This is probably my longest post but I wanted to give a different take after a great post from u/brooklynite last week. Also working an 11 hr shift today with nothing better to do.
Had a great meal at Atomix for my birthday. Every single server wished me a happy birthday while dining. The food was very good overall and the service was great. The meal was a bit overhyped in my opinion. Maybe the very limited seating available each night added to that. I left the restaurant barely full but also unsatisfied. There was something missing for me. After dining at Epicure and Plenitude in Paris, I was very full, satisfied and left with a feeling of “WOW, that was an amazing meal/experience”. I thought about it for some time. I am thinking maybe for me, the missing component was acid. More acid would have lifted and balanced the dishes for me. Maybe the wine pairing would have filled that void.
There were several great dishes but also a few that were just meh. When fine dining, I always smell the dish before digging in. None of the dishes besides 1 had intoxicating aromas like the ones I experienced in Paris. I enjoyed the amount of proteins served but I found a lot of them lacking salt. The dishes may have had a balanced salt level overall, but I would have preferred more salt in the proteins. My wife got the non-alcoholic pairing ($125). Some were absolutely amazing and some were boring teas. She also got the white truffle supplement (1 savory, 1 dessert) for $135. Was it worth it? Of course not. I would like to come back to try the bar tasting and R&D menu.
The menu cards were very neat and provided a lot of info. Found it odd that xanthan gum was listed as an ingredient 3-4 times when it is only used as a thickener. Liked that we were able to choose our chopsticks. The knives were dull and ended up tearing the langoustine and beef instead of slicing it. Picked up a signed copy of The Korean Cookbook for $55.
The courses
Sardine, Marigold Rice, Gim Bugak- Amazing first bite, similar to the Caviar Kim from Jua’s tasting menu. Super crispy seaweed, super flavorful rice, savory sardine. Would love to know how they prepare the seaweed.
Uni, Steamed SweetCorn Cake – Very good second bite. Usually top my cornbread with butter but uni works exceptionally well
Bluefin Tuna, Pineapple Weed, Kristal Caviar – Very good “first” course. I think there was a post about Chinese caviar recently. I thought it tasted great. I found that the taste of the caviar got lost in the dish and only provided the salt when eaten together. I enjoyed it better eating the caviar by itself. The smoked mussel mouse was really good. Could really taste the mussel from the small cubes.
Pairing- Plum, Dashima, Chamomile – This was very good. Very hard to explain the flavor. It was the perfect combination of sweet, sour, savory. Dashima was a bold ingredient.
Scallop, Maple Flower, Pyogo Mushroom – My least favorite dish. The Hokkaido scallop itself was very good, not so much the mushroom sauce. Was not a fan of the flavor and texture.
Pairing – Pomegranate, Parmesan, Citrus – Very unique drink with the parmesan. Not the best drink but felt it paired well with the scallop and lardo.
Langoustine, Kimchi, Fermented Rice Cream – Cooked perfectly but lacked salt. Sauce was very good. This was a Norwegian langoustine, which was also served as a supplement at 63 Clinton last month. While extremely large, I found both to be not nearly as succulent as the much smaller langoustine from Paris, at restaurants and fish market purchased and cooked in my hotel room.
Pairing- Gim, Barley, Apple – wife described this as watered down coffee
Silkie Chicken, Abalone, Octopus, Tendon – This soup was so good. Everything about it was good, especially the chicken meatball. I’m not even a fan of abalone and I thought it was great in this dish. Pickled mushroom added a nice touch. No pairing for this dish.
Channel Rockfish, Chunri-jang, Corn Husk Tea – Fish cooked perfectly but dish was very boring overall.
Pairing- Celeriac, Corn Husk, Grape – very good, had a unique savoriness
Tilefish, Smoke Eel. Aji Dulce, Honeynut Squash
Banchan- Conger Eel, Eggplant, Doenjang
First Truffle Supplement Course – This was the fist dish that had the intoxicating aromas I craved. The truffle definitely enhanced it. This was also the first dish where I felt the protein was adequately salted. The sauce was very good and tied everything together nicely. I felt the banchan itself was kinda boring but acted as a great palate cleanser for the main dish.
Pairing – Jeju Early Spring Green Tea – Not my cup of tea
Jukyeom Galbi, Pine Cone Ssamjang, Cabbage
Gosari Rice, Oxalis, Perilla Seed – Dish was ok. Too much sauce drowns the flavor of the beef. I love marbled beef but would have preferred this with a leaner cut. The rice was really good.
Pairing- Burnt Red Pepper, Black Cardamom, Pickled Habanada – our favorite pairing. It was sweet, sour, savory and refreshing. Depth of flavor was incredible and paired perfectly with grilled meat. Michelin star V8 Splash
Korean Pear, Korean Hyssop, Acacia Honey – The palate cleanser that stole the show. Looks can be deceiving. This was my favorite dish of the night. Not the best looking dish but it blew away my expectations. Not too sweet, was very bright and refreshing, ice cream was rich and creamy with the perfect texture. This was exactly what I needed after the fatty wagyu and provided the acid I was craving all night. I knew there was no way the main dessert would top this.
Goguma Ice Cream, Sujeonggwa, Walnut -Second Truffle Supplement – This was good but nothing like the previous course. It reminded me of milk and cereal because of the creaminess, cinnamon and texture of the walnut. The ice cream was “hard” and could have benefited greatly by sitting an additional 5-10 minutes. The truffle did add to this dish but still not worth the price tag. I still think the truffle honey comb ice cream I had at Marmalade in Puerto Rico was better. At the time we thought returning to a restaurant to pay ~$40 after tax/tip for a small dish of ice cream was insane. We would do it again in a heartbeat.
Pairing-Wild Persimmon Leaf – interesting flavor that changed as it cooled
Celebration Matcha Choco Pie – garbage, truly embarrassing to serve this at a 2 Michelin Star
TLDR: Go to Atomix but don’t overpay for a resale reservation and keep your expectations in check
msb45
I’m with you. I was there in the spring and wanted to be blown away, but left quite underwhelmed. With its reputation and at this price point I expect to leave a restaurant wow-ed and with strong memories of the best dishes, but it all just felt a little unexciting.
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This is probably my longest post but I wanted to give a different take after a great post from u/brooklynite last week. Also working an 11 hr shift today with nothing better to do.
Had a great meal at Atomix for my birthday. Every single server wished me a happy birthday while dining. The food was very good overall and the service was great. The meal was a bit overhyped in my opinion. Maybe the very limited seating available each night added to that. I left the restaurant barely full but also unsatisfied. There was something missing for me. After dining at Epicure and Plenitude in Paris, I was very full, satisfied and left with a feeling of “WOW, that was an amazing meal/experience”. I thought about it for some time. I am thinking maybe for me, the missing component was acid. More acid would have lifted and balanced the dishes for me. Maybe the wine pairing would have filled that void.
There were several great dishes but also a few that were just meh. When fine dining, I always smell the dish before digging in. None of the dishes besides 1 had intoxicating aromas like the ones I experienced in Paris. I enjoyed the amount of proteins served but I found a lot of them lacking salt. The dishes may have had a balanced salt level overall, but I would have preferred more salt in the proteins. My wife got the non-alcoholic pairing ($125). Some were absolutely amazing and some were boring teas. She also got the white truffle supplement (1 savory, 1 dessert) for $135. Was it worth it? Of course not. I would like to come back to try the bar tasting and R&D menu.
The menu cards were very neat and provided a lot of info. Found it odd that xanthan gum was listed as an ingredient 3-4 times when it is only used as a thickener. Liked that we were able to choose our chopsticks. The knives were dull and ended up tearing the langoustine and beef instead of slicing it. Picked up a signed copy of The Korean Cookbook for $55.
The courses
Sardine, Marigold Rice, Gim Bugak- Amazing first bite, similar to the Caviar Kim from Jua’s tasting menu. Super crispy seaweed, super flavorful rice, savory sardine. Would love to know how they prepare the seaweed.
Uni, Steamed SweetCorn Cake – Very good second bite. Usually top my cornbread with butter but uni works exceptionally well
Bluefin Tuna, Pineapple Weed, Kristal Caviar – Very good “first” course. I think there was a post about Chinese caviar recently. I thought it tasted great. I found that the taste of the caviar got lost in the dish and only provided the salt when eaten together. I enjoyed it better eating the caviar by itself. The smoked mussel mouse was really good. Could really taste the mussel from the small cubes.
Pairing- Plum, Dashima, Chamomile – This was very good. Very hard to explain the flavor. It was the perfect combination of sweet, sour, savory. Dashima was a bold ingredient.
Scallop, Maple Flower, Pyogo Mushroom – My least favorite dish. The Hokkaido scallop itself was very good, not so much the mushroom sauce. Was not a fan of the flavor and texture.
Pairing – Pomegranate, Parmesan, Citrus – Very unique drink with the parmesan. Not the best drink but felt it paired well with the scallop and lardo.
Langoustine, Kimchi, Fermented Rice Cream – Cooked perfectly but lacked salt. Sauce was very good. This was a Norwegian langoustine, which was also served as a supplement at 63 Clinton last month. While extremely large, I found both to be not nearly as succulent as the much smaller langoustine from Paris, at restaurants and fish market purchased and cooked in my hotel room.
Pairing- Gim, Barley, Apple – wife described this as watered down coffee
Silkie Chicken, Abalone, Octopus, Tendon – This soup was so good. Everything about it was good, especially the chicken meatball. I’m not even a fan of abalone and I thought it was great in this dish. Pickled mushroom added a nice touch. No pairing for this dish.
Channel Rockfish, Chunri-jang, Corn Husk Tea – Fish cooked perfectly but dish was very boring overall.
Pairing- Celeriac, Corn Husk, Grape – very good, had a unique savoriness
Tilefish, Smoke Eel. Aji Dulce, Honeynut Squash
Banchan- Conger Eel, Eggplant, Doenjang
First Truffle Supplement Course – This was the fist dish that had the intoxicating aromas I craved. The truffle definitely enhanced it. This was also the first dish where I felt the protein was adequately salted. The sauce was very good and tied everything together nicely. I felt the banchan itself was kinda boring but acted as a great palate cleanser for the main dish.
Pairing – Jeju Early Spring Green Tea – Not my cup of tea
Jukyeom Galbi, Pine Cone Ssamjang, Cabbage
Gosari Rice, Oxalis, Perilla Seed – Dish was ok. Too much sauce drowns the flavor of the beef. I love marbled beef but would have preferred this with a leaner cut. The rice was really good.
Pairing- Burnt Red Pepper, Black Cardamom, Pickled Habanada – our favorite pairing. It was sweet, sour, savory and refreshing. Depth of flavor was incredible and paired perfectly with grilled meat. Michelin star V8 Splash
Korean Pear, Korean Hyssop, Acacia Honey – The palate cleanser that stole the show. Looks can be deceiving. This was my favorite dish of the night. Not the best looking dish but it blew away my expectations. Not too sweet, was very bright and refreshing, ice cream was rich and creamy with the perfect texture. This was exactly what I needed after the fatty wagyu and provided the acid I was craving all night. I knew there was no way the main dessert would top this.
Goguma Ice Cream, Sujeonggwa, Walnut -Second Truffle Supplement – This was good but nothing like the previous course. It reminded me of milk and cereal because of the creaminess, cinnamon and texture of the walnut. The ice cream was “hard” and could have benefited greatly by sitting an additional 5-10 minutes. The truffle did add to this dish but still not worth the price tag. I still think the truffle honey comb ice cream I had at Marmalade in Puerto Rico was better. At the time we thought returning to a restaurant to pay ~$40 after tax/tip for a small dish of ice cream was insane. We would do it again in a heartbeat.
Pairing-Wild Persimmon Leaf – interesting flavor that changed as it cooled
Celebration Matcha Choco Pie – garbage, truly embarrassing to serve this at a 2 Michelin Star
TLDR: Go to Atomix but don’t overpay for a resale reservation and keep your expectations in check
I’m with you. I was there in the spring and wanted to be blown away, but left quite underwhelmed. With its reputation and at this price point I expect to leave a restaurant wow-ed and with strong memories of the best dishes, but it all just felt a little unexciting.