Momofuku Milk Bar is Aiming to Open by Summer

D.C.'s location of Momofuku Milk Bar is on track to open sometime in the summer, though whether it will be early or late summer is still unclear.

Eater National's Hillary Dixler caught up with chef Christina Tosi to learn more about her upcoming cookbook, Milk Bar Life. While chatting, she asked the chef about the upcoming D.C. location, which is opening at CityCenterDC.

"D.C. is good," Tosi said. "We are hoping to open sometime in the summer, whether it's early or late summer. The plans, the process, the design, choosing the fixtures and the finishes has been really cool. I'm from the area, so the excuse to get to go home to do site visits is thrilling in the way that it feels like a homecoming. I think my poor mom and my friends and my sister, when I left for New York 12, 13 years ago were like, 'Okay, we're never going to see her again.' Getting to sort of have that homecoming, because New York is such a food Mecca, and at the time, 12 years ago, D.C. was not the food scene that it is now."

Tosi is pleasantly surprised at the opportunity to do something in Washington. "The thought of moving home to try and do something, be close to my family, it was just sort of they knew it wasn't going to happen. I knew it wasn't going to happen. It's so exciting that it's actually going to happen. The space is beautiful, and it's really fun to get to go into a city, a town that you're like, 'I know everything about the people...I don't know, it's really comforting. New York has been my home for a while, but the D.C. area is where I grew up. It will always feel like home."

Tosi plans to do the baking for Milk Bar on premises in D.C., though the commissary kitchen isn't as big as the one in New York.

—Hillary Dixler contributed to this report