On date night, Danny and I had tickets for the off Broadway show “Avenue Q.” I have been wanting to try 1 of David Chang’s restaurants for the longest time and Ma Peche was only 10 minutes away from the theater, so we decided on Ma Peche for dinner. When you enter the building, Milk Bar is the first thing you see. When I think of Milk Bar, I always think of Crack Pie. If we had enough time to get to the theater and if we were weren’t full, we would plan to pick up a slice of Crack Pie.
The atmosphere was upscale picnic. The lights were dim and the tables were long wooden tables, almost picnic like. For a Saturday night, Ma Peche wasn’t very crowded. As it got later, some more people showed up but a reservation was definitely not needed.
As an appetizer, I ordered the fried pig’s head. Basically it was a compacted fried shredded pig’s head in a rectangle. It was so good! The meat was so tender and went great with the wasabi mayo sauce that came with it. Since the mayo was spicy, the vegetables underneath the fried pig’s head was soothing to the palate. Danny didn’t like it but I really like this dish. Anything fried is delicious!
Danny ordered the Ceviche with butternut squash as his appetizer. The fish was fresh and the spicy mayo was spicy. The butternut squash and pine nuts cooled down the spicy mayo. The butternut squash was so soft and silky. When combined with the fish and the pine nuts, it was the perfect bite. Subtle but spicy and sweet at the same time. I did wish there was more on the plate though.
For my entree, I ordered the duck. There was duck breast and duck sausage with balls of rutabaga, pistachio, and orange sauce. This was just amazing! The duck breast was so tender and juicy and the sausage was just exactly what I expected from a sausage. It was super meaty and ducky with loads of spice! The rutabaga added a smooth texture and the pistachio added a great crunch. Overall, this dish was another knockout.
Danny ordered the monkfish. It came with sweet potato tubes, salsify ribbons, and a pine nut sauce. I’ve never heard of salsify but according to google, salsify is a European plant that looks like parsnip. The salsify ribbons were super crunchy and so earthy! The monkfish was cooked perfectly and just fell apart when you cut into it. The sweet potato tubes were slightly charred and smokey. The tubes were crunchy on the outside but moist and creamy on the inside. The pine sauce just brought everything together perfectly, earthy and sweet at the same time.
Unfortunately, we were running late for our show and couldn’t get Crack Pie at Milk Bar but there is always next time.
Ma Peche
15 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
