Fear & Loathing in Momofuku’s America

Behold, awesomeness: New York's culinary Dread Pirate Ship Momofuku and its enfant terrible captain, the notorious David Chang, is hitting the road. Chang's blogging a book tour with his cookbook co-author (and my pick for the New York Times food critic position, eventually filled by Sam Sifton), one Mr. Peter Meehan. It reads somewhere between Hunter S. Thompson, Anthony Bourdain, and the first 20 pages of Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park, in which Ellis (the character) ends up being dragged out of one book tour appearance, screaming "THE JEW BOY'S COMING WITH ME!" I have high hopes for this kind of writing, and their first entry does not disappoint. It's as ridiculous, debaucherous, and mouthwatering as you'd expect it to be. Key parts:

On getting to the airport:

“Stumble home from the bar at 4:00 a.m. to pack bags. I am supposed to head to Oxford, Mississippi, right away—I’m taking part in the Southern Foodway Alliance’s conference down there. Needless to say, I passed out. Christina Tosi, Momofuku’s pastry chef/defacto adult, calls at least 8 times. On the ninth time I got up and found the phone, which was in my closet under a pile of clothes and I was pissed ... WHY was somebody calling me? Didn’t they know I was still DRUNK from the night before? It was 5:00 a.m. Tosi explained to me what was going on. I had to get to Ssam Bar to pick up her and Gabe, a cook who’d be coming down to help us, and head to LGA. I was fucked up. Tosi wanted to kill me. I was literally falling over in a drunken stupor like Dudley Moore in Arthur. My life had two-day hangover written all over it.”

Literally, the next few lines—On getting on the plane, and handling the difficulties of flight:

Arrive at airport at 5:50 for a 6:30 am flight and magically got on. For some reason, the flight got delayed for four hours… but it was all news to me: I pilled myself out, so I came to on the runway in Memphis. Who knew that Memphis was so close to Mississippi? The two coolers of food we prepped out and checked in? Disappeared. Fuckers.

On that which inspires envy in David Chang:

The very sight of the cool BBQ rigs that the Cochon guys own send me into a covetous, jealous spiral. They are the coolest smokers and rotisseries I’ve ever seen. They’ve got Caja Chinas rockin’, another big-ass smoker for turkeys and goats. Fuck. They make me want to move to New Orleans.

On self-discipline:

When I got there I promised myself and any Gods that were listening that I wouldn’t drink, but who can say no to Allen Benton?

Exactly. This is going to be a blast. The blog, called Eat a Peach (a reference to what “Momofuku” translates to in English: “lucky peach") will be updated if Chang and Meehan stay sober enough to write it and far enough out of jail to reach a computer. Lesser bloggers, take notice: this is how it’s done. A tribute to their efforts, here. Good luck, gentlemen.