What brought you to Cafe Duke's?
One day, my co-worker and I were discussing Korean food. She was raving about how good it was and I was sitting there with my mouth watering like a crazy maniac. After all was said and done the decision was made that I had to try this Korean food that I heard so much about. She felt that Duke's had the best Korean food in the area, so on one cold afternoon we took the trip over there.
How was it when you went?
The food or the place?
Both!
Oh ok. Well, the place is very similar to Bocca (see "Simple Lunch" for details) in that there are several stations with different items to choose from. Actually, this place is like Bocca on some SERIOUS steroids! When I first walked in I didn't know if I was coming on going. There were people EVERWHERE! If you closed your eyes and couldn't smell the food you could easily mistake that place for the NY Stock Exchange. Busy like I don't know what! And the amount of items that they serve is crazy! I mean hot/cold sanwiches, different types of soups, pizzas (personal pies and slices), salads, pasta, sushi, and a buffet...how is a man suppose to choose! Thank goodness I had a guide to direct me through the madness.
Now for the food...
Since the plan was to get me to try their Korean food, we went right to the station that was serving it. As if I wasn't confused already by the chaos, the menu confused me even more! All I saw on the menu was spicy, tofu, chicken, beef, and vegetables. I had no idea what was going on. Thankfully, my guide was able to explain everything. With what there was to choose from, the popular items were the shredded beef, and tofu soups. Not being a huge fan of tofu, I decided to get the shredded beef with white rice...which also came with a small side of pickled cabbage. The food was pretty good. To be honest, there wasn't really anything overly special about my meal, but it definitely was satisfying. Satisfying enough that I decided to go back.
Well if there wasn't anything special about it why go back?
Mainly, because I felt like I had unfinished business there. My co-worker got a tofu soup and the way it looked when she got it...there was no way I wasn't going to come back and at least try it. Besides, with everything that they serve in that place, there was no way I wasn't going to come back!
Did you eventually get the tofu soup? If so, how did you like it?
Yes I did! I went back and got the spicy tofu soup with seafood and I wasn't disappointed. The soup was exactly what it said in the name. Different seafood items, with a bunch of tofu chunks, in a sea of spicy broth...just how a spicy soup should be! The only issue I have with it, is the texture of the tofu. It was extremely soft...almost like jello. I'm use to tofu being a little more solid and not so loose. But in any event, it definitely wasn't enough to stop me from eating nor ordering it again (the next time was with veggies though..mmmm mmmm).
You seem to really like the Korean food...did you ever manage to try anything else?
Yes the food from the Korean station was rather tasty, but since then I have graduated on to other stations. During one visit, I tried a few items from the buffet. Buffet food is buffet food so there really wasn't anything special about theirs. And I have made FREQUENT trips to the Udon noodle station. It's basically these spaghetti-like noodles (like spaghetti noodles, but waaaay thicker), broth (with or without spicy seasoning), your choice of shrimp or vegetable shumai (dumplings), and a whole bunch of other seasonings and fixing for you to add in there. Mucho delicious!
Recommendations?
Everything that I have had from there was good and I have had more then once. Main thing I would recommend though is the Udon noodle soups. Very tasty, large portion, and not overly expensive.
Cafe Duke's
140 W. 51st Street
(212) 445 - 0010
No comments:
Post a Comment