tl;dr Atomix is an amazing restaurant. I highly recommend!
I love Korean food. When I found out that NYC actually has two restaurants with a two Michelin star rating, I couldn’t wait to try them both. I went on Tock and found out that Atomix was doing a collaboration dinner with Mosu, a Korean one star Michelin restaurant in Seoul. They were sold out, so I pouted a bit, put myself on the waitlist, and expected nothing. After all, this was Thursday and the meal was on Monday.
A few hours later, as I was playing a game of Dominion with my coworkers, I got a call. Turns out, they had a last-minute cancellation for the 9 PM seating and I was the next one on the waitlist. Of course, I said yes!
Come Monday, I’m exhausted at work, not super excited to be having a late dinner. It was a done deal, though, so I woke myself up with a brisk 20-minute walk to Atomix from the office, arriving exactly on time. The lady at the front desk took my coat, but I wasn’t handed a coat check tag. I was directed to the bar, where I ordered a cocktail to pass the time.
After about ten minutes, I was shown downstairs. The experience had been described as “communal,” which didn’t exactly paint a picture in my mind, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the seating was around a horseshoe-shaped bar. There were no separate tables, though the chairs were subtly grouped together, with a noticeable but not blatant gap between each party. There were fourteen seats at the Monday 9 PM seating.
The snacks were served asynchronously between diners. The first one was a dehydrated (see: intensely crunchy) burdock skin, placed over cultured butter with seaweed. This is a signature dish from Mosu. They told us to use our hands and break it up to scoop the butter. I do wish that they provided us with towelettes or some such, but it was delicious even with the worry that I was consuming some sort of odd bacteria.
The next dish was odd and slightly disconcerting. I’m as much a fan of intestines and offal as the next person, but having what looks like an orange candy presented to me and being told that it’s filled with fish gizzards is quite off-putting. Never mind that it was served atop a literal pile of disembodied fish heads, eyes white and unseeing. The orange shell turns out to be candied carrot, dusted with matcha powder. I have to say this one wasn’t enjoyable.
The next dish was king crab in a dried kelp shell. This one, while tasty, really just seemed like an elevated potato salad. I wasn’t blown away. However, these were just the snacks.
Before we started the meal, Chef Junghyun Park, the owner of Atomix, stepped out to introduce Chef Ahn Sung-jae, the owner of Mosu. Both of them greeted us and briefly spoke about the spirit of the collaboration dinner. We “cheers”-ed them with a drink, a clear liquid that is at once tart and savory, with a bit of a marine flavor. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but it was wonderfully refreshing.
On to the meal! The first course is julienned water radish over yellowtail sashimi, served in an apple jus made with clementines and a hint of gochugaru. One of the lady waitstaff approaches and redirects me to using the spoon instead of chopsticks. The dish is refreshing with a light taste of citrus. I love yellowtail.
Second course is shredded mushrooms and what seems like jicama. One of the menu cards informs us that the only added flavoring is salt, with all other flavors coming from the fermentation process. My eyes widen and I sample the dish, focused. Fermentation is super cool.
Third course is a butternut squash terrine in pumpkin seed milk with a generous heap of caviar on top. We’re told there’s preserved chili in the dish, which I personally don’t notice at all. The terrine has an interesting texture; the edges are caramelized and hard to break up, not soft like I expect. The seed milk is surprisingly rich with a nutty flavor. While in all it is a little sweet for my liking, it’s an interesting medley of ingredients. The briny caviar pairs well with the sweetness of the terrine and the creaminess of the milk.
At this point, one of the servers asks if I want some wine. I tell her I’m not a fan of white and prefer full-bodied reds, but will try whatever pairs well with the next courses. It would be odd to have a merlot with fish. “Some half-glasses, perhaps?” They bring me my first half-glass, a light red called Le Trousseau.
The next dish is smoked Japanese mackerel in a ginger carrot jus. The first taste short-circuits something in my brain. I don’t like carrots, as a general rule, but the jus tastes like straight butterscotch. What??? My mind is blown. The buttery, toffee-like flavor is so concentrated that when I taste lemon a third of the way through the fish, I’m shocked out of a kind of stupor. I could feel the richness of the jus creeping up on me, but all of a sudden the citric acid cuts through all of it and balances me out. What a divine concoction. I clean out my plate and sit back, still reeling.
I comment on the butterscotch impression and am informed that the butteriness actually comes from a butter-roasted pine cone. So it wasn’t magic after all, but still a stroke of genius.
The next dish is charcoal-grilled Japanese tilefish with burnt kale oil and white kimchi. Chef JP comes around with some sauce: sea urchin and dashi. While the combination of ingredients sounds OP, the taste is quite familiar. I’m not sure I’ve ever had tilefish before, but it reminds me of cod. I’m not nearly as blown away by this dish as I was by the previous one, but it is delicious nonetheless. The fish is tender and perfectly done.
Our first meat dish is a roasted French quail. The bird is accompanied by a beautiful oblong scoop of beetroot mole, made with gochujang and the traditional chocolate. Foie gras fat glistens on the golden skin and adds flavor to the quail jus, spooned onto our plates by Chef JP. Chicken stock and soy sauce are also key players.
The quail is served with a banchan, not pictured above. I didn’t find the flavor of the banchan particularly complementary to the quail, so I left most of it unconsumed.
Next is a monkfish liver custard with mushrooms and cheonggukjang. Chef JP pours a clear mussel broth over the concoction. The mushrooms are pleasantly buttery and fragrant, balanced well by the light coolness of the mussel broth. The custard is glossy and rich. There is an herb that tastes like citrus, small veiny leaves floating on the surface of the broth.
My second half glass of wine is a full-bodied red. It’s the 2010 vintage of Chateau Calon Ségur Grand Cru Classé, from Saint-Estèphe, France. “Exclusive for this collaboration dinner,” they tell me. I find out later that I was charged $55 for the whopping 2.5 oz (a standard half-glass) of wine. Oh well… it was delicious, and it paired perfectly with the following course.
Everything has been fairly light so far, so the next dish is heavy by comparison. It’s a tender portion of lamb, overlaid with a thin slice of something I couldn’t quite figure out. It’s served with a side of perfectly fluffy white rice, topped with eggplant fried in lamb fat. I’m not generally a lamb-lover, but this course was fulfilling and exactly on point as the last main dish.
To round off the night’s menu, we have two dessert courses. Of course, I can’t say no to a dessert wine. I’m presented with a 2006 vintage of Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos, a beautifully tinted wine from Hungary. Not too sweet, but a half-glass is the perfect amount.
The first is a ginger cream with a ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper oil sauce. Thin slices of muscat adorn the mound of cream. There’s a sprinkling of popping candy on top for some extra pizzazz. “Just for fun!” The cream is cold, subtly sweet, and airy like a cloud.
The second dessert is a mousse ice cream with a caramel sauce and apple bits. Simple, but wonderfully executed. The warm caramel is rich and buttery but complements the light ice cream well.
I’ve definitely consumed a significant amount of food, but I don’t feel greasy and heavy. When I’m presented with a wood box and told I’m to have it for breakfast in the morning, I don’t laugh at the prospect of ever being hungry again (as sometimes happens when I overeat).
Each diner is given a small goodie bag, filled with the aforementioned breakfast treat box and the menu cards. Mine also contains a list of restaurant recommendations, curated by the staff of Atoboy. It even includes a personal recommendation by Chef JP. I was given this because I mentioned I’d only recently moved to the city.
The checks are brought around in a timely manner, but I don’t feel rushed as everyone starts clearing out. We’re personally escorted upstairs one by one, so that there’s no congestion at the coat check. Understandably, I’m all smiles as I exit, waving at everyone whom I chatted with during the night.
Final thoughts
While this meal was undeniably a splurge on my part, I believe that it was worth it. Even without the fact that it was a one-of-a-kind collaboration dinner, it was evident that Atomix upholds high standards in terms of food, ambience, and service. I felt that I was welcomed as a solo diner and personally addressed, even though there were other diners who were familiar with the chefs or members of the staff. The atmosphere was one that was both friendly and serious about the culinary experience. I’d love to go back again, perhaps with some friends or coworkers.