📍Nowon, New York City
Nowon has been one of the more interesting burger places in New York since it opened. They blend American food with Korean flavors in a way that makes you wonder why it wasn't like this to start. I've found myself back at their place time after time for their burger and other things. I saw on their Instagram that they were doing a Lunar New Year special Lamb Smashburger. I had to get it.
I made Friday night reservations with one of my friends to go check this out. Nowon usually serves the burger cut in half so it's an ideal place to split a burger. My friend had never been to Nowon so this came together pretty easily. It's always busy but with a couple of days of planning, it's straightforward to get a reservation.
I got there a little early as we tried to expand our two into three. It took some doing but they accommodated us when they didn't need to. This night is already off to a good start. Arriving at 6:30, it's not too crowded but between that time and when the rest of my party arrived at our scheduled time of 7:00, it got full. Each seat was taken including the one they added for our third.
I ordered a drink at the bar before we got seated. I ordered the Big Head which is a kimchi-infused tequila with an aperitif and orange liqueur. The drink is dominated by the kimchi brine flavor. An absolute umami bomb that would make a dirty martini blush. There's a little bit of bitterness and a little bit of sweetness to round out the drink. I don't think this is for everyone but if you want a briny/spicy drink, it's worth checking out.
Honey Butter Tater Tots & Chopped Cheese Rice Cakes at Nowon
We ordered the Honey Butter Tater Tots and Chopped Cheese Rice Cakes to split for the table. I've tried both on previous visits. The tater tots are crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside. They're perfect representations of tater tots. Like everything here, it's flipped on its head because it's tossed in a honey butter sauce with garlic and nori flakes. It's salty, buttery, and sweet resulting in a very addictive bite.
The Chopped Cheese Rice Cakes use Korean rice cakes covered in a beefy cheese sauce that's reminiscent of a chopped cheese sandwich. It has some tomato notes for ketchup in the sauce, I wouldn't be surprised if they put some in. Beyond that, the sauce has some chili peppers and garlic to go along with that cheese. Texturally it's like gnocchi and you eat with chopsticks. This is one of those dishes that sticks to you.
Despite the size, Nowon does a New York-style pizza. They mix gochujang into the sauce and top it with some chili oil, otherwise, it's the classic sauce and cheese pie. The crust is light but crispy on the edges with a little flop when you pull out the slice. There's a decent amount of cheese. I got quite the pull but didn't have my camera out. Between the cheese and the chili oil, you get that shine. Even with the added heat and complexity in the sauce, this feels like a representative pizza. It doesn't come across as a gimmick.
Lunar New Year Lamb Smashburger at Nowon
The Lamb Smashburger was a special for the Lunar New Year. It's the reason I went the day I did. They smash the lamb with some herbs namely dill. It's topped with pickled radish, American cheese, and a sauce. They call the bun a sesame pita, I thought it was more of an English Muffin. The bun had some crunchy bits and some of the edges had browned. Lots of nooks and crannies to hold the juices and sauce from the burger. I thought the bun held together nicely though the texture contrast threw me between the crunchy and non-crunchy bits.
The dill and cilantro married with lamb meat beautifully. I think the herbs were smashed into the lamb, like onions are in an OKC-style smash burger. It overtook a bit of the expected gameness from the lamb and replaced it with freshness. I'm sure the radish helped here also. The sauce and American cheese melded together. It was a little gooey, and a little spicy, but it brought that sort of American burger sauce meets Korean flavors vibe like everything else at Nowon.
The lighting inside did my photography no favors. I'm glad I'm sharing this night regardless.
📍Nowon
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