Rouge et Blanc: French meets Vietnamese in SoHo

Having heard few (but mostly positive) reviews and craving something original, MW and I found ourselves in SoHo on a rainy Friday evening. Our destination was Rouge et Blanc the relatively new French-Vietnamese restaurant by former Chanterelle and Beacon sommelier, Thomas Cregan. Given his previous role, it only seems fitting that the restaurant's name would be a nod to the restaurant's wine list comprised of French "reds and whites." Although we had made reservations, they hardly seemed necessary as the dining room was never more than half full throughout the course of our meal.

Má Pêche: Peachy Keen

On his trip to Má Pêche last June, Noah left questioning whether David Chang's latest restaurant was, "boring," and concluded his post by saying,

"...yet David Chang and Tien Ho, with all their skill, are still searching for a way to bring má pêche up to the level of the rest of their restaurant universe. There is serious potential, though, and it would be foolish to expect Chang and Ho to just spin their wheels, especially when so much is seemingly at stake. It's a process, but here's hoping they succeed."

Well Noah (and anyone else reading this), I'm happy to report that Má Pêche is most assuredly not boring and that Chang and Ho have succeeded in creating yet another solid addition to the Momofuku empire.

A New Addition to the Momofuku Empire: má pêche

My first meal in the main dining room at David Chang and Tien Ho's new restaurant, má pêche, left me with many questions. Foremost among these is whether or not má pêche is "boring" (I know, I know, I'll define my term soon).

After nearly four years at the vanguard of the New York City culinary scene, Chang has opened má pêche amid the sterile skyscrapers of Midtown, where they're courting a crowd far different than those who flock to Momofuku Ssam/Noodle /Ko in the safety of their East Village home base (if you've already read this sentence elsewhere, it's pretty much how everyone needs to start a post on má pêche these days, so I'm sorry for contributing to the noise).

Returning to the original question, what is "boring" anyway?  I'm not saying a restaurant has to be gimmicky, but, at this point, it needs to be more than just a good meal. A sign of which is that I'm endlessly craving a certain dish (or two, or three). This is an awfully high standard, yet Chang, through his own fault or not, has raised the game to the next level. So when I say boring, I'm essentially asking whether má pêche contributes to Chang's growing restaurant empire or if it just rehashes proven concepts.

The awkward Midtown location, at 56th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue, meant my brother and I walked from the 51st Street subway stop on the east side in the late afternoon heat for our 6pm meal. With no reservations taken (and the fact that we weren't getting the beef 7 ways), we figured that an early dinner was our best bet. Good choice. It was nearly empty when we arrived and met up with my visiting parents and local cousins (who are real dining professionals). The six of us soon took up an arm of the X-shaped table as the restaurant slowly came to life, filling up by about two thirds by the end of our meal.

Once seated, I continued to ponder the deeper meaning of my meal (or as deep as one can think about a restaurant, rather than say, the meaning of life), as well as other questions. Does Chang have a responsibility to remain at the forefront of the city's dining scene? Moreover, is a Midtown restaurant the next logical step? What is the next logical step anyway, beyond a Momofuku Milk Bar in every mall in America? All of these questions swirled in my head as I took in the scene.