An article in the NY Times talks about the growing popularity of late nite dining (Dinner, With Dawn as a Chaser) and mentions the Korean culture of late nite eating. David Chang, the Korean American chef of Momofuku Ssam Bar, offers a “chef collaborative” effort - special dishes made by he and his co-chefs - from 10:30PM to 2:30AM. His reason for the late hours?

“You don’t have the tourists, the babies crying, the people who need their food cut up for them,” he continued. “You get people who like to eat. Gourmands, industry folks. The only drawback is you might get the drunkards, but then again, I’m one of them.”

Yes, true that. There is also a mention of street cart vendor Sam Talbot who serves Korean-accented eats such as kimchi hot dog. Writes the Times:

Mr. Talbot came up with his Korean-accented menu because he associates Korean cooking with “being up all night, with drinking and everything.”

Other mentions that I recommend: ‘Inoteca (98 Rivington St. at Ludlow St. in LES) for wine and Italian tapas and Blue Ribbon (97 Sullivan St. bet. Prince & Spring Sts. in SoHo) for fresh, raw seafood.

Update: I tried the massive Bo Ssam special ($165) at Momofuku with a group of friends on Halloween weekend - we lucked out after a party cancelled on the order, which supposedly needs a 6-hour prep time. The pork shoulder was incredibly tender and the crunchy lettuce leaves went well with the three types of fresh kimchi. The oysters were too sourly pickled and subpar. Make sure you bring eight friends because there were six of us and we definitely overstuffed ourselves.