Jaunted

Best Korean Place in NYC

Well, just had dinner there at Persimmon. I also had 'fluke sashimi', 'tartare', and 'short rib stew'. My friend had 'acorn cake salad', 'softshell crab' and 'kimchi stew with pork'. We both thought that everything was great. Maybe "EASTVIALLGECHEF" had 'very off day' or maybe not cooked by chef(maybr done by line cooks). We seat close to kitchen so that we could see our food being cooked and stuff. Everything was done by chef, only the softshell and acorn salad were done by his line cooks. We both thought that the 'fluke sashimi' was EXCELLENT! It was very different way to eat raw fish. NO WASABI AND SOY SAUCE. Seasoned well with Korean hot pepper sauce and the griled frozen tofu and ginger sugar were very impressive. 'Acorn cake salad', a bit required taste. Well seasoned, Chef told us that it is very seasonal, has a bitter taste that bring back the appetite for summer time. I thought it was very interesting that people actually eat acorn. "Tartare' was mind blowing!!! It was THE BEST tartare I ever had. Very VERY different from any other tartares that I had. Maybe I am hooked on this tartare. It took a bit longer because everything was julienned when the order comes in. Very well seasoned and I really liked having yuzu rind with all that raw meat. He also told me that he uses the flank for his tartare, because of more flavor, but more work. It just melts in your mouth. Ummmm...... 'Softshell Crab' was really nice. It was alive when he brought it up, he(one of the line cook) cleaned and saute it. It was served with sauted kimchi. Chef told us that he does not season softshell crab, because it has already natural seasoning by ocean. Oh, FYI for EASTVIALLGECHEF, no citrus or vinegar in softshell crab dish. It's just natural taste of its inner stuff. It is very seasonal, so maybe till mid of June. 'Short rib stew' was OUTSTANDING!!! Meats were already off from the bone. So soft that almost melt in my mouth. Very well seasoned. Veges were turned and again many stuffs were cut and prepared when the order came in. i thought that was very impressive. Not like other places where they pre-cook everything. I am pretty sure that the short rib stew that EASTVILLAGECEHF had was done by a line cook not by head chef. 'Kimchi stew with pork', THE BEST KIMCHI STEW I ever had. I am a big kimchi eater, although I am not Korean. But this kimchi stew taste so much different from other ones that I had. Full of flavor! Maybe they make their kimchi in house. Chef told us that they make different batch of kimchi for stew only, it takes different fermentaion. Anyway, this stew was very addictive. We licked the bowl clean. Side dished were very cool. Kimchi was EXCELLENT! I don't think i had better ones in Korea. Maybe 15 years of kimchi making, kind of made him 'kimchi master'. it was not too spicy or salty. Very clean taste. You can really see the care of his food just by looking and tasting his kimchi. It desserves to be called "kimchi house". Chef gave us 'bul go gi' for complimetary dish from kitchen. Again it was very different from other places. I can't really tell what was different, but one thing for sure, it was great! The 'browned rice tea' as follower(?) was very good. I had this before, but not many Korean places serve this, although this is a traditional way to finish their meal. Again i could see the care he put on his menu. Dessert was very good. By the time we were about to have dessert, we were so full. So just simple dried persimmon and jujube with 'sik hae'(traditional rice drink) was very nice finish. But the real surprise came when the bill came. For two $80.20. Wow! I am definately coming back!!! One of the BEST meal I ever had! Sorry people. I know this is really long comment. Well, lastly... most of all, I liked their food. Because it's not salty. These days everywhere you go, you get over salted(seasoned) food. Maybe people who cook have very salty tongue. Plus, head chef at Persimmon is allergic to MSG, so he does not use any. He said, "I don't want to serve anything that I don't want to eat..." I just want to thank Persimmon for their care in their food and service. I can't wait until the new menu comes up. He told us that next theme is chicken. THIS IS THE SPOT TO GO PEOPLE. GO THERE AND GET TO KNOW CHEF, HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU WELL!!!