One of New York’s best restaurants of the past decade, innovative Korean stunner Atoboy is turning 10 this summer. And they’re doing up the anniversary deliciously, with a run of collaborations starring some of NYC’s most beloved food names: Veselka, Levain Bakery and Katz’s Delicatessen are all on the calendar this fall.
The first of those high-profile pairings arrives on September 8, when Atoboy puts a Korean spin on Veselka’s signature Ukrainian pierogi. Available through September 30, the Korean Gochujang Pork Pierogi will be stuffed with caramelized gochujang pork, cabbage, scallion and chewy rice cake, then served with a creamy kimchi ranch made with fresh herbs and white kimchi.
It’s a natural, if delightfully unexpected, meeting of two restaurants that have long made comfort food central to their appeal. Veselka has been feeding East Villagers and beyond for more than 70 years; Atoboy, meanwhile, has spent the last decade helping reshape how New Yorkers think about Korean food.
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Junghyun “JP” Park and Ellia Park opened Atoboy in 2016, building its menu around banchan: the small Korean dishes traditionally shared around a table with rice and a main course and the approachable prix-fixe format made a case for banchan as more than the complimentary sides familiar to many diners at Korean restaurants.
Atoboy went on to become the foundation of the Parks’ rapidly growing restaurant family, which now includes the two-Michelin-starred Atomix, Naro at Rockefeller Center and the Korean pub-inspired Seoul Salon. But Atoboy remains an important part of the city’s modern Korean dining story, especially as New Yorkers have become far more fluent in the pleasures of mandu, dubu and kimchi over the past 10 years.
The anniversary collaborations began earlier this summer with Nongshim Ramen. Through July 31, Atoboy served a Crispy Shin Ramyun Pancake (a pan-grilled noodle jeon with cheddar, shrimp, Shin Ramyun seasoning and Atoboy’s house-aged chili oil) as an add-on to its prix-fixe menu. Diners who ordered it even received a special co-branded ramen cup to take home.
Now, the Veselka pierogi is next, with Levain and Katz’s still to come. Details on those dishes have not yet been announced, but the prospect of Atoboy getting its hands on a black-and-white cookie or a mile-high pastrami sandwich is enough to keep us paying attention.
Dining and Cooking