XO has checked into the Jet Hotel

The XO menu basically breaks down into four categories: ramen (in three varieties: duck, beef and seafood), semi-dry noodles (using about half as much broth as the ramen), dry noodles (mostly Korean, plus yakisoba and a chicken pad thai based on Guerrero's time as a stagier in Bangkok), then rice...

By Jason Sheehan

June 2, 2009

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The XO menu basically breaks down into four categories: ramen (in three varieties: duck, beef and seafood), semi-dry noodles (using about half as much broth as the ramen), dry noodles (mostly Korean, plus yakisoba and a chicken pad thai based on Guerrero's time as a stagier in Bangkok), then rice. "It's authentic, absolutely," Guerrero told me. "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. That's where the XO comes in, you know? Extra Old. Like cognac, it's something special."

And the delays? "The joy of it is, I'm able to make sure everything is perfect, make sure everything has that 'Wow' factor," he said. "That every dish has its own identity."

And with that, he had to go -- back to his kitchen, back to tinkering with a menu five months in the making. And while that might seem like a lot of time to add the 'wow,' it appears to have been worth it.

I got a first look at the menu last night (while walking down the 16th Street Mall, of all places) and posted some excerpts -- including a picture -- to our Cafe Society Twitter page.

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