Where Colin Ate: Cactus Wren, Semma, Seoul Salon, Ahgassi Gopchang
Plus: the East Village's new In-N-Out-worthy burger spot (with an accompanying bar!)
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
You’ll notice I dine alone a lot, or with one friend who’s down for an impromptu adventure. Both—that is “impromptu” and “adventure”—being operative words, at least as far as my own personal dining goes. For me, eating is often about what I’m in the mood for—what I’m craving, right then and there, in the moment—that planning too far in advance just doesn’t apply. Dining out means a lot of different things to people, but to me it’s often about scratching that itch—a cuisine, a vibe—and you never know when that itch will strike. Fortunately, if you live in a place like New York, there’s never a shortage of fantastic restaurants with which to satiate whatever you’re currently craving.
Onwards …
Colin
Cactus Wren
📍Lower East Side
🍽️ New American
I have known Chef Sam Clonts and Raymond Trinh for years now, starting from their time at Uchu through the opening of their very own Michelin starred 63 Clinton. Cactus Wren, their latest (along with longtime collaborator Chef Abe Chang running the kitchen) gives the crew a chance to break from the tasting menu format and spread their wings a bit with no boundaries. The room feels like a very nice neighborhood restaurant with big windows and great light on a storied corner in the LES that was the longtime home of Inoteca (a former industry late night spot in its own right). The experience is a blend of wine bar (and cocktails) with a snacky and fun food menu that has upgraded versions of classic bar food as well as ingredient-driven pizza and a small list of larger plates. I was there with a friend and we chose to start with a few of the small bites, picking out both the wings and the mortadella tartine. To our surprise, Chef Abe upgraded us to his “pupu platter,” which included small bites of the Maryland shrimp toast, langoustine beignets, smoked eel tart, mortadella tartine, and wings that came with a deliciously herbal green goddess ranch for dipping. All of the bites were great, but the mortadella, shrimp toast, and the wings were definitely the highlights for me. We also ordered the instagram famous seven-layer dip as the “caviar service,” which came with warm house-made flour tortillas — it is a fun throwback to Sam and Raymond’s Southwest roots, just like they do with the “breakfast taco” which is a menu staple at 63. The caviar was a fun accompaniment to the dip, acting as the salty note usually played by cheese in my Super Bowl version of the dish, which happens to be one of my favorite things in the world that I only eat for that specific day. After the starters we split a very “early spring” pizza topped with pesto and morels. For a place that is not billed as a pizza spot, this is some really great pizza. It sported a perfect char and crisp crust that held up to the toppings well. Extra points for how good it also tasted dipped in that same green goddess ranch. For dessert, we went with a sticky toffee banana cake that added a delicious cookie like crumble to the top for some welcomed added texture. We were also sent out a pineapple sorbet that acted as a perfect palate cleanser topped with Chamoy, a Mexican condiment usually made of sour fruit, chili powder, lime juice, and salt.
Seoul Salon
📍Koreatown
🍽️ Korean
Popping up to K-town for dinner with friends we decided to do a little one to the other meal with the first stop being Seoul Salon for a drink and snack. Seoul Salon is another collaboration between Hand Hospitality and Chef Junghyun and Ellia Park of Atomix/Atoboy. The restaurant is dark and really fun, with a bar up front and dining room in the back. The menu is great for snacking. I started with a mezcal cocktail from the menu — it was bright with acidity and a heavy dose of cardamom that tasted refreshing. Then we were onto our first bottle of soju shaken up into a mini tornado in the bottle at the table before being poured into our cups. The food we had was delicious, including the winter special shrimp and oyster pancake, which was thick and cut into triangles like a pizza. The shrimp and oyster added some chew and brininess to round it out. The littleneck clam soup was like drinking warm clam liquor from a fresh shucked clam in the best possible way. The last dish we had was tiny soy scallops served with sesame, wasabi paste, and nori to make little wraps. It was the perfect pre dinner bite. Before we left the chef came out and poured us a special soju he had steeped in doraji, which is a bellflower root — it was an awesome and unexpected treat.
Ahgassi Gopchang
📍Koreatown
🍽️ Korean BBQ
For the second half of our K-town night out, my good friend—straight off her two-week-long trip back home to Korea—picked Ahgassi Gopchang. I hadn’t been to their NYC location yet so I was excited to check it out. I first heard of Ahgassi Gopchang a few years back when I was flying into LA late one evening and another good friend of mine (whose taste I really trust) suggested we meet there straight off my flight. Apparently the boy band BTS had anointed it their favorite Korean BBQ in LA and it has been crazy ever since. The cool part about the place to me, however, is that they specialize in more offal and off cuts of meat that you don’t see at all the other spots. The intestines were a real highlight on that trip, so I was excited to check out the newest location in NYC. I let my friend take the lead on ordering and she really went to town. The banchan setup when you walk in is really nice, with an especially tasty egg soufflé. I also really love the small bowls of onions too as they pair perfectly with the offal. We ordered the pork jowl to start and then got into the fun stuff, gopchang (small intestine, aka the restaurant’s namesake), daechang (large intestine), and tripe. You tend to cook all of these cuts quite a bit longer than you would something like galbi. The flavors were amazing, and I highly recommend getting out of your comfort zone and giving it a try. We finished the meal with naengmyeon cold noodles to round everything out. I would really like to start spending more time up in K-town as there are so many gems like this around. So far, this has been my most exciting BBQ experience, but I’d love to do a lot more exploring in the area over the next few months.
Semma
📍West Village
🍽️ Indian
“Semma is one of those restaurants I wish I could go to more” — me after every meal at Semma. It is close to my house, food is great, cocktail program is now top notch, the team is fantastic … so why don’t I go more often? First off, they are incredibly busy (couldn’t have happened to nicer people). I also don’t tend to be much of a planner, so I don’t usually make reservations. That said, I have mostly had luck as a walk-in early in the week. The other reason is that due to the fact that I am not a planner, I tend to get cravings for things at the last-minute and act on them, which usually lends itself to me dining solo. The problem with dining solo at Semma is that they have so many things on the menu that I want to order every single time that it becomes impossible! This brings me to last Monday night, when I showed up early as a walk-in and got in after about a 45-minute wait. I purposefully arrived quite a bit before I was planning on dining to add myself to the list and it honestly worked out perfectly. My friend and I ordered all of my favorites, as well as some of the new items on the menu, and once again I was blown away. The three dishes I order every time (because I can’t help myself) are: 1.) Gunpowder Dosa — a perfectly crisp rice and lentil crepe draped over potatoes and spices with three sauces, (this is a really tasty and spicy way to start); 2.) Dindigul Biryani — fall-off-the-bone goat meat, with fragrant rice, masala, and raita; and 3.) Goanese Oxtail — in a thick gravy with cardamom cinnamon and topped with pea pods. I also just think oxtail is the best and I compulsively order it if it is on a menu. There is little that is more satisfying than picking an oxtail bone clean (same with small birds … ). The new dishes I tried that absolutely blew me away were the Odiyal Kool, which was a thick prawn soup served from a seashell that is then poured tableside into individual bowls containing scallops and squid. The presentation was amazing and it was a really great dish. Chef Vijay also sent us out the Mangalore Huukosu, which is cauliflower with garlic, chili, and a coconut chutney. It was a very surprising and tasty little bite. I would order both again, but the soup is now in the ‘must order’ category for me. Semma is a great restaurant, all of the accolades are well deserved. Hopefully I can sneak back in sooner than later.
Quick Hits & Pop-ups …
El Camino & Highlife Burger
📍East Village
🍽️ Burgers + Bar
From the same team that brought you Mister Paradise and Electric Burrito comes a new dual concept to the East Village. Sorry, that sounded like the start of an ad, but I’ll happy shill for these spots. The first being Highlife, which is a California-style takeout burger spot making you instantly think of In-N-Out on first bite. I got the Highlife single, loaded up with cheese, crispy lettuce, raw onion, tomato, and special sauce. El Camino is the accompanying bar that keeps it simple with a small food menu, well curated back bar, and about 25 seats in total. The space felt great with the windows open on one of the first warm nights of the season, giving the whole place an indoor-outdoor feel.
Rosella
📍East Village
🍽️ Sushi
I was able to sneak in a day-of Friday night reservation at Rosella. I’ve written my thoughts on this spot already a few weeks back so we don’t have to go too deep here. This place is the perfect neighborhood sushi spot that threads the needle between a place you order nigiri and a place you go to order rolls or temaki. They have inventive flavor combinations and always have a surprise or two on the menu to keep you on your toes. I always recommend the Dragonfly House Salad as it’s much better than the sum of its parts and always hits the spot. Other highlights from last Friday’s meal were the always satisfying big rolls, both the spicy tuna and the wonderfully sweet and savory “Bagels on the Hudson.” For nigiri, the shrimp and pickled mussels are always favorites and we were gifted a really tasty Jonah crab and a celery root piece that was my surprise bite of the night. Always a fun time.
I Want to try cactus wren omg
It’s good to learn about foods you’ve never tried before. When I get the chance, I’ll go with the Goanese oxtail.