The Michelin Quest: Danji

We were headed to the Booth Theatre to see The Glass Menagerie tonight, so wanted to try a new Pre-Theatre spot in Hell's Kitchen. One of our 2014 goals is to try to knock out more NYC Michelin starred restaurants so decided to try out modern Korean 1-starred Danji. The Mr. started with the Su Jung Kwa cocktail which featured rye whiskey, cinnamon, ginger, & jujube and I started with the "Korean Pear" with vodka, star anise, & cinnamon. The meal was off to a great start because these cocktails were both super delicious. I was initially excited to try the "Perfect Date" as my next drink, but was so enamored with the "Su Jung Kwa"'s cinnamony warmth that I abandoned that and we ordered another round of those.




Danji is small plates style and we had a really hard time whittling down to 5 plates, which wound up being more than enough food. They bring them out as they are ready, so we wound up starting with the Mushroom Barley Soup which I thought was the perfect way to whet our appetite.

Danji: Mushroom Barley Soup
Cocktails: Korean Pear & Su Jung Kwa

The remaining dishes came out in rapid, delicious succession:

Danji: Spicy "K.F.C" Korean Fire Chicken Wings

Danji: Cheese Dduk-Bokki

Danji: Bulgogi Beef Sliders

Danji: Kimchi Bacon Spam Fried Rice (for 2)

This was an absolutely lovely dinner, but we both agreed that we were a bit confused/thrown off by the Michelin star. It set our expectations very high, but in the end we have eaten at plenty of restaurants in NYC at this caliber, so we weren't quite sure what set this one apart enough. But I suppose that's how it always is with awards in highly competitive areas.