Food & Wine USA - (07)July 2020

60 JULY 2020

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Yoo and his team spend their days

cooking up what they are calling

“happy meals” for the neighborhood.

“It’s not food we’d typically serve

at the restaurant, but it’s food that

brings people comfort, for cheap.”

The popular daily special, which

costs just $7, is enough to last for

two meals. Initially, Yoo used ingre-

dients donated from restaurants that

decided to fully close, but now he is

working with his purveyors to keep

his prices low so that he doesn’t have

to charge more.

their pivot

The retro-yet-stylish counter at

Golden Diner in New York City

why we love them

The calamari arrives with a side

of marinara spiked with nam jim,

a spicy Thai sauce; the club sand-

wich is upgraded with chicken

katsu; the cheeseburger’s slath-

ered with mushroom-gochujang

sauce. Chef Sam Yoo has figured

out what the diner has been miss-

ing: a fully stocked Asian larder.

new york city

CLASSIC DINER HITS

REIMAGINED THROUGH AN

ASIAN AMERICAN LENS

GOLDEN

DINER

three happy meals

DAN DAN NOODLES: “This was our first

happy meal, and it was our biggest hit.

We even made a vegetarian version

with oyster mushrooms instead of beef.”

CHICKEN AND RICE: “Chicken and rice

is beloved in NYC, but we did it with an

Asian twist. We grilled the chicken and

served it with garlic rice and a side of

tingly cumin-chile oil.”

PENNE ALL’AMATRICIANA: “Being a

diner, we obviously have a lot of bacon

in house. And who doesn’t like pasta?” PHO

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