Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: June 17
With Eater editors dining out sometimes several times a day, we come across lots of standout dishes, and we don’t want to keep any secrets. Check back weekly for the best things we ate this week.
Fried chicken bucket at Jongro Gopchang
Can’t get into Coqodaq? Here’s a dupe that lives up. Last month, the Korean barbecue restaurant Jongro Gopchang added fried chicken to its menu. The bucket comes with 12 pieces of fried chicken, plus pickles, coleslaw, pickled radish, and a salad on the side for $28 — $10 cheaper than at Coqodaq (and really, a whole lot more since Coqodaq charges per person). The chicken has a similar outer texture, though it’s a bit greasier, and it comes with a near-identical caddy of bottled sauces on the side. There’s no list of 400 champagnes, but it turns out that green bottle soju goes great with fried chicken, too. 22 W. 32nd Street, Fifth Floor, near Fifth Avenue, Koreatown.
Amma fish curry at Kanyakumari
Attributed to a guru from Kerala, and associated with the coastal town of Kozhikode, the Amma fish curry at newcomer Kanyakumari is a lovely flattened fish presented whole in rice water with curls of fresh ginger and curry leaves on top ($42). The flesh is crisp and flaky and tastes like the ocean, and the rice water is red with chiles. On the side is a yogurt-laced beet sauce, and its pink color, when dabbed on bites of fish, makes eating it a savory and slightly sour delight. The chef is Dipesh Shinde. 20 E 17th St, near Fifth Avenue, Union Square — Robert Sietsema, senior critic.
Carne asada burrito at Son Del North
In recent years, New York City’s burrito offerings have become more dynamic than ever — much of the innovation often in the breakfast burrito sector (and I’m not complaining). A new spot, Son Del North, is a welcomed addition to the lineup, focused on Northern Mexican style burritos with Sonoran flour tortillas — with no rice — as you might find at spots like Sonoratown, in Los Angeles. While not yet perfect (I wished for more bean, less cheese, in the bean and cheese), the one with carne asada was a very encouraging sign that Son Del North is on its path to the big-time burrito leagues ($15). 177 Orchard Street, near Stanton Street, Lower East Side — Emma Orlow, reporter.
Kampachi crudo at Corima
I finally made it to Fidel Caballero’s Corima: From our seats at the bar, the Friday night rainstorms served as a dramatic backdrop, and we joined our fellow diners to congratulate those who braved the downpour to try the restaurant’s excellent tortillas. My favorite dish of the night was the super fresh, slightly tart and spicy kampachi crudo ($24) — with chicharron furikake, celtuce, and husk cherry salsa — plated like a slice of layer cake. The service and the bar offerings were also excellent, starting with the assertive bubbles of Agua de Piedra. 3 Allen Street, near Canal Street, Lower East Side — Melissa McCart, editor.
Mazemen at Konban
Konban, a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant in Chelsea, is known for its multiple styles of pork katsu and has done the social media rounds for its corn ribs and trompe l’oeil corn ice cream. We had brunch there this weekend, and were so impressed by the crisp, delicate coating on the katsu (we got the fattier pork loin style). But the dish I keep coming back to is the mazemen ($16), made with a spicy pork and almond butter sauce, fresh noodles, and topped with a pat of butter for a silky finish. Bonus: It’s incredibly kid-friendly here, with high chairs and children’s utensils provided. 311 W. 17th St., near Eighth Avenue, Chelsea — Stephanie Wu, editor-in-chief.
