Atoboy

Josh made his way there about a week after Atoboy opened and raved.  He went back a few times before heading off to school.  I made a reservation for when we returned.  Had to check it out ourselves.

A husband and wife team putting out creative Korean food.  The restaurant is long with grey washed walls and wooden seating on both sides creating a very urban edgy vibe.  They have definitely thought of each detail down to the ecru aprons worn by the waitstaff.  The staff couldn’t be nicer.

The menu constantly changes and they recommend 3 dishes per person.  There were four of us so we essentially tasted almost everything on the menu that evening.  Some were excellent and others were just ok. Every dish is roughly the same size.  We opted for a dry Gruner this evening.  They do have sakes and other cocktails too.

Our first few dishes started with eggplant roasted into a pulp and then mashed with pieces of snow crab, tomato and lemon.

Pieces of crispy tofu with soybean, king oyster mushrooms and a mustard sauce.

Littleneck clams mixed with avocado, rice crackers and a Korean red pepper flakes.

Thinly sliced pieces of beef tartare served with super thin fries.

Our next four started with asparagus with spicy code roe, shallots and egg yolk.  This might have been one of my least favorite dishes.

Sliced avocado with horseradish, trout roe and cotija cheese.  This was a really interesting combo.

They also serve white rice or white rice mixed with other grains.  I liked the mixed grain rice.

Caramelized corn with taleggio cheese, bacon and bean paste.  I could have had a bowl to myself.

Squid stuffed with chopped pork, shrimp and topped with a salsa verde.  This was really unique and good.

Our next four were Mackerel with green chilis, radishes and scallions.  This was very salty.

Deep fried pieces of chicken with a spicy peanut butter sauce.  Off the charts.

Pork jowl over barley, pieces of romaine and spicy Korean paste.  I really liked this too.  The meat was tasty and served like a chicken breast.

Brisket served with foie gras, ginger and garlic.  This was too heavy for me.  Josh loved this.

Had to try dessert.  Honey panna cotta was far and away the best dessert served with black rice vinegar and pomegranate.

The granita with burrata and walnuts did zero for me.

Black raspberry cake is really beautiful mixed with hazelnuts and pistachios but I didn’t love this either.

All and all really interesting. Dessert isn’t great.  You need to continue to go back and check out new dishes as they come out of the kitchen.  They are creative and over time my guess is the menu will evolve into some bigger plates, smaller plates and some really good things won’t leave the menu like the fried chicken.