I've Got Mono+Mono Fried Chicken Fever!

A colleague of mine told me to check out a Korean friend chicken joint called Mono+Mono in my neck of the woods. I didn't think much of it. I'm not a big fried chicken person in general, and I've already tried Bon Chon and all the other big Korean fried chicken places, so I was in no big hurry to go to Mono+Mono.

It's Saturday night and cold, and we decide to do something low key in the neighborhood. We decide upon Mono+Mono. I can say this is one of the most interesting restaurants I've ever been to.

First of all, in the East Village, an area full of small, off-the-beaten-path scrappy restaurants, i was struck by how big the Mono+Mono space was. It certainly felt like it was intended to be an actual jazz music venue. There are literally shelves of old jazz records everywhere, and interesting kitschy touches like a piano and DJ booth (an actual person is manning it) accent the interior. With the dark, jazzy speakeasy vibe, you expect to see Mad Men waitstaff running the place, but it's actually well-dressed Korean personnel taking your order. It's very strange in a wonderful and cool way. Mad Men meets Korean pub gangnam cool.

For food, we of course tried a medium order of the chicken wings w/soy garlic, the kimchee fried brown rice and the crispy pork buns. The meal reminded me of Side Street Inn in Honolulu, except a tad more refined. The fried chicken was good. The skin was so crispy and not greasy--the Top Chef judges would have loved this entry in last week's fried chicken challenge. Although I have to say I wish there were a little more seasoning and taste to the fried chicken. Like with Bon Chon's chicken, you can taste the savory of the soy sauce with a little garlic and some sweetness mixed in, but Mono+Mono's did not have these same awesome combination of sensory flavors going on at once. The kimchee fried rice was outstanding--flavorful rice, not too greasy, with a bit of a spicy kick to it. I wish the order were a bit larger, since we scarfed that down. The pork buns were edible, but you know what, Momofuku's pork buns will be the standard by which others will be judged, and it was not close. It felt like someone fried pork buns and put a bit of fatty pork belly in between. There was no seasoning to make it a cohesive, memorable pork bun sandwich that you wanted more of, but it was acceptable.

We ordered a bottle of fruit-infused soju, blueberry in fact, to accompany our meal. The small bottle is pretty generous and lasts the whole meal and cuts some of the grease in all the fried goodness. Mono+Mono has good, lively energy with elevated comfort foods, so I'm glad this is in the neighborhood and will definitely make another visit.  

Mono+Mono
116 E. 4th Street
Rating (out of 5 stars):***
Style: Asian Pub Food Meets Mad Men Speakeasy
Prices: $8-$22 for entrees, $7-$11 for appetizers, $10-$20 for drinks
Summary: Tasty Korean comfort foods like fried chicken, pa-jeon and fried rice in a former, atmospheric jazz club. A lively neighborhood spot worth several repeat visits.