All Hyped-Out

I am over the hype. Done.

Jo, Kaitlin and I went to one of my favorites, the Momofuku Noodle Bar, tonight and it was a nightmare. We waited for over an hour for a table (on a Tuesday night!!), ordered immediately, waited another 15 minutes for our pork buns, then a whopping 45 minutes for our Ramen. Yes, 45 minutes for a fucking bowl of soup.

The service was shaky at best, the venue crowded and loud, but not with a positive energy. It was the frantic energy of annoyed, hungry people.

The pork buns were heaven, as always, but the ramen was mediocre. I guess I am just tired of the super-hyped restaurants with the painfully cool crowds waiting for hours to be honored with a slightly better than average plate of food.

This is not the first time I have been sorely disappointed by one of "the restaurants" in New York, and my disappointment's increasing frequency is distressing.

There are certain places that live-up to the hype, but most of them are out of my price range. For the medium-high priced dining, the cusp of what us mere mortals can afford, we are given flashy names and snotty hostesses, with a side of decent food.

I'm done. I crave authenticity, honest food that doesn't need the flash and glitz to cover it's inadequacies. I am so blessed to live in a city where good food is around every corner, where the good places to eat outnumber the bad. As for the hype and the new flavor-of-the-month hipster eatery, I will leave that to the Williamsburg and LES set. They work hard to maintain their perfectly coiffed aloofness, they deserve their just rewards at the end of a two hour wait.

The food snob in me is still alive and well, it has just gained perspective. I want to get back to the actual food and away from the sceney club of star restaurantures.

You will find me in the back of the bodega,eating authentic Puebla style tacos with the immigrant workers. You will find me in the dirty-looking, and amazing tasting, hand pulled noodle shop with no name. You will find me at the unglamorous, and deeply delicious Dim Sum palace in Chinatown. And you will find me at my favorite pizzeria,sans the truffle oil and Brussels sprout leaves, right here in my unglamorous neighborhood. Will I avoid all the major restaurant players in New York? Certainly not. I will however follow my palate and my stomach, not the crowd, to my own gastronomical New York.