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Momofuku Bakery / Milk Bar

3.5 star rating
based on 368 reviews

Categories: Bakeries, Desserts  [Edit]

Neighborhood: East Village
207 2nd Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500
Nearest Transit:

3rd Ave-14th St (L)

Astor Place (6)

Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W)

Hours:

Mon-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Sat-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Price Range:
$$
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

368 reviews for Momofuku Bakery / Milk Bar

Review Highlights   

user photo
"The others look great as well, especially the compost cookie." (in 95 reviews)
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"The crack pie is delicious, as is the dulche de leche cake." (in 88 reviews)
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"The cornflake-marshmallow-chocolate chip cookie is unreal." (in 24 reviews)
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Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Elites'
Photo of Eileen H.

 

3

9

Eileen H.

Philadelphia, PA

4 star rating
11/29/2009

Momofuku Milk Bar deserves a gold star for creativity. A group of us went one Saturday night for dessert. One of the people in our group had already been there and called it a "destination stop" so we were all convinced. There was a line to order but it moved quickly and we used our wait time to read the menu and decide what we wanted. The menu items I sampled that night were the salty pistachio caramel soft serve, cereal milk soft serve, cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookie, compost cookie, and chocolate chocolate chip cookie.

I'm not a fan of soft serve in general but the flavors I tried seemed to taste ok. The salty pistachio caramel was a bit too salty for my liking. The cookies were all very tasty and clearly very fattening (within a few minutes you can see the grease of the cookie soak through the paper bag). However, as one of my friends pointed out that night, they are not the best cookies you will ever have. Momofuku Milk Bar is a cute and clever idea - standing room only dessert bar - with food that is definitely deserving of all the praises it receives. I would definitely recommend this place to friends but do not feel a strong urge to go back anytime soon.

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Photo of Radford T.

 

11

107

Radford T.

Downtown Flushing, Queens, NY

4 star rating
11/29/2009

A friend took me to Momofuku's bakery the first time I went there, and I've been meaning to go back there ever since, because I haven't been able to stop thinking about how good their Crack Pie is.  My little sister's visit to NYC gave me the perfect reason to go back.  I had told her how great that pie was and we promptly walked up a few blocks uptown to this location after we ate dinner at St. Mark's Place.  

The first time I was there, we had to wait in line to order, but this time I was there fairly early in the night, and I was able to order as soon as I got there.  I stood in front of the counter looking at the people working behind the counter, and they seemed oblivious that there was a customer there.  They were too busy talking to each other until I said, "Hello?!"  Hey, take my order and stop talking about your girl-drama with your co-worker, damn it.  Though I should point out that I did not have any problems with service on my first visit there.

In addition to a slice of Crack Pie, we also ordered a slice of Candy Bar Pie.  Since it wasn't busy there yet, they started cutting off a slice of each pie for us after I placed my order, and we only had to wait a few minutes to get our pie.  I really like the way that their kitchen is open for us to watch them make their baked goods, my sister and I stood at the table next to the kitchen and I watched one of the girls make one of their cookies while I ate my pie.

The Crack Pie might look unassuming and plain, but once you take a bite, you'd realise what a tasty treat it is.  According to the restaurant, it is made with "gooey butter filling" and a "toasted oat crust".  On my first visit, I asked one of the employees what their best item was, and she said without hesitation that it was the Crack Pie.  It is very sweet without being overpowering, and you can definitely taste the distinctive flavour of the crust.  The Candy Bar Pie is made with caramel, peanut better, nougat, chocolate, with pretzels baked on top of the pie but under a coat of chocolate.  This pie is rich and creamy, and when you combine peanut butter together with chocolate, it's already difficult to go wrong.  Add to that combination the caramel, it was very delicious.  It was like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup pie.

I could not stop eating both of these pies.  I'm not sure why they have pork buns at this bakery, though I doubt I'll ever try it.  I wasn't very impressed with Momofuku's noodle bar and I'm fairly certain I can get better pork buns for much less money elsewhere.  I would give this place five stars if not for the fact that there are no seats and you have to stand there to eat.

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Photo of Michael C.

Elite '09

51

188

Michael C.

New York, NY

3 star rating
11/22/2009

For those of you keeping count, I'm 2/3 in my Momofuku bandwagoning. (Maybe 2/4, is that new hotel restaurant open?) In any case, came here on a Friday night around 9pm and experienced about a 15 minute wait. We found a really nice lady from Chicago ahead of us, who we ended up sharing desserts with. So if you're reading this, hello! You reminded us of our anatomy instructor.

Milk Bar is a cute, standing-only dessert bar. It wouldn't be David Chang without the unique array of flavors. Of course, the famous soft serve (people! stop calling it ice cream!), of which my favorite was old-fashioned donut. Yes, the flavors change regularly, so don't go there expecting to taste the same as I did. The carrot cake and banana cake were amazing. The cookies were a cheap deal, although to be honest, I felt everything was more than reasonably priced.

So why the 3 stars, even though this is a glowing review? All the hype is killing my meals at Momofukus. I'm sorry David Chang. If only I had dropped into all your restaurants after spending 25 years on a remote deserted Pacific island...

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Photo of James H.

Elite '09

22

123

James H.

Brooklyn, NY

5 star rating
11/22/2009

I have no idea why it has taken me this long to write my review for Milk Bar. But now, it is time.

Simply put, Milk Bar has the absolute, most delicious, amazing, mind-blowing, fantastic and utterly genius desserts.

Let me run some shit by you.

The ice cream:

A lot of places have a lot of unique flavors of ice cream, but I tend to find that the names of ice creams tend to vaguely describe abstract flavors. For instance 'grape' and 'chocolate' don't actually taste like grape or chocolate. But at Milk Bar, I have never experience flavors so accurately portrayed. Some of the more exotic flavors they throw at ya: Old-Fashioned Doughtnut, Chocolate Malt, Salted Pistachio Caramel, Horchata (my favorite) and of course, their specialty, the Cereal Milk.

Moving on, they also have a nice selection of cookies. The compost cookie (which is accurately named for having 10 random ingredients) can be both marshmallowy and crunchy at the same time. However, I prefer the chocolate cookie, which is basically like having a buffet of chocolate explode in your mouth.

All this aside, where they really excel is in their cakes. Jesus Christ almighty are their cakes good. I've had the Banana, the Carrot, the Chocolate Malt, the Strawberry and the Dolce de Leche, and each and every single one of them really stands out as one of the most unique and delicious cakes I have ever had. Seriously. Best Cake Ever.

They also sell a different Bread of the Day, pork buns, and pies. However, I have never had them.

Go here. Now. It will change your life.

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Photo of Lily N.

Elite '09

50

122

Lily N.

Brooklyn, NY

4 star rating
11/16/2009

So on a rainy saturday night, I was waiting for a date to show up to Luzzo's. He scheduled to meet up at 9pm...and he was late. So what was the best way for him to redeem himself?  He brought me to Momofuku Bakery, a place that I hear about all over yelp but have yet to go to myself.

So it was packed when we got there, and the place has a weird setup that makes it even more difficult to wait in line. But it's worth the wait.

We shared a slice of crack pie and two cookies (the one with cornflakes and the one with pretzels). The crack pie was amazing... hmm isn't it nice how the guy serves me crack as an apology? Cookies were alright, they were interestingly weird. People should try it at least once, but it didn't really serve my tastebuds enough to get it another time.

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Photo of albert o.

 

97

97

albert o.

New York, NY

5 star rating
11/18/2009

The first time I went to Milk Bar, I was tempted to order pork buns even though I was there to have dessert. What, the hoisin sauce on there is sweet, isn't it? Doesn't that count?

While the pork buns would have been fine, I would have been MISSING OUT on the rest of the amazing baked goods and soft serve ice cream. I generally don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I've had a range of the cookies and pies and cakes there--the compost cookie, crack pie, and cereal milk ice cream never fail to disappoint because a lot of what they serve really plays the sweet and salty together really well as well as expertly incorporating complex textural combinations. Wow.

I tend to drop in for dessert if I'm having dinner in the area, or come in for pork buns if I'm drinking in the area--Oh, did i mention they serve Stumptown coffee?

afterthought: the best thing I've probably eaten there was focaccia with chinese sausage baked inside. I had seen it earlier at Ssäm bar, where they were serving it with mussels, but luckily they were serving it on it's own. Sublime.

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Photo of Thomas S.

 

3

41

Thomas S.

New York, NY

5 star rating
11/25/2009

This is my first foray into the David Chang restaurant scene, and while I admit this place is a little gimmicky and expensive, the food is just so great and interesting that I can't complain.

The boyfriend and I were out for our anniversary dinner, and we decided to wrap things up at Milk Bar, as he'd been once before and I'd never been at all. The first time (we went two times in one week, eek!), I got the crack pie and he got the cinnamon bun pie, both of which are excellent. The crack pie seems somewhat dull at first but let me assure you that it's anything but! The butter and brown sugar filling is so rich that it's almost impossible to finish a slice on your own. The cinnamon bun cake is similarly rich, my favorite part being the cheesecake filling.

Second time around, we both got the donut soft serve. The portion seems somewhat small at first, but as with everything else here its so sugary that it's pretty hard to finish it. That being said, we of course ate the entire things by ourselves nevertheless.

Believe the hype, this place is the real deal.

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Photo of hunter w.

 

39

179

hunter w.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
11/28/2009

the soft serve named "cereal milk" tastes like cereal milk. that's enough right there to earn some points.

ice cream, cookies and pie in sweet and creative flavors. Standing tables if you wish to hang out and consume.

Savory pork buns - but only until 5pm!

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Photo of Maritess Z.

Elite '09

431

257

Maritess Z.

Seattle, WA

4 star rating
11/5/2009

Oh god, I miss New York so much I can only bring myself to write one review during my last visit. Milk Bar was awesome. Long wait? No big deal with the cool crowd whisperiing about the soft serve cereal milk, the soft serve stuffing that really tastes like stuffing--ew and wow...and the red hots soft serve.

Oh yeah--shared the crack pie, yeah, I really would say that it's made of crack, and the soft serve cereal milk, wow, I will dream of that, the cookies were alright, but I can't wait to go back. The desserts are so rich, I can't imagine going back alone, although my friends have said they have happily gone back alone  ;) In retrospect, the desserts were good because of their originality.

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Photo of Chad T.

Elite '09

15

186

Chad T.

Sunnyside, NY

5 star rating
11/6/2009 1 photo

Cereal Milk.

Did you understand what I just said?  Read it again.

Do you remember what it was like as a kid, having a huge bowl of cereal and then drinking the extra sweet, every-so-slightly gritty milk that was left in the bowl? That's what this is.  Wonderful, deliciously creamy whole milk mixed around with cornflakes.  And then the cornflakes are removed, leaving just cereal milk.  Then they bottle it.  And give you a cup for dipping cookies in it.

Seriously, one of the most fun desserts I've had in NYC.  Go try it.

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Photo of evan t.

 

25

68

evan t.

CA

4 star rating
11/29/2009

compost cookie kicks ass.  Cakes are a bit decadent, but still good.  Cereal froyo was nothing special.

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Photo of Jennifer W.

Elite '09

39

112

Jennifer W.

Miami, FL

5 star rating
11/18/2009

I have 3 words: Pork Bun Sandwiches

David Chang is a G...
The cereal milk ice cream, the gigantic cookies, and those mini pork bun sandwiches... I can eat 500 of them and still want more.

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Photo of Allison M.

Elite '09

6

65

Allison M.

Jersey City, NJ

5 star rating
11/14/2009

Two words: CRACK PIE!!!!!

A few other words:  rice pudding pie, pistachio pie, cereal milk soft serve (!), and cornflake chocolate marshmallow cookies (!!).  

I will be back many, many times....

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Photo of Jessica C.

Elite '09

121

125

Jessica C.

San Mateo, CA

3 star rating
11/14/2009

I'd rate this a 2.5 if I could but clearly that's not an option. Why a 2.5? Because it's okay, it's meh - nothing mindblowing like his Bo Ssam at Ssam Bar which I'll rate 5 stars. Everyone said come here for the desserts and the Egg Sandwich and so we went and it left me feeling - okay.  If I could never eat one of the desserts that came out of there again, I'd still live a very sweet life.

You wonder what kind of people would LOVE this place? The type of people who buy loaves of bread with embedded nuts. This place is for people who like multiple layers, textures and toppings to their desserts - because the only thing they forgot to put in their desserts is the KITCHEN SINK.

Desserts we tried:
Candy Bar Pie (chocolate crust, caramel, peanut butter nougat, pretzels), Banana Cake( banana cream, hazelnut crunch, gianduja fudge, Blueberry Cream Cookie (dried blueberries, milk crumbs), Cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie and Compost Cookie™ - (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips)
Sampled the ice creams - they were okay.

As you can tell just by reading the above - the only thing missing is indeed the kitchen sink. The cookies should really be called Buffet Cookies. I like my dessert with minimal textures so maybe that's why I'm hating?

On a positive note - the savory items are edible and enjoyable as D Chang can do no wrong with his Pork Bun or Egg Sandwich. Lastly, It's wonderful to see New Yorkers pour hot sauce over each bite with egg yolk spilling down their hands. Such a beautiful sight.

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Photo of Finer D.

 

0

11

Finer D.

New York, NY

1 star rating
11/29/2009

Once upon a time, Momofuku Milk Bar served delicious soft serve ice cream in a perfectly sized plastic cup -- not too big and not too small.

Then the war on plastic descended upon the Momo universe. Now, Momofuku Milk Bar serves its ice cream in miniscule paper cups. Not only will you get ice cream all over your hands, but the server's hands will also touch your ice cream. Also, Momofuku Milk Bar replaced the cute little plastic spoons with practically useless wooden non-spoons (tip -- bring your own plastic spoon).

We're talking about Manhattan here so most people will not mind since they will tell themselves they're helping the environment. But why can't Momofuku Milk Bar find some larger paper cups? It seems like David Chang and his beancounters used this green opportunity to shortchange customers.

Also, what happened to our previous concern about deforestation? Doesn't plastic save trees?

No more Momofuku Milk Bar for me.

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Photo of Jason R.

Elite '09

3

101

Jason R.

Hoboken, NJ

4 star rating
11/5/2009

I finally got to experience these pork buns everyone is talking about. Mind you, i have lots of experience eating pork buns (dim sum style - baked or fluffy).

These were far and away the best ever. But for $9 you only get 2 small buns, which i consumed in 30 seconds flat. I wanted 2 more, but that would be a little ridiculous, playing $18 for 4 pork buns.

Anyhow - they are sublime.

I also picked up some cornbread, which was good, but nothing outrageous.

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Photo of Adam W.

 

7

98

Adam W.

New York, NY

3 star rating
11/12/2009

As I'm sure you already know, Momofuku is no typical bakery. With menu items like banana green curry bread, you know you're in for something different as soon as you walk in.

Some friends and I came here for some dessert after a late dinner. We were picking up some cake and pie for my friend's birthday, so we figured we could get a few solid slices here.

We ordered the chocolate chip cake and the pistachio cake, along with a slice of the candy bar pie. By far my favorite was the chocolate chip cake. The passion fruit curd complements the chocolate flavor surprisingly nicely. The pistachio cake was also quite good. As far as cake goes, this place is excellent.

However, the candy bar pie was rather disappointing. While it was tasty because of its sweetness (chocolate crust, peanut butter nougat and caramel filling), it was also very salty, which didn't really work for me. The only other thing I can say is that you should expect a wait when you come in here. If you're in the area looking for dessert, this is definitely worth a try, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here.

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Photo of Amy N.

Elite '09

18

221

Amy N.

San Francisco, CA

2 star rating
11/5/2009

I didn't like it.
Sure, the blueberry cream cookie was OK, but I was glad I paid for the under-a-buck day-old version. I think it was the milk crumbs that detracted from it. If you like creamier flavors in your cookies, then you'll probably like this. It was almost like white chocolate when I expected it to be less sweet.

Cereal milk sounds like it will be good, but then I realized it didn't taste like MY cereal milk. It's just the taste of cornflakes. Bland and uninteresting. You get one yogurt sample for free. I think they only allow one taste because it's usually busy in there. If you ask for another sample when there's no line you may get one. I also sampled the (salted?) cucumber flavor soft serve, and while I wouldn't want to eat a full-sized version it did indeed taste like what it's meant to. Watermelon was just eh, too. Bit too sweet.

Their cookies are ridiculous, as are most of their cakes/pies. They all sound like they'd give you a stomachache. Example: Compost Cookie containing pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch,
chocolate chips. Or the candy bar pie with chocolate crust, caramel, peanut butter nougat, pretzels. When you were a kid you were probably told you can have one of the ingredients, but not all of them.

Very original, but I don't think I could eat them unless I'd had a small enough dinner. I prefer light desserts. But if you prefer the heavy, sugary stuff, this will be your kind of place. It's not that I don't like unusual concoctions in my desserts, these just didn't taste good to me.

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Photo of David G.

Elite '09

18

90

David G.

Jersey City, NJ

4 star rating
11/7/2009

They have great cookies here. I really enjoy the chocolate-chocolate and compost. Their cakes are pretty good too - we got the chocolate chip last time. It's very, very dense.

Can get really crowded though.

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Photo of Brandon V.

 

0

3

Brandon V.

Jersey City, NY

3 star rating
11/27/2009

For the prices they ask-
$5 for a slice of pie
$1.85 for one cookie
$4 for soft serve ice cream,
I think its a little too much. Though it is interesting - the compost cookie, cereal ice cream, its something you should definitely try once just to see what all the hype is about.

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Photo of Colleen L.

Elite '09

63

151

Colleen L.

Brooklyn, NY

2 star rating
10/21/2009

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Milk Bar is just OK. The line was long, the stuff was pricey, and what we got was too rich to actually finish. The two people I went with both got soft serves - the Cherries Jubilee had a nice sourness to it, but kind of got too intense after a while and the Cereal Milk was too sweet after the 3rd or 4th bite. It did taste exactly like cereal though. My friend kept going on & on about that.

I got the crack pie. It was about 2 pounds of butter and a pound of sugar, baked in an oatmeal crust. If your average person made this, we would laugh and say 'that's not a pie, that's diabetes in a crust!' and tell them to go try again. But since it's associated with David Chang, we're supposed to be addicted? Sorry, no.

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Photo of Philip S.

 

3

86

Philip S.

New York, NY

3 star rating
11/7/2009

While Momofuku is known for it's creative desserts, I don't think the desserts were mind-blowingly good. They all contain delicious individual ingredients, but added together, don't seem to taste like an unifying entity.

I mean, you could assemble your own crazy mixture of candy bars, cream, pretzels, etc. and come up with something very similar. For that reason, Momofuku is not as great as it's made out to be.

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Photo of Amy C.

 

11

41

Amy C.

San Francisco, CA

3 star rating
10/24/2009

The cookies are spot on and delicious, but the place is impossibly loud and crowded. All. The. Freaking. Time. Seriously though, why is the music SO loud? I feel like a granny complaining about "those young whippersnappers with their loud music," but I haven't even hit 30 yet, so that can't be the issue. If I wanted to hear The Pussycat Dolls at those volumes, I'd rather just stab straws into my eardrums.

I mean, I'll wait in line for good eats without qualm, but Momofuku brings me to a level of claustrophobia-induced near-panic. And I'm not claustrophobic.

I still yearn for the compost cookie, but I couldn't bring myself to go there again during my NYC trip. Will someone let me know if/when they start shipping their stuff?

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Photo of Will C.

 

264

120

Will C.

New York, NY

3 star rating
10/16/2009

Soft Serve was delicious, cereal and milk tasted like cereal and milk, watermelon was awesome, horchata was decent, worth the wait on the hot New York night.

Crack pie was very sugary and the cake was nothing to write home about, tasted like a pb jelly and banana sandwich in cake form.

Average baked goods. Get the soft serve, haven't tried the cookies.

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Photo of Jonathan Z.

 

13

48

Jonathan Z.

Queens, NY

5 star rating
11/6/2009

Milk Bar is awesome!!

I love a place that serves fresh-out-of-the-oven delicious cookies and offers 3 kinds of milk to dip with.  For those who want to know, I went with the cereal milk to compliment the cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie I devoured.

The place is lively and fun. Cool staff. Satisfy your sweet tooth here!!

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Elite '09

650

1220

Dave H.

Philadelphia, PA

4 star rating
10/7/2009 9 photos

One Sunday we stopped by Momofuku Milk Bar to kill time before lunch. It was early, and no surprise that we had the entire place to ourselves.

Long, high tables broke up the dining space, providing us with a perch to enjoy a bite.

We "ooh-ed" over Milk Bar's treats - pies, asian pork buns - and "aah-ed" over their eclectic cookie selection. We ended up sharing a delightful cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie ($1.85; credit cards accepted). Never in my wildest dreams could I concoct such a combination! It was sweet deliverance: when I sunk my teeth into the morsel, I encountered a tiny bit of gooey resistance, then a ton of flavor. Did I mention it was sweet?

For the curious, my associate had coffee and I had water. No booze.

A witty staffer behind the counter kept us entertained. (Presumably his name was "Ling" - on the receipt - but he definitely wasn't a Ling; he played the part with panache, though.) He furnished refreshing samples of soft serve ice cream - the strawberry shortcake flavor was my favorite.

I'll be back for soft serve and to try more cookies!

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Elite '09

61

242

Katie F.

Houston, TX

5 star rating
10/13/2009

I can't believe I've lived on this earth for 29 whole years and have never tried crack pie until now.  I can officially die a happy woman.

My friend & I had dessert here to top off a night of greasy spoon eating...we figured adding massive quantities of butter to the mix would hit the spot, and we were right.  Food coma ensued.

Crack pie is like nothing you've ever had.  Even if you're a chocolate fiend, you've got to try it.  It is served cold on an oat crust, and the filling is basically glorious, glorious butter.  You had better bring a friend so you can share, because it's crazy intense.

The compost cookies are also life-changing.  Perfectly crispy on the outside and soft & delicious inside: the butter melts on the bottom and forms a toffee-like, crispy crust.  For God's sake, there's potato chips, butterscotch, and coffee in there - I don't know how they do it, but that cookie is the holy grail of all cookies.

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Elite '09

23

80

emily h.

Brooklyn, NY

5 star rating
10/12/2009

Holy hell, how have I not reviewed this place yet?

Dude. Forget the fucking hype and go to the Milk Bar. Now. You can avoid the actual ice cream, I could care less. But get yourself a compost cookie. Fuck that, get three. Get a cornflake cookie, too. It tastes like a weird cornflake-rice krispy treat hybrid cookie. Try the passionfruit cake. Or the banana cake. Just please, for the love of mercy, don't turn down the cookie or the gods of sweet-salty desserts will smite you.

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Photo of Christina C.

Elite '09

28

62

Christina C.

New York, NY

4 star rating
10/2/2009

One of the outposts of David Chang's Momofuku empire, Milk Bar is his house of sugar laden sweet baked goods, soft serve yogurt and cereal milk.

This is where diabetics come to die.

Milk Bar was also the final destination to "Girl's Night." So between 6 girls, we've consumed their Crack Pie, Banana Cream Cake, Compost Cookies, Dulce de Leche Cake, Horchata frozen yogurt, Watermelon frozen yogurt and Sweet and Salty Cucumber yogurt. Our hips and thighs felt the inches increase by the second as we hungrily consumed everything on our side of the bar.

6 spoons made its way through each dessert, only leaving the Cucumber yogurt to melt alone at the end. We elbowed and pushed it out of our sights. Because that thing was NASTY! It smelled like lawn and tasted like a really bad sticky emulsion of spoiled cucumbers. Watching other people's reactions as they sampled this flavor was a show itself. I wouldn't be surprised if the place was taping all of us grimace in disgust.

My favorite was the Horchata frozen yogurt that reminded me of my days in California eating carne asada burritos and drinking cold horchata filled with the taste of cinnamon. The Momofuku version is a whole lot creamier and delicious with a hit from the cinnamon. Absolutely delicious. They also have a cinnamon tortilla topping, which would go nicely with the horchata yogurt.

I also purchased the compost cookie (filled with pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips, cereal and anything you can possibly imagine that can go in a cookie) several times before, but last night it was made with so much butter to the point that my napkin was full of grease. I prefer the Blueberry Cream cookie, which tastes exactly like a blueberry muffin with a cookie consistency. Yummers. Everything else was mediocre, but the Crack Pie. Let me tell you...one bite of that and it has the power to kill. Holy crap. If a giant Reese's Peanut Butter cookie and the Snickers bar had a love child, this would be it.

I'm also obsessed with the cleanliness of their restroom here, a rarity in an East Village establishment. Free water is complimentary next to the restroom as well. Cute atmosphere and friendly service. Just stick to everything else, but the cucumber yogurt. Please.

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Elite '09

14

106

Yohanna B.

San Francisco, CA

2 star rating
10/7/2009

After Ippudo, I looked to my list of places to try and figured out that Momofuku Bakery/Milk Bar was just a short walk away.  So off I go, dessert in my mind.

To those who have never been here before, this place is on the corner of 2nd Ave & 13th, and the entrance is actually on 13th.  If you are walking on 2nd, what you will see is the Ssam Bar.  Don't get confused, simply walk around the corner and welcome yourself to the bakery.

So I perused the menu, pondered and considered whether I should get the compost cookie or the crack pie.  Seeing that a slice of the crack pie cost over $5, I figured it must be a pretty hefty slice.  Still full from lunch, I decided to go light and get the compost cookie instead.  Oh and I also asked for a sample of the sweet & salty cucumber soft serve.

My overall impression was: meh.  The menu sounds creative, but after I tasted the compost cookie and being slightly disappointed, I got skeptical of the rest of the offerings.  The compost cookie was waaaaayyyy too sweet for my tastebuds.  And I couldn't denote any of the potato chips that it was supposed to have.  The cucumber soft serve was.. different.  I don't think I'll ever get it, but maybe the other flavors would've been better.

Two stars because it really isn't as great as it sounds, plus it's way overpriced.  Momofuku should not venture to baked goods.

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Elite '09

36

183

Cindy C.

New York, NY

3 star rating
10/14/2009

Hmmm crack pie. It's as good as the inappropriateness of the name.

Hmmm crack pie. Hmmmm crack pie....crack pie..c r a c k pie....

c r a a a a c k p i e

ok. Seriously though, everything else we ordered was good, but not great, most of the desserts we ordered (chocolate chip cake, rice pudding, soft serve) were either too sweet (the cake and soft serve) or had elements that I hated: ginger and cinnamon (rice pudding). In all honesty, I couldn't really detect any sort of fusion/asian influence in the desserts. They were good, but over priced and over hyped...like most other momofuku chains.

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43

49

Alex L.

New York, NY

2 star rating
10/7/2009

I checked this place out last night, and I was amazed that there wasn't as large of a line/reservation list as there was for the momofuku restaurant next door.

First off, the soft serve was pretty decent. I played it safe and did watermelon, though. My friends tried sweet and salty, and it was definitely not my cup of tea (or glass of milk). I also tried a few swigs of cereal milk ... which almost surely tastes like my corn flake breakfast left in milk for the morning and had as an afternoon snack.

I give the place points for being different and interesting, but I just don't think I can properly palate what others would call "revolutionary" desserts, nor can I stomach paying $6 for a small piece of pie.

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19

14

Vincent Y.

Boston, MA

4 star rating
10/7/2009

This is my conclusion after eating there for 10 months.

Tosi and Chang have created a mad laboratory and they pump out the hits and always aim for the stars- and taken all my money.

Poached egg pork bun: the poached egg doesnt work for me. It's impossible to eat with the pork bun. It's way too big. You can pop it but then the beautiful runny inside, well, runs down your shirt. There has to be a better way for him to approach this. Maybe enjoy the pork fat poached egg separately. But it's awesome. It's recently been deep-fried as well and it seems a bit smaller but it's still hard to eat it with the egg.

Volcano: when i got it reheated, only parts of it were warm. It's a great concept and sells out daily but I almost wish it was baked right before I got there for it to be perfect. Could use less butter.

Pistachio cake: the crumb is amazing. I just have good memories of this cake. ANYTHING WITH MILK CRUMBS IN IT ARE AMAZING. (seasonal)

Arnold Palmer cake: Didn't work too well for me. Too many different flavored layers and the cake was too big. (seasonal)

Soft serve: Rosemary was very much like my favorite way to make roast chicken. Definitely savory. Of the current watermelon and Horchata, both reminded me of my summers in Los Angeles. AWESOME.

Coffee milk: i love the concept but I hope it's not just espresso, salt, yogurt and salt. Very expensive ($5) for a small 16oz bottle but I've paid more for crappy starbucks. It tastes good but I don't agree with Wylie Dufresne in going there daily for my daily fix.

COMPOST COOKIE: the hype is met. every. bite. I love this cookie. I've bought dozens at a time and I hope that the recipe's in their cookbook. I wonder how this would taste like with milk crumbs?

Although the prices have risen steadily since it first opened, I would still pay $1.75 for the compost cookie. (it's cheaper by the dozen) I also love trying whatever inventive new cake they make. For Christmas, I would love a caramel latte cake with milk crumbs. PLEASE!

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10

49

helen c.

Jersey City, NJ

2 star rating
10/21/2009

Been here twice and the soft serve is the way to go. Had the old-fashioned donut and the Horchata soft serve. Impressed with how creamy they were, considering that this is made without egg.

I'm most likely not going to try the crack pie. That's like saying 'Yes, please.' to a serving of diabetes. No thanks.

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6

52

Mary B.

Brooklyn, NY

4 star rating
10/21/2009

The Milk Bar has the best egg sandwich on the entire planet. The pork, the hoisin-y sauce, cucumbers, and then you add some sriracha, and your mind explodes. Plus, they serve Stumptown coffee. I don't know, I may have to reconsider what I just said...it might not just be the best breakfast sandwich, it might just be the best breakfast in the world.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the sweets. They're all really exciting and creative, but they sound more interesting than they ultimately are. Everything is sweeter than it needs to be--I'm all for excess, but even excess should be done in moderation.

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Elite '09

67

188

Bobby B.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
11/15/2009

I am not a huge sweets fan however I am very glad I do not live in the same city as Milk Bar, this place is unreal good, the compost cookies would result in an additional 10+ lbs for me, everything looked good even after we had just been stuffed from dinner and Momofuku's.The staff was lively and friendly and you could tell how people were happy to be in there, they are after all about to stuff themselves with some great sweets :)

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12

57

Amanda L.

Queens, NY

4 star rating
9/28/2009

So far I've only been here twice, and have only had the ice cream because I have a thing for rotating dessert menus.  My first time I had a red licorice ice cream with twizzler topping.  Sounds like a twizzler lova's dream come true, which it almost was...but the ice cream made my twizzler bits too cold and hard.  

The last time I went, which was last week, I wanted to try Horchata or Cereal Milk ice cream, but I decided to change things around and try this weird Sweet + Salty Cucumber flavor.  I figured, "it's made into an ice cream flavor.  I love ice cream.  A part of me will like it"...but no no, it was too crazytown bad.  So I ended up blindly purchasing Cereal Milk with Cornflake topping, because I had used up my one sample limit.  

I respect the one sample per person policy, but it's hard with an ice cream menu like theirs.  If they offered more than one sample, they can give them in tiny spoons or cups instead of those bigger cups.

I definitely want to go back and try the cookies and maybe another baked good.  Price wise, I don't expect it to be any less, but it's a gamble when you are always trying new things.

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Elite '09

133

438

Sonia C.

New York, NY

3 star rating
Updated - 10/12/2009

I came back on a weekend to try their volcano.  If you don't know what a volcano is, it's basically potatoes, ham, and cheese encased in a baguette roll.  This article makes it sound like the tastiest thing ever: http://bit.ly/hMfrI.  It's only made on weekends, and I was told it sells out before 1pm, so I made my friends come here at 11:30a on a Saturday.  When one of my friends ended up running 20 minutes late, I spent the time agonizing over whether or not they would sell of volcanoes.

AND IT WAS SOOOO NOT WORTH IT.

Ok, it was all right, perhaps even pretty good to my hungry stomach, but it had been way overhyped in my mind.  First of all, our volcanoes arrived cold in the center because they had failed to heat it thoroughly.  They tasted much better after we returned it to the staff for a second nuking.  Secondly, it just didn't taste so great.  My friend remarked that it tasted like a "clam chowder bread bowl that's dried up so all you have left are the potatoes, some thick sauce, and some salty bits."  I find that a pretty accurate description.

Hesitant to say David Chang is overrated until I try Ko, but as I've tried out all his other establishments and have left unimpressed, I'm not willing to play the 10am website reservation game with Ko in the foreseeable future.

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1 Previous Review: Show all »

  • 3 star rating
    1/11/2009

    Good but not great.  I tried the cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookie and the candy bar pie.… Read more »

Photo of Jakob H.

Elite '09

80

80

Jakob H.

Mountain View, CA

4 star rating
9/21/2009

Only on this trip to I start my brunches at a dessert bar. :) Our first stop of Sunday morning was the Milk Bar of the Momofuku Empire. Having never been to any of them, I came in kind of devoid of expectations outside of anecdotal stories from my partner in crime. About the only thing I new to expect was going to be sweets, but we were surprisingly light on them for our trip here. The centerpiece of the food we grabbed were some pork buns, splitting a pair between the two of us alongside some cookies and some fresh whole milk.

One sentence here goes to the milk. I've forgotten how awesome fresh whole milk is.

Two sentences go to the pork buns. Savory, light, filling, they were the perfect start to the day. I only regret a teensy bit throwing the Siracha on them, as I'm pretty sure they would have stayed awesome even without the sauce.

Three sentences go to the cookies. The compost cookie is supposedly famous, potato chips and all, while the blueberry cookie was Melissa's favorite. I wanted these cookies to be so much more. They made me sad, but this was quickly offset by having the whole milk immediately after, upping the cookies by at least one notch.

I wasn't blown away, but I came away from it solidly impressed. To be honest, I think a lot of what sold me was the prices. The pork buns we had weren't ridiculously expensive for the amount of food, which was the opposite of what I expected when I saw all the other prices. So, my hat off to you, Milk Bar, for delivering something delicious, affordable, and all under your momo-ing fuku-ing empire.

---

New York with The Queen of Cupcakes
List: http://www.yelp.com/li...
Stop: 9 (Aug 11) Sunday "Morning"ish

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3

35

Elizabeth H.

New York, NY

3 star rating
11/19/2009

The desserts here are unlike anything you'll find at another NYC dessert shop. Even the softserve flavors are completely offbeat, rotating from assorted cereal flavors one time I went to the current assortment that includes donut, pistachio/salted-caramel, and the staple cereal milk flavor.   I have yet to find a flavor I like enough as a sample to order a full size but clearly the cereal milk has its fans.  The answer to why you'd want to eat something that tastes like milk in your cornflake bowl escapes me.  
The cookies, pies, and cakes are really interesting.  The chocolate chip cake is my personal favorite.  Not too sweet, and a hint of passion fruit in the cream filling which makes it SO much better.  The crack pie is insanely sweet  - seriously pure sugar,  and the compost cookie is good in the sense that I bet you've never had a cookie with every snack from the vending machine mixed into the batter.  
Your best bet is to go with friends and split multiple things so you can balance the crazy sweet things with the milder items.  Also don't plan to linger. It gets really crowded and you just stand and eat at tables. If you wanted to chat over pork buns just go next door to Ssam.

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