The contents of your kitchen cabinet, in cookie form

The Cjaps deliberated writing about Momofuku Milk Bar, since after the article about crack pie went out earlier this year, the place became a total tourist attraction. We passed by on our way to 16 Handles one night and the line was out the door and down the block! We had protested for a while, but now they've opened a second location in midtown attached to Ma Peche, so we decided to reconsider.

We originally went to Momofuku Milk Bar about a year and a half ago, after reading a review about their interesting soft-serve flavor, cereal milk (the cereal milk is now officially trademarked by owner David Chang). We went to Momofuku and got a sample of the cereal milk, which can be topped off with fresh fruit and cornflakes. The cereal milk was indeed true to taste - it was reminiscent of the leftovers of a bowl of cereal that you pour down the sink. We hated the soft serve, but the trip wasn't a total waste. We discovered that Momofuku had a variety of cakes, pies and cookies with unconventional flavors. There was crack pie - gooey butter and oats, which is supposed to be so good that you become addicted, much like a drug (hence the name). There was brownie pie, and candy bar pie, filled with chocolate, caramel, peanut butter nougat and tons of other wonderful treats.

As for the cookies, the most compelling one was the compost cookie - pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips, coffee, oats and butterscotch. Momofuku also sells double chocolate chip cookies, which is a double chocolate cookie with cookie crumbs. There are also peanut butter, corn, and confetti, which is a sugar cookie with rainbow cake and rainbow sprinkles. All of the cookies are now sold in individually wrapped bags for $1.85 each.

Today I tried the compost cookie and the double chocolate chip cookie, thanks to guest star of the day Laurie Porter who graciously brought some back to the office to brighten my afternoon! We shared the cookies on the 15th floor and savored every bite. The double chocolate chip cookie was a bit too rich, but for a chocoholic it was a dream. The soft, bulky middle ending out with a crisp surrounding rim made for the perfect texture cookie. On to the compost cookie. It sounds atrocious - like the chef threw in the remainders of uneaten snacks from the cabinet into cookie dough. This is far from the case. The mixture of ingredients creates the perfect cookie. The pretzel provides the substance; the potato chips the saltiness, the coffee the jolt, the butterscotch the softness and the chocolate brings the tastes all together. Laurie tried the peanut butter cookie as well which she declared the best of the group, however since I don't eat peanut butter unless it's Reese's Pieces, I can't compare.

Momofuku Milk bar's original location is at 207 2nd Avenue on the corner of 13th street. Their new location is at 15 W 56th street between 5th and 6th Avenues.
David Chang, famous for his Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ko and Ssam bar restaurants, opened up Milk Bar in November 2009 next to Ssam Bar. He utilizes the expertise of chefs from esteemed restaurants and bakeries around NY - Del Posto, 11 Madison Park, Jacques Torres, Magnolia, etc.
Both locations are open from 9am-midnight.

2 interesting facts -
Momofuku means Lucky Peach in Japanese
All ingredients come from local farms with sustainable practices.

And one word of advice -
If you see something there that you'd like to try, get it. Don't wait for next time. Their core products constantly change, and one of my favorites - the cornflake marshmallow cookie - is no longer in existence. The brownie pie, which the Cjaps stared at behind the glass on many an occasion and always said 'next time', is out of commission as well. Maybe David Chang will read this blog and decide to bring it back ;)

http://momofuku.com/milk-bar