THE PLACE: I was so excited to somehow score an 8pm reservation at Sunn’s, a cozy hotspot in the Lower East Side that has been tough to get a table. That’s why I was even more anxious than usual when we were running late. It all worked out, thankfully, and we snagged two seats at the chef’s counter which is comfortable enough but felt very cramped for the plates of food. Sunn’s is an intimate haven from the rowdy summer street life of the neighborhood they call Dimes Square. It’s a continuation of chef Sunny Lee’s banchan pop-up now with a serious focus on wine alongside the innovative Korean dishes.
THE MENU: You’re definitely here to try the barchan, which are often served at Korean restaurants for free, but here cost the price of a high-end appetizer. These banchan are not your typical kimchi and sesame spinach, but go deeper in terms of flavors and ingredients. Stand-outs for me were the smoky eggplant, a mound of creamy potato salad with Asian pear, and a seaweed-centric cucumber salad. The most viral dish is the tteokbokki, a typical Korean rice cake casserole, that is re-interpreted through the lens of baked ziti, slicked with brown butter, tomato sauce, and a helping of stracciatella.
THE DISH: My wife and I agreed that while everything we tried was really very good, nothing beat the seasonal Sunn’s Salad. The plate we were served represented peak late-summer with some of the most delicious fruits and vegetables we have ever tried. Perfectly ripe plums, sugar-sweet melons, beautiful Sungold tomatoes, and tangy marinated wax beans were tied together with a slather of something creamy (yogurt? tahini?), a spicy Korean sauce, and an amazing dressing made from a spicy Korean sauce and fruity Jimmy Nardello peppers. It makes me so sad summer is ending, but thrilled I got to experience it at 8pm on a Saturday night. Price: $22
| SUNN’S |
| 139 Division Street (at Canal Street), Lower East Side |
| sunnsnyc.com |
