Critics’ choice: Fresh adventures in Korean fine dining
Ellia and JP Park keep expanding the possibilities of Korean dining, said Pete Wells in The New York Times. At Naro, their new place on Rockefeller Center’s concourse level, the kitchen “dives straight into traditional foods, reaching back to recipes that predate the 20th century, in ways that make them seem full of unexplored potential.” You’ll find naengchae, a chilled salad, in many Korean homes. Here, “it’s a magician’s trick,” with a blanket of vermicellithin kohlrabi covering octopus, king crab, radish granita, and hot mustard, all meant to be stirred together. The sanjeok, which elsewhere would be a routine chicken skewer, becomes a combination of chicken sausage and butternut squash that tastes like “the best chicken hot dog on a stick ever.” The Parks, who also run Atoboy and Atomix, are still sorting out how to price tasting menus for the midtown business and tourist crowd, but Naro’s chef, Nate Kuester, is turning out “uncannily assured” dishes for the tasting and à la carte menus alike. And the creations of pastry chef Celia Lee are so good, they “could probably stand alone if the Parks decided to turn Naro into a dessert bar.” 610 5th Ave.
Suragan San Francisco
Jongmoon Choi is also drawing inspiration from tradition, said Cesar Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle. The chef’s first menu at Suragan, which he opened in December, was based on a cookbook commissioned by 15th-century ruler Sejong the Great. A few months later, Choi introduced a second menu that draws from a cookbook written by a 17th-century noblewoman. Choi’s $135 eight-course tasting menu dives into history after some small bites that synthesize old and new. “Plump, meaty oysters arrived in an edible shell made of citrus-flavored cacao butter that melted in your mouth like chocolate.” Choi’s take on a California roll wraps crab and avocado in fried seaweed. With each menu, momentum builds until the main course delivers “the climactic, knockout blow.” You can still order the original: a “sublimely” tender short rib braised for 48 hours and served with lettuce wraps and a walnut-infused fermented soybean sauce. The equally glorious new main is pork belly that’s been given an 18-hour sous vide bath and is served with “exceptional” banchan, including hen of the woods mushrooms and apple kimchi. 250 Hyde St.
Doshi Winter Park, Fla.
Greater Orlando’s best modern Korean restaurant appears primed to pick up a Michelin star this summer, said Amy Drew Thompson in the Orlando Sentinel. Created by a team led by Gene Kim, whose Doshibox takeout concept helped get the city through Covid lockdown, Doshi offers both a tasting menu and à la carte options, and “there is nothing that comes out of this kitchen that isn’t wholly stunning.” Shrimp fire noodles “offer subtle heat and loads of umami in every chewy bite.” The seafood bibimbap is “at once familiar and exotic,” a photo-worthy collage of bright yellow goji berries, creamy white scallops, uni, shrimp and octopus tentacles. I haven’t dined at Michael English’s chef’s counter yet, but given how much I’ve enjoyed every Doshi meal, it’s now at the top of my to-do list. Top Chef winner Hung Huynh lends his expertise, said Faiyaz Kara in Orlando Weekly. And after a few personnel changes late last year, “it all seems to be clicking.” 1040 N. Orlando Ave.