This Little Piggy ate way too much at Momofuku Ssam Bar

A quick post before I call it a night.  My parents have been in town and we wanted to go out to dinner somewhere tasty before my dad leaves on Wednesday.  It was a toss-up: Noodle Bar v. Ssam Bar.  My family hasn't been feeling well, so I thought a big bowl of ramen would help remedy the common cold.  I also thought they would enjoy Ssam Bar, since you can't get that type of menu in many US cities.  I chose Ssam Bar, and figured we could always walk up the street to Noodle Bar if there was too long of a wait.  Fortunately, there was hardly a wait for a five-top at 8:45.  We waited in Milk Bar and were promptly seated when all of our party had arrived.

We sat down and began translating the menu for my mom, who is happy to eat anywhere, but would rather stick to items she knows.  Ultimately, we decided to order many different things and more or less share.  Here is the run down of what was had:

- All of the small plates (seasonal pickles, steamed buns – pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions, bread & butter – sea salt butter (vt), whipped lardo, and two bbq rib sandwiches (newman's farm, mo) – red onion slaw, we got two orders) 

- the honeycrisp apple kimchi - jowl bacon, maple labne, arugula

- the fried brussel sprouts - fish sauce vinaigrette, mint, delfino

- crispy pig’s head (newman’s farm, mo) – sauerkraut, pear mostarda

- spicy pork sausage & rice cakes – chinese broccoli, crispy shallots

Everything was delicious.  It ended up being the perfect amount of food, though I currently feel like I may explode.  Here are a few personal piggy notes:

- the bbq sandwich is by no means small.  With the rest of the food, one is more than enough for two people to share.  It was nice having two, though, so everyone could have a decent portion.

- the bread and butter is much more than what it sounds like. The sea salt butter and whipped lardo are the perfect companion to the warm and semi-crusty bread.  It is wonderful!

-  the brussel sprouts were my favorite!!  For that reason, I am including a recipe I found on epicurious.  It appears to be the same recipe that is in the Momofuku Cookbook and I can't wait to try making them at home (more to come on that).

On that note, good night!  Oink oink!