolls - pork or shrimp, lettuce, daikon, peanut - B-
Probably the least adventurous item we had. It was fine, but unexciting.

beef tartare (niman ranch) - soy, scallion, mint - A
If tartare is made properly, I almost always like it. It held true here, and the mint was a nice touch

crispy pig's head (holthaus farm, ia) - lentils, pickled apple, mustard - A+
People got scared by the concept of eating pig's head. I like pig, but couldn't tell what part it was. All I knew was that it was delicious, and I got more than my fair share. Yeah!

coquiallge - king crab, calamansi, chili jam - A
Mmmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm