Re āethnicā being synonymous with ācheapā ā I feel you. I also steer clear from calling something āethnic,ā and saying it around me will usually elicit a pretty angry-sounding āwhat the fā does that word even mean?ā
A dish and a restaurant experience has principle components that can be weighed without bias/anchoring. Itās an ideal and yeah, Iām probably a hopeless dreamer, but in an age where everyoneās a critic I think itās more than possible to look at dishes this way.
RE some of the pigeonholing of [insert ethnicity cuisine] here are actually OF that ethnicity: Thatās a really good point, I guess I assumed that a Korean-American person whoās been following the cityās dining scene couldnāt try this place without walking away very impressed. Iām definitely supportive of progressive ways to push Korean food forward and adapting it to its environs. I think Korean cuisine has so many valuable core elements that play well with other types of cuisines and Iād love to see that further explored. I also understand the tremendous value that traditional restaurants provide in preserving culture in an age of data accumulating at critical mass, but I do not see the approaches* to be in conflict or as either/or propositions.
100% agree with certain generations being more sensitive to $ than others. My mom actually used to be extremely frugal until I became very passionate about food (she also raised my brother and I by herself). She noticed how much I loved food and luckily I had her backing me up to nurture my passions (credit to my dad for bankrolling me from afar), but of course, the majority of my Korean-American friendsā parents werenāt exactly going to be the most free-spending supporters of their childrenās more creative exploits, and I definitely get that.
Perhaps. Yes, it is POSSIBLE to analyze a dish w/o bias, but smell and taste are such powerfully emotional (and thus irrational) senses (IMO), esp when those senses are tied to issues of identity, both personal and collective (as they are perhaps more strongly w/ āethnicā cuisine).
This. My mom almost had a heart attack when I told her Cassia had a $28 bowl of laksa on their menu. It might be an amazing bowl of laksa, but she would never order it if she went.
Itās so true, and I donāt understand why @matthewkang gets so defensive anytime someone makes a measured criticism against a restaurant that comped him ā I mean itās not like thereās a personal affiliation or anything, right?
I certainly hope that he isnāt paying out-of-pocket for early access, but the over-the-top levels of defensiveness make me wonder, as it almost comes off like someone who feels the need to justify the restaurant to himself and cannot handle a suggestion from anyone that it might not be āworth it.ā Exhibit A:
Like weāre just here to discuss food, and part of that discussion involves a bit of cost-benefit analysis, especially for most people. I really donāt like seeing someone post a non-emotional observation or criticism about a restaurant or their opinion of restaurant pricing and suddenly get put on the defensive to justify themselves.
Who I am is completely immaterial to the point I made, however; why do you even ask? I certainly hope it isnāt from a sense that feedback only ācountsā if it comes from certain individuals of a certain perceived status or ārankāā¦
As to your question, though, based on early reviews and the content of this thread, I see no reason to flock to MajordÅmo, and especially not during the near term. Iāve long since left the age where I felt the need to participate in the hype machine, waiting in interminably long lines for (often) slightly-above-average food at Michelin Star-level prices just to garner likes on Instagram.
If MajordÅmo is worth visiting, it will be around in a couple years operating the same or similar concept, but the ridiculousness of vying for access will be much less.
Haha not at all. Iām just another member of this forum. Please feel free to criticize me whenever, but donāt hesitate to look me in the face too while you do it. I think itās only proper. My defense of Majordomoās pricing comes from one who constantly has to defend competitive pricing of Asian restaurants, especially modern Korean ones. Diners are pretty comfortable with pricing at non-Asian places, especially Italian or French. Perhaps itās perceived value that needs to change. The QPR notion, while occasionally helpful, depends on the class/ambition/financial capitalization of a restaurant and really canāt be applied across the board.
Look, Iām always happy to point out when something is expensive, or supposedly expensive. But Iāll also happily defend why I think somethingās worth the high price.
Alright so this is more about the hype machine than the actual content/offerings of the restaurant. Well I hope you can make your way over after a few months, when things die down and people realize the location isnāt the easiest for many Angelenos, and you can nab yourself a handy Tuesday evening reservation.
This is exactly the kind of post thatās unhelpful. Itās skirting argumentum ad hominem, if not crossing the line. And I have to ask: What the hell are you even talking about?
@matthewkang was active in the thread and was providing counterpoints to a few posts, because thatās what we do here. Posts, by the way, that, as @matthewkang deftly pointed out, were often inaccurate comparisons. In several cases, the posts were not informed by experience.
@matthewkang puts his cards on the table both with his credentials as well as his vested interest in seeing Korean food celebrated in new ways.
Can you address the merits of his point of view? Or should he be dismissed just because heās passionate, informed, and runs contrary to the majority in the thread?
Iām not sure I can fully-cosign that youāre ājust another member,ā but I certainly think I was direct and upfront by going out of my way to @ mention you instead of simply directly replying to the poster with whom I was in agreement.
I think this comes to the crux of my point: do you actually have to defend pricing? As noted elsewhere in this, and other threads, there certainly is a good, healthy and ongoing debate about certain ethnic cuisines historically being pigeon-holed into ācheapā price points, and I certainly agree that it is important to recognize ethnic food can be both elevated as well as home-spun. What I see, though, and what I initially commented on, is what I (and apparently a few others) have perceived as a dogged defensiveness against anyone who even suggests that the QPR might not be up to their standards. Itās a healthy debate that deserves to be had for any restaurant, but as I noted above, responding to someoneās non-personal post about their personal QPR threshold with, āPlease replicate it and invite me over so I can have some,ā is just overly-personal, bitchy and unnecessary. In my opinion.
ā¦and IMO this is the direction the discussion should have gone into earlier in this thread-- asking why does a particular poster feel that MajordÅmo falls short of this standard, and explaining why you think otherwise. Because all I got out of it was that you think elevating Korean food in this city is important (it is), but not really why you think MajordÅmo is the vehicle to do this.
Great! Looking forward to it.
No, thatās not entirely accurate. I judge things on a restaurant-by-restaurant basis, and if MajordÅmo piqued my attention by offering something truly beyond that which I cannot find elsewhere, Iād still want to check it out. But what I get from this thread is a collective āmeh,ā where it loses major points on the QPR front from several posters whose judgment I have come to highly respect. And (so far) no other compensatory factors have been articulated to offset the imbalance.
Some of my most expensive meals in the US have been Asian. Specifically - Chinese & Japanese. Iām willing to pay if the the quality warrants. i.e High end Chinese in SF, not so in LAā¦ Very high end Japanese catching up to the quality in Japan. I have not been but really keen to try Benu, they seem to be pushing the envelope with Asian influenced cuisine coupled with complex execution in an elegant setting, happily pay $$$ for a meal there.
If a restauranter wants to command $$$, it has to be commensurate with quality of offerings available locally and where applicable internationally or offer something new. A hipster facade, fancy cocktail program & celebrity chef without offering anything special is just a quick way to ring the cash registerā¦ Weāve already seen the outcome of over-expansion of Gen 1 celeb chefs - think Flay, Emeril, Puck etc. Back then for anyone young enough to remember they were the greatest thing and could do no wrong. Weāre just going through the 2nd (or 3rd wave) of this trend.
I think itās well within the purview of a discussion of a restaurant to discuss their PR/marketing efforts, especially if there seems to be an overly-defensive display of push-back against even the slightest of criticisms from known members of the local food press.
Now, Iām very curious where I āskirtedā or came anywhere close to crossing the line of an āad hominemā attack on another poster by responding (in agreement) to someoneās post and stating my opinion of how certain posts are coming across to me. @matthewkang writes for a well-known food blog, and so it strikes me as odd when he responds to mild criticism of a particular restaurant online as if he is a personal investor in the project with a financial stake. I would hope any personal affiliation would be disclosed out of journalistic ethical standards.
Correct. We discuss our opinions here. I donāt think, though, that one is obligated to have sat down and actually spent $22 for 6 small pieces of bossam to have an opinion on whether or not that cost seems reasonable given the number of bossam specialists already in Los Angeles at substantially better values. If anything, the fact that food press often receives compensated meals makes this point relative, as a food writer doesnāt have to take this into account nearly as much when forming an opinion of a restaurant.
And this is a very valuable service to the greater Los Angeles area. Again, my initial point was that I didnāt think it played well to challenge someone to recreate a dish and then invite him over to try it in response to that posterās sharing of their opinion on QPR and their decision to eat out.
I live for well-articulated contrary points of view, not unnecessarily bitchy quasi-personal attacks on posters who vaguely critique a restaurantās QPR.
Benu is truly excellent and I had the luxury of going when it was more reasonably $185 a person for dinner. Thatās fine dining though. Majordomo is priced in such a way that you could conceivably go and eat for $50 a person before drinks/tax/tip, and thatās kind of par for the course for lots of newer LA restaurants. $6 bing/eggplant or $8 butterball potatoes, $15 tapioca lo mein, $26 rare strip loin.
This is how I feel, as well. Some of my biggest splurges have also been Korean, and I still miss the Seoul Jung that used to be in the old Wilshire Grand. That place certainly didnāt have amazing QPR, but I quite liked it for the superior service they provided as well as for a few personal, sentimental reasons.
I mean honestly keep parsing this discussion all you want, but donāt hesitate to try the restaurant and formulate your opinion based on an actual experience there. Itās a tough table right now, but it wonāt be that way forever. Iām going back next week and plan to go fairly regularly to see if itās worth the cash. Will report afterwards.
are actually OF that ethnicity: Thatās a really good point, I guess I assumed that a Korean-American person whoās been following the cityās dining scene couldnāt try this place without walking away very impressed. Iām definitely supportive of progressive ways to push Korean food forward and adapting it to its environs. I think Korean cuisine has so many valuable core elements that play well with other types of cuisines and Iād love to see that further explored. I also understand the tremendous value that traditional restaurants provide in preserving culture in an age of data accumulating at critical mass, but I do not see the approaches* to be in conflict or as either/or propositions.
Yes, it is POSSIBLE to analyze a dish w/o bias, but smell and taste are such powerfully emotional (and thus irrational) senses (IMO), esp when those senses are tied to issues of identity, both personal and collective (as they are perhaps more strongly w/ āethnicā cuisine).
