Quote of the Day: Chef David Chang

“When I worked at Café Boulud, I hated making food for East Siders. I hate their air of superiority. I hate investment bankers. I don’t want Momofuku Ko to come off as elitist or snobbish. I don’t want shithead bankers and the friends of dickhead traders who spend thousands. ...

"My partner gets to kick me in the balls if he catches me wearing those reflective silvered sun- glasses that asshole Europeans wear indoors. I can do the same to him.”

That was the celebrated New York chef David Chang, the man behind the Momofuku trio of restaurants in the East Village. He was profiled in December's GQ and named one of that magazine's "men of the year," in the chef category.

Chang has won lots of awards, including "Chef of the Year" from Bon Appétit, prompting New York Magazine to say, "Chang is indeed a talented and earnest cook, who had the courage and originality to find a way of serving good restaurant food in a casual setting, at a price people can afford," But "He didn’t invent the wheel." Then it names better chefs, like Jean-Georges.

But would Jean-Georges say something like this?

"Vegetarians are a pain in the ass as customers. It’s always ‘I want this’ or ‘I don’t want that.’ Jesus Christ, go cook at home.”

According to the GQ profile, Chang has a bad temper. He sometimes acts out by punching holes in the walls of his restaurants: "'We refer to them as Korean termites,' says his not-quite-equal partner, Joaquin Baca, who has the job of repairing them. 'I can patch sheet board pretty well.'”