May 5, 2008
Critic Dishes on the Momofuku Ko Reservation Mishap
To bring the Momofuku Ko Craigslist reservation controversy full circle, Insatiable Critic Gael Greene (pictured incognito) has finally published her side of the story.
For those just joining us, one Tom Dobrowski posted a Craigslist ad inviting a guest to buy him dinner in exchange for his impossible-to-get reservation at David Chang’s 14-seat Momofuku Ko. Greene took him up on the offer, but last week witnesses from Eater reported that their date was meal by confusion – with Ko’s staff claiming that Dobrowski had canceled his reservation.
Greene’s version of the contretemps goes like this:
When first one, and then a second hostess told me there was no 9:15 reservation for Dobrowski, I was startled and grew anxious. “How can that be?” I asked.Greene goes on to call Chef Chang “stupid and insulting,” his food “uneven” but “brilliant,” and his chefs toiling behind the counter “expressionless Stepford cooks.” But who canceled the reservation? And why? You’re surely on the edge of your seat, so stay tuned for the next 'Hitchcockian' twist in the Momofuku PsyKo saga!“Don’t worry. When he comes, he’ll have his confirmation and we’ll see,” hostess #2 assured me. Then suddenly, a handsome young man burst through the door, shook my hand and surrendered his email reservation to the scrutiny of the two gorgons... There was some muttering between the two women, but they didn’t summon the FBI, and one led us to our designated infamous backless unpadded wooden stools... Then suddenly, there is Chang himself, “inviting” the happy-go-lucky Dobrowski outside for a chat...
I try not to let the Hitchcockian plot spoil my pleasure in the pineapple sorbet on spicy pineapple... Tom asks for the check – his treat for the pleasure of my company, he says. But the hostess announces there is no check. “Your meal has been comped... I believe Chef Chang feels that if we have made a mistake, you should be our guest and if you have made an error, we don’t want your money.”
Photo courtesy Tejal Rao.
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And the story that no one cares about continues!
Another reason to avoid eating out in NYC.
I wish people cared about my minor inconveniences at restaurants.
#1 you obviously cared enough to comment...
Did anyone else notice the typo on the Momofuku website when you register?
no, but i now expect a Gothamist story about it in the next 24 hours.
i guess some craig's list reader cancelled his reservation.
Poor Gael Greene had to wait to sit down on her backless seat to eat her free meal, which she enjoyed. Boohoohoo.
#4 So if I'm talking your ear off at a party about my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection, and you finally yell "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't care that your copy of Michaelangelo's Nunchuck Adventure Set is in mint wrapped condition!!! Just shut up!". . . well...at least I'll know you were interested enough to be listening.
(Seriously, though, if I hear one more journalist wet their pants about a restaurant whose only apparent virtue -- apart from hit-or-miss food -- is that you can't actually eat there, I'm going to scream too.)
Who momofukin cares ?
momofukin' idiots, thats who.
#9- No one forced #1 to click on the link, so your analogy here doesn't quite work. He obviously read some/all of the story to know what's going on. If you don't want to read a particular story here, well then.. don't click on it. Why waste the time to bitch about something that he apparently doesn't care for?
anyone offended that momofuku Ko is supposed to be a japanese eatery but it's run by a chinese guy? talk about false advertising. I hate Jap food anyway.
"your copy of Michelangelo's Nunchuck Adventure Set is in mint wrapped condition!!!"
what is it's AFA grading?
#12 - nah, it works fine. There is no escaping coverage of this restaurant, and it's fair game to say that we've had enough and would like to talk about something more interesting. (Your "he obviously read some/all of the story" is just...incorrect. All #1 needed to read to make his comment was "Critic Dishes on the Momofuku Ko Reservation Mishap" . . . aka "A Momofuku Story, part 473.")
Move on, Gothamist, move on.
#15 it's fluff that, as far as I can tell, isn't covered by most other NYC-related sites. Does it really bother folks like you THAT much? Is it affecting your life THAT much?
Much like the furor over all the graf posts, what's the big deal? Don't like it, don't read it.
This is exactly like Page Six, except everyone is ugly and only 12 care.
I LOVE Gael Greene. Her reviews are slightly incoherent but always hilarious. It's almost like listening to your drunk grandma telling stories - a little hard to follow, but always inadvertently uproarious.
And the next random topic is....
Nothing to see here...
#17 - No one's making a to-do about this, we're just saying that we're tired of this story -- that we want to talk about something else. To say that it's not covered by any other sites is a bit odd -- it's showing up in every NYC-related magazine or blog I read. (Frank Bruni did, I think, 4 blog posts about it, for example.) That's why people are tired of hearing about it: it's a boring story that's showing up everywhere.
If you want to keep hearing about it, hey, that's fine -- there's always that one guy who can't get enough detail about the real working lights on my Raphael sai, even after everyone else is bored stiff. But what's your objection to others saying that they don't want to hear about it? Does people saying "this bores me" really prevent you from enjoying...for whatever reason...this story for the rest of its 15 minutes?
"you can't actually eat there"
I ate there. And it was awesome. For the quality of the food, also quite affordable. Gael Green is a dried up boring old cunt, and if not for this stunt, completely irrelevant. Props to DC for being so restrained in his insult.
Gael Greene gets her shitty meal comped and then, to prove she's still above it all, slags off the chef that seated her and fed her wrinkly ass. She belongs in Indianapolis reviewing mall food courts. And what about that douche that fumbled his reservation? Shouldn't he at least gotten a handjob? And wouldn't Gael Greene entertain her three readers better if she'd write about that?
Thespis, nobody is making you talk about this topic yet you continue to do so. You say you want to talk about something else, yet there have been a dozen or more posts today and you haven't commented on any of them. In fact, you haven't commented on any post in more than a month. What gives?
I ate their as well. Mid meal, Dee Snyder burst through front door singing 'We're Not Going to Take it',whipping the patrons with All GMO Soba and turning over tables. That's why you can't get a reservation, they actually have to re-build the restaurant each day. It's the most important thing since Damien Hirst.
@19: I also have the hots for Gael Greene. She's a newspaper writer who actually still has a personality and composed of blog snippets, too much therapy and Adderall.
add:
@19: I also have the hots for Gael Greene. She's a newspaper writer who actually still has a personality and is not composed of blog snippets, too much therapy and Adderall.
"...I ate their as well..."
Ate their what, Emily? (How the mighty are fallen)
Dr. Zippy -- Ooo, looking up my posting history. Points for creepiness, I guess...
I guess I don't understand why you'd be bothered by people saying they're tired of a story. If you don't share their view...ok. Maybe just tell everyone why you find this story continually fascinating -- rather than attacking someone for...not spending enough time posting on the internet... (Seriously?)
But since you'd rather talk about me...
I enjoy reading this blog, but rarely care enough to post. Today work was slow, and I'm tired of this story, so I thought, what the hell, let's waste a few minutes saying that. Just an opinion. No big deal in any respect.
Ah, but you're apparently so offended by my opinion that you've bothered to actually investigate my posting history. Hey - to each his own, but that's a little creepy, dude.
lol
Your posting history is one click away, it's not like I hired Jim Rockford to track you down. I looked at your history to see if there was any truth to your statement that "we want to talk about something else". Apparently you don't want to talk about anything else because you didn't see fit to do so.
Gothamist has thousands of readers each day. Not every post is going to appeal to every reader. If you aren't interested in a post what is the point of leaving comments in that post critical of the people who are interested? Why not find a story you are interested in and leave a comment there?
I'm not attacking you for not spending enough time posting on the internet, I'm criticizing you for shitting up a thread that you claim to have no interest in but that other readers do find interesting. Why are you trying to ruin their pleasure.
David Chang is Korean not Chinese.
#23: hilarious
Sorry, dude, but you're off your nut. Sure, my history is a click away, but only someone with waaaay too much interest would actually bother. You attacked me for giving an opinion -- that's pretty shitty, but whatever. But you also went to the trouble of analyzing my past posting -- and that's creepy.
But your last post does include one more attack I should respond to -- I've never, as you allege, criticized people for being interested in the story. I'm obviously also interested in one aspect of the story -- its bizarre, continuing life. I've talked about that aspect here for the same reason others have -- I think it's fun to talk about.
In the process, I've given my opinion about the interestingness of the underlying story - but that's no criticism of anyone who disagrees. That I have an opinion doesn't mean that you can't hold an opposite one -- I gave mine, you're free (and encouraged) to give yours.
But instead the only thing you've commented on thus far is...me. And, yeah, I'm critical of THAT -- I don't understand why you'd go the personal attack route rather than expressing whatever opinion you have. But, hey, whatever -- I guess this is a lot more important to you than it is to me, so all the personal bullshit and creepiness is worth it for you. I can't say it is to me -- I was just killing time waiting for documents -- but to each his own.