Golden Hof

A few weeks ago Deb Perelman, aka Smitten Kitchen, reached out to me and asked if I had any interest in seeing a staged reading of Moonstruck starring Patti Lupone. That’s like asking me, “Would you like to spend several hours in actual heaven?” I immediately said “yes” and then we got to the important stuff: where would have dinner first? After careful research (doing a Google search) I remembered Golden Hof, a new Korean restaurant in Rockefeller Center from the team behind Golden Diner.

Welcome to the Hof

The vibes at Golden Hof are warm and inviting; the space is huge: what seems like just a bar in front actually hides a massive dining room. There was a sports game projected on to the wall which is the direct antithesis of seeing Patti LuPone in Moonstruck, but that only revved me up further.

Deb and I decided to start with the “Toasted Rice Martinez,” a cocktail made with “scorched rice-infused Ford’s gin, Cocchi Torino, and Madeira.”

I was expecting something more like a Negroni; this was more like a sweeter-martini with subtle toasted rice flavor. I liked it.

It wasn’t clear, out of the gate, how good the food at Golden Hof would be. But holy moly, was it good. We positively devoured this Ssamjang Caesar Salad with baby gem, sesame, parmesan, and ssamjang caesar dessing.

Deb said they definitely soaked the lettuce in ice water, which is what made it so crisp; as for the dressing, we detected miso and sesame oil. That combo with the Parmesan? Pure brilliance.

And then the Korean fried chicken wings with gochujang sauce? Flawless.

If all food tasted like this, we’d never stop eating. The only downside is I felt like I had to take a shower after eating one: I had glaze all over my face. Deb had the good grace to tell me where to put my napkin.

But Wait, There’s More….

The corn cheese with lime onions, pickled jalapeños, melted mozzarella was the best use of corn in a non-summer month I’ve yet experienced.

This stuff is like Korean queso that you can just eat with a spoon: no tortillas necessary.

As for the main event — the Jipo fried rice featuring gochujang-honey glazed file fish tossed in garlic fried rice — it was way less intense than you’d guess it would be; instead, it was more clean-tasting and subdued, but in a great, refreshing way.

I Saved the Best for Last

This was plenty of food for two people and we didn’t need to have dessert — we had Patti Lupone to get to — but then we saw The Pancake.

As anyone who knows about Golden Diner knows, they’re most famous for their pancakes. The NYT just did a big article about them. So the fact that you can get them for dessert at Golden Hof? It’s a miracle in and of itself.

I’ve never wanted to fight someone over a pancake, but last night my fork was doing battle with Deb’s to get the next piece. This was insanely good: swimming in a pool of honey maple syrup and topped with honey butter, it was the salt that took it over the top. I never once thought about serving pancakes for dessert but after this experience, I may reconsider.

We walked off our food as we trekked to The Music Box theater and then we had a blast as the cast — including Rose Byrne (as Cher), Bobby Cannavale (as Nicholas Cage), Steve van Zandt, Steve Buscemi (basically the cast of The Sopranos) — performed John Patrick Shanley’s masterful script.

A fantastic meal and a fantastic show. When the moon hit my eye afterwards, it wasn’t a pizza pie that I saw: it was a pancake. Thanks for inviting me, Deb!

Golden Hof / 16 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036 / (212) 592-0752