NYCReview
photo credit: Kate Previte
Atomix
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Atomix is a restaurant in Nomad from the people behind Atoboy, and it does a $395 10-course Korean tasting menu. Considering the price, it isn’t the kind of place where you’ll go once a month, or (probably) even once a year—but the food is genuinely excellent, and there a lot of little details that make this place worth it for a very special night out.
To get here, you walk up the steps of a small residential building on East 30th Street and ring an unmarked doorbell. A host then walks you through an upstairs bar and down a set of stairs to a lounge-like area with a U-shaped counter surrounded by 14 chairs. Next, a few snacks arrive, and then you get to pick your own chopsticks from a tray of about nine different pairs. Every set is unique, and the act of choosing feels like a brief personality quiz.
photo credit: Kate Previte
Every course starts with a notecard, and hese notecards don’t just tell you in broad terms what you’re about to be eating. Each one has an incredibly specific breakdown of every single ingredient in a dish, down to water and xanthan gum. There’s also a brief essay on the inspiration behind the dish, and even the Instagram handle of the person who made the actual plate. Like all the other details that go into a meal here, it’s thoughtful without ever seeming gimmicky, and it helps you further appreciate your food in the same way that an Elizabethan dictionary helps you comprehend a Shakespearean insult.
The courses themselves start small and chilled, then gradually turn into more substantial things like lightly battered wagyu, a tender piece of fish over foie gras with tiny orbs of squash, and some bite-sized slices of perfectly cooked duck with a side of Korean-inspired mole. The dishes are complex and attractive, but you don’t feel like you’re desecrating a piece of modern art when you eat them—and, more importantly, everything tastes very, very good. Considering the $395 price tag, you might think that’s a given, but with fancy tasting menus, things sometimes tend to be more interesting than they are delicious.
That’s just one more reason why Atomix is not your typical tasting-menu spot. You’ll want seconds of every dish, and you’ll never wonder exactly what it is that you’re putting in your mouth, because the notecards walk you through everything like a friendly tour guide. At the end of the night, you get to take all your notecards home in a custom envelope. After a meal this special, it’s nice having a souvenir that isn’t just a copy of the check.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Kate Previte