Momonoki

Brush is one of my favorite sooshee joints. I wish I could go more often but I get out of control in there spending more than I should or could. They need to open a baby Brush with a limited menu... And so, they did. Ok, it's not really a mini version of Brush but they are focusing on a more casual menu of ramen, cooked and raw rice bowls and katsu sandos. If you're from NYC, you may find the name of the joint very similar to David Chang's Momofuku... There is no relation but I still find it interesting. The location selection was surprising as well... There is nothing around there except the new NCR building which they will hopefully get a lot of lunch biz. There is not a lot of foot traffic or driving visibility except for overlooking 85/75. I don't know if this was a strategic decision but I hope this location gamble plays out in the long run. But what will draw the people into this secluded area will be based on the menu... Shit, if the food is good, I will take my fat ass to almost anywhere that I can fit my fat body through. The parking situation kinda sucks around here for cars but the parking lot next to them is available for free... For now. I didn't take any chances, I just parked my motorcycle right on the sidewalk out front.
The space is modern and clean, not a lot of fancy décor to distract you from the product... I liked it. But what I didn't like was the counter ordering right when you walk in. I can only imagine the line going out the door because people always take forever to order... Even the mooks at fast food joints. I know how people are and they live in their own little world and they take 5 years to read the menu and then ask 20 questions about each dish. It's such an inefficient system. They need to put menus outside so people can decide what they want before reaching the counter. I have no fucking patience for retards that hold up the line, just fucking order your food and move along. Luckily, I went early on a weekend and it wasn't crowded... Yet.
Let's take a first look... And see if it will be worth fighting the shitty midtown traffic for future visits.

Tonkotsu Ramen, pork broth, seared pork belly, ramen egg, soy braised bamboo shoots, scallions, house chili sauce, black garlic oil. It's a good looking bowl but I noticed that the menma was missing... I asked a staff member to get me the bamboo and she was like, no, it's in there, probably under the noodles. WTF... This ain't Ragu, does this look like spaghetti and meatballs, motherfucker? Why would anyone put one of the main condiments under the fucking noodles? I literally flipped the noodles upside down and told her it ain't in there... She's like, oh, they must have forgotten it then... No shit Sherlock. The bamboo comes out and all was right with the world again. Ok, maybe not yet... The broth was pretty good but what the fuck is all that white blobs in there? Was it cabbage, radish, I had no friggin idea... Then I tasted it. It was pure fat blobs. Lookie here, I'm ok with some fat in there for flavor but this bowl was injected with fat like the badonkadonks found in Lenox mall. There was way too much fat and it really distracted you from enjoying the entire bowl as a whole. It wasn't bad overall but they really need to tone it down. I don't know if that was for filler but then I found out later on that Jason added it in for extra richness and flavor just for the Pouch. And of course, I told him, listen bro, sometimes trying to impress me with overkill will not turn out well... Just give me the same bowl that you give the other mossbacks. I believe in equality, inclusiveness, tolerance and I deserve to eat the same slop as the other pedestrians. It's a pretty good tonkotsu, the noodles are toothy, the pork belly dericious, the soy egg spot on but I don't know if I would fight the midtown madness for it when I get the tonk craving. But I'll put it on the Pouch's list for a very respectable bowl of noods in this one horse town. I'll have to try the tsukenmen next time... Dipping noodles is nothing new but it's a new gimmick for this gullible town.

Avocado Shiitake Katsu Sando. What's going on, Pouch? Are you having a brain fart? Why didn't you get the fried chicken sando? I know I know... I was trying to watch my girlish, err, ghoulish figure. I'm so fucking fat, I thought I would try something healthy... Then I realized that all the katsu sandos were deep fried as well, durr. Someone give me a stent stat, the fat is cutting off oxygen to my pea brain. They were out of the lotus root chips, so, I had to settle for these leafy green things. What a cheap substitute. The milk bread is from a local bakery and it's sturdy enough to hold a steaming deep fried filler without turning the bread into a mushy mess. The fried avocado shiitake patty was surprisingly tasty and I would prolly get it again... After I try the fried chicken sando, of course. It's a fun little sando... But the $58 A5 wagyu sando is just way too ridiculous to even try it once. Unless, some broad wants to pay for it... I put out on the first date.

Seared Pork Belly Don, scallion and onion salsa, ramen egg, cured cucumber. I was too excited and nervous when I was ordering this at the counter... I wasn't thinking straight and I didn't want to hold up the line, so, I just blurted this out of my facehole. Why did I get the pork belly again, when I just had it in the tonkotsu? I can't believe I didn't get the chicken kara-age once again... What the fuck is wrong with you, Pouch? Oh, yeah, the fat was cutting off the blood flow to my head which was causing excessive brain farts. Besides, ordering the same damn protein twice, this rice bowl was pretty good looking. The egg yolk was perfect to mix into the rice. The pork belly was just as good as it was in the tonk. It's a simple rice bowl but it will definitely fill you up.

Black Sesame and Matcha Swirl. At most places, the matcha soft serve is just way too overpowering but this version is just right. When swirled with the black sesame, this was pretty much a match made in heaven. It was pretty damn tasty, may be the best in town for this dynamic soft serve duo.

I liked the place a lot, it's clean and modern with a good simple tasty menu, but the location doesn't make me want to come back here often unless I was in this area for something else. I don't mind driving to a joint if all the stars were aligned with light traffic and easy parking... And we all know midtown is the new Buckhead and it totally sucks ass. The last thing I want to get is a ticket by some mook in a cheap uniform for some bullshit secret new parking ordinance. But as for this joint, I think it will do well with the lunch crowd from the new NCR headquarters. If they start doing pork belly buns and family style fried chicken, then I better see that chubby fuck, David Chang back there in the kitchen.

95 8th St. NW Ste 100
Atlanta, GA
momonokiatl.com/