I'm in New York City this week. If you've never heard of it, it's like San Sebastián but bigger, with better weather and more black coffee.

This is the view from my friend's place, where I'm staying. Yep, that's Central Park at the next block.  This trip is mostly work, but of course I'm getting plenty of coffee and food in while I'm here. Yesterday we went to check out Billy Reid NYC in the East Village, where we are hosting a party on Thursday.

Then, it was off to dinner. At Momofuku Ko. (My friend is so good).

This place is 12 seats. It's hard to get a reservation. They don't let you take pictures.  You sit at a bar and watch the cooks in front of you. They present each plate as it's ready. There's only one cocktail that changes regularly. Here's what we ate:

chicharrones with togarashi

raw sea urchin with watermelon and avocado

mushroom soup with pickled ramps

scallop crudo with celery in tomato water

carpaccio with rosé strawberries, dehydrated olives and crunchy rice

roasted crawfish with brioche and red chile broth

fried sweetbreads with walnut agnolotti and pickled cherries

halibut with kohlrabi and fiddlehead ferns

shaved foie with lychee and pine nut brittle

48-hour shortribs

goat cheese ice cream with pistachio cubes and rhubarb

chamomile honey ice cream with a lemon-thyme foam and bee pollen

It was a fantastic meal. These dishes were so incredibly flavorful, and so clean. I wanted more! I did ask for seconds at one point, but the waiter just laughed at me. Oh. I was serious.

There were some strange moments as far as service went...we were allowed to order a bottle of white that wasn't cold yet. And as a kind gesture, the waiter brought a champagne glass to give me something to sip while I waited. And he filled it 1/3 full (?!). WT?

Then, a moment that I found apalling (my friend assured me I was just being too Spanish): literally we took the last bite of our ice cream. A sip of wine. And the bill appeared. Huh?? I'm not kidding...maybe one minute elapsed from the last bite of dinner and the unrequested check.

Those comments aside, I don't really care because the food was AMAZING. That's one for the books, folks....