Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- It’s one of the hardest reservations in the city. It sells out a month in advance. No walk-ins are accepted.

It’s not Per Se. Nor Babbo. It’s the fried chicken platter at Momofuku Noodle Bar. And if you cancel less than two days before you’ll be charged for the whole thing anyway. It costs $100. Yes, it’s just fried chicken.

Such is the brand power (and annoyance) of Momofuku, David Chang’s East Village empire that also includes Ssam Bar, Milk Bar and Ko. It’s famous for serving refined versions of unrefined hangover fare (Think: a McRib-style sandwich with smoked pork) in cacophonous, crowded environments.

In any given month, there are about 136 slots for the combo meals, which feed 4 to 8 people. That’s $13,600 worth of chicken bookings. It’s tempting to view it as a sign the recession is ending, but just like U2 tickets, “Chang Incorporated” shouldn’t be considered an economic indicator. The product will always sell out.

At Ko, where a tasting menu is $100 per person, the online- only reservations disappear in seconds. Noodle Bar uses the same system for the chicken, and those slots vanish moments after they’re released at 10 a.m.

So is this fanaticism warranted for Momofuku? Sometimes. That’s based on an appraisal of the chicken (great) and two of its other priciest items: the $200 pork butt (just as good) and the $140 rib eye (a disaster).

Cholesterol City

The irony of Noodle Bar is that until recently, the noodles weren’t very good; now they’re near perfect.

The learning curve for fowl has been quicker. Just as Momofuku helped bring pork fat back into the culinary mainstream, it’s now helping to make chicken fatty and delicious, as an alternative to the ever-popular skinless, dry and healthy.

Brown paper covers your table. You’re told the chicken is 15 minutes out. Not a problem, just order more poultry. Start with the buns. Squares of chicken lie beneath slices of baked skin. The reconstructed dish packs a wallop of sweet, crunchy, almost gamy bird flavor.

When the platter arrives, there will be two preparations: Korean and Southern. Attack the latter. A gorgeous mahogany crust coats the exterior. It adheres perfectly to the meat. You take a bite. The skin crackles, juice squirts out. The chicken gives off a perfume of Old Bay seasoning. Competing versions by Blue Ribbon, Blue Smoke and KFC pale by comparison.

The other half is Korean-style, a triple fried version similar to BonChon’s. The skin forms a greaseless, papier-mache- like shell. It’s like biting into crispy phyllo dough when done right. Here, the sweet-spicy sauce makes the crust a bit soft.

Burritos

Tear the meat with your hands. Then wrap it in thin pancakes. Is the flesh getting dry? Just add garlic-jalapeno sauce. Dress with a few shiso leaves for more fragrance, then throw in some radishes for extra crunch. It’s an Asian-American chicken burrito. Wash it down with a soju watermelon slushie and you’ve got high-end junk food at its best.

Ssam Bar, just a few blocks away from Noodle Bar serves a rib eye. It was consumed quickly by two, and could have easily fed one. It costs $140.

The meat boasts such an intensely beefy tang it wouldn’t be out of place at Minetta Tavern, for my money the city’s best steakhouse. But you can’t cut it. Ssam bar doesn’t have steak knives. Instead, you’re given the equivalent of airline knives with tiny ridges. My forearm and thumb ached as I sawed through the meat with a dull blade.

Gristly Grub

This is all vintage Chang. Comfort is expendable. None of his restaurants have seats with backs or cushions. Ssam Bar’s low ceilings and hard surfaces can send the decibel count to cruel levels. So why should we be able to cut our meat with some proper Laguiole? That would be too easy.

A rib eye should be well-marbled. Momofuku takes that to an illogical extreme, giving you too much gristly, inedible blubber. And the beef was virtually unseasoned. If you want some cow here, devour the American Wagyu. Crimson slices, dripping with melt-in-your mouth fat, are just $18. As good as Japanese Kobe.

The better call is the Bo Ssam, a whole pork butt that also must be reserved online. The good news: It’s been around for a while, so day-ahead bookings are easy. The bad news: You’ll need to make it a party -- Chang asks for 6 to 10 people to reserve one.

Sunday Suppers

This forces you to discover many of your friends are vegetarians, making them ineligible. Also understand that 2 to 3 traitors will cancel the day of the reservation.

Chang doesn’t make things easy. But in this age of individual bar dining, a collective Sunday-style my-way-or-the- highway dinner is refreshing. The butt glistens. It’s covered in a brown-sugar rub. Pile on some kimchi and raw oysters in a lettuce leaf with the meat. The combination of savory, slippery, crunchy, briny and porky will undoubtedly dirty your hands as everything drips.

“It’s like SeaWorld, you need a poncho,” said a friend.

Indeed. And come this fall, a new Momofuku is tentatively set to open in the Chambers Hotel in Midtown, featuring French- Vietnamese fare. And I’m told the seats might even have backs.

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Most dishes under $20 at Noodle, under $30 at Ssam.

Sound level? Bustling at Noodle, sadistic at Ssam.

Date place? Not unless your date wants to get fat, so, no.

Inside tip? Try the corn-fried chicken fingers at Ssam for an excellent individual poultry dish.

Special feature? The pork butt includes a dozen oysters.

Private room? At Ssam Bar.

Will I be back? Yes, but more often to Noodle Bar.

Momofuku Noodle Bar is at 171 First Ave., near 11th Street. Ssam Bar is at 207 Second Ave. at 13th Street. Information and reservations: http://www.momofuku.com

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 19, 2009 00:01 EDT