Bann Fire

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

The first sign that Bann is a notch more ornate than the average Korean restaurant comes as soon as you sit down, when the host explains how to open the scrolled, tied menus. But the pageantry only serves to complement the restaurant’s serious food. Bann is a new gem created by the owners of Woo Lae Oak, the international restaurant chain; but where Woo Lae Oak – from SoHo to Seoul – serves upscale, fairly traditional Korean cooking, Bann offers a more inventive rendition of that muscular cuisine.

The shadows of leaves outside play on the rice paper that blocks the large dining room’s view of 50th Street. The result is a soothing evocation of a wooded copse in one’s peripheral vision. Each table contains a gas grill that servers unveil for diners who choose one of the two dozen grill-your-own menu options that make up the heart of the menu.

Unlike Woo Lae Oak’s, Bann’s menu is entirely in English. It assumes patrons’ familiarity with such basic concepts as kimchi and miso, but anything more exotic is translated. The all-organic roster of grillables goes well beyond the standard beef parts: Yes, there are ribeye ($22), short ribs ($24), and melting filet mignon ($28), but also a dozen others from land and sea, ranging from a meaty swordfish filet ($22) to delicate, easily overcooked sweetbreads ($20). Among the surprising best are ostrich medallions ($22), which have a veal-like tenderness and delicate flavor, and the lavish mushroom assortment ($20). Bann has a flair for mushrooms.

One grill order suffices for about one person; it’s best to get a variety and share. The meats arrive on a little platter, the server fires up the grill (which takes a few minutes to reach optimal heat), then the table’s elected representative places the meats on the grill, from whence individual diners can pluck pieces that look sufficiently grilled. The house “spicy dipping sauce,” present in neatly labeled bottles on every table, contributes gummy sweetness, not spice, to anything it touches; a plain or lightly doctored soy would be a nice alternative. The extras that come free elsewhere run $3 apiece here: lettuce and miso paste to wrap up little ssam bundles; sliced garlic to grill along side the meat, and a couple of types of pickle.

The restaurant also serves a full complement of dishes cooked by trained professionals. Sweet braised short ribs ($24) shred under the pressure of chopsticks into a gingery morass studded with shiitakes. A mushroom casserole ($18), which stays warm at the table over a low blue flame, is a contender for deepest, most magnificent flavor in the room. Dozens of big wild mushrooms, familiar and unfamiliar, are simmered in a rich reddish broth; their flavors meld but their textures remain distinct. Bann noodles ($18) are thickish wheat noodles sauteed in a darkly sweet plum sauce, with impressively meaty mushrooms and optional slices of savory roast duck. Bibimbop, America’s favorite Korean dish, hides at the bottom of the menu under the heading “Sizzling Rice” ($15). Served in a fiery hot stone bowl that scorches the bottom-most rice into a crust so savory it merits its own name – nurungji – the bop is studded with sprouts, scallion, mushrooms, kimchi, and, by request, either chicken, beef, or sweet pieces of scallop.

Starters include classics, like a moist, eggy pancake, reddened with kimchi, but they don’t rise far above those at traditional Korean restaurants. The less common offerings are much better. A sausage made with beef and kimchi ($10) has surprising lightness and zest. Tender oysters ($10) are smothered in subtle prawn mousse, then deep-fried into silky balls. A flaming pillar of salt bears three sea scallop shells ($12), which contain the evicted scallops, chopped and blended a mousse, then baked into a delicious concoction resembling a firm seafood omelet.

A wide-ranging wine list offers close to 100 moderately priced bottles, almost all below $50.A managerial love of symmetry has organized them even handedly by region, so there are 10 bottles each from France, South America, New Zealand, and five other wine-producing parts of the world. In addition, one wine from each region is available by the glass.

Desserts have a creative bent that falls flat a fair percentage of the time. Skip the baked goods. The best options are the house-made ice creams ($7), especially the complex, off-sweet red rice flavor. Also impressive is a semi-traditional pile of shaved ice ($8) striped in raspberry and coconut sauces.

Despite its low profile, Bann is faring well on word of mouth. The cooking explores a broader palette than the average New York Korean restaurant, and does it in an enjoyable, dramatic way. The only shortcomings are a few lackluster dishes, which, by no coincidence, are the menu’s least innovative.

Bann, 350 W. 50th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-582-4446.


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