Baology arrives on JFK Blvd. with Taiwanese snacks
"It's true to the spirit," said co-owner Judy Ni, whose fine-dining past includes a stint as a captain at the vaunted Blue Hill at Stone Barns and as a manager of the Farm and Fisherman in Washington Square West.
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Taiwanese street food – including potstickers, gwa baos ("cut" buns), and the steamed spring rolls known as ruen bings – make up the core menu at baology, a cafe now in soft-opening mode at 1829 JFK Blvd., on the ground floor of the Sterling. (Say it "BOW-logy," pronouncing "bow" as in "take a bow.")
It's the long-in-development project by two fine-dining vets, chef Andy Tessier and Judy Ni.
They met at the Montville Inn in North Jersey and relocated to Philadelphia to help run the Farm & Fisherman when it was in Washington Square West.
With baology, they are trading in fine dining for the food that Ni grew up on.
"It's true to the spirit," said Ni, a cheerful bundle of energy who about a decade ago left the corporate world and, with little experience, talked her way into a job at the vaunted Blue Hill at Stone Barns, moving up to captain.
"This food is approachable and enjoyable."
It's also priced by the piece, so you can mix and match and eat very well for less than $10 a person, washing it down with cold-brewed oolong tea or the Taiwanese drink Apple Sidra.
Dining room is simple and built for speed.
For now, they're easing into full operation, limiting hours to 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily as the menu expands. Grand opening is June 19.