FIRST LOOK: Momofuku CCDC

Well, it's finally here. After months and months of waiting, wishing and the occasional bout of peering creepily into the restaurant's paper-covered windows (that last part might just be me), DC-based fans of everyone's favorite cheesy ramen-making, pork-bun slinging Korean-American chef were treated to the opening of Momofuku's latest outpost this past weekend.

For those of you aren't familiar with the Momofuku empire, here you go. For those of you who are, it needs no explanation.

I was stuck in terrible traffic coming back from a farm in Maryland (it's a long story) when David Chang dropped his surprise Instagram announcement on Saturday so I decided to swing by and check out the new space on its second day of service. 

To my surprise, many of the old Momofuku Noodle Bar standbys - the real classics that made me a fan in the first place - were present on the opening weekend menu, though we'll have to wait and see if this remains the case moving forward. I get the sense that the menu may be changing quite a bit as the strategy and overall direction behind CCDC becomes clear. Scale and consistency will surely be top of mind for chef and his team - CCDC is clearly a much larger space than any of the other Momofuku restaurants and I imagine keeping up with volume and quality is going to be a challenge. 

So, to the food. I won't do an actual review yet as I'm due back at CCDC for a second visit in a couple of weeks but in short, I was impressed. We ordered way too much food for two people and there were no visible issues or errors with any of the dishes - just a couple of (very) minor service kinks to be worked out. Our server was incredibly gracious about *someone* having a nut allergy in my party and triple-checked something called the "allergy grid" in the kitchen to make sure we were in the clear. For folks with a sweet tooth, the dessert menu at CCDC actually has most of the favorites from Milk Bar so it's a good way of getting to try some of the desserts without having to stand in line next door.

Check out some of my favorites at CCDC, after the jump.

SOME FAVORITES OF THE NIGHT...

Old Bay pork rinds

"Biscuit bites" with CRAZY Sichuan peppercorn butter

Brisket baos because...of course

Crispy Brussels sprouts with fish sauce and chili

And of course, I couldn't forget my old friends...

OG pork belly buns

Momofuku ramen

I don't really have that much more to say, other than I'm already looking forward to my return trip. The hype is real, my friends, and the wait was so, so worth it.

Momofuku CCDC is located at:
1090 I St. NW, Washington DC 20001
Limited reservations now available via OpenTable or the Momofuku reservations system.