Restaurant experiment: Chimi Sushi

Chimi Sushi

207 East 26^th Street between Second and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10010

212-532-8788

Liz picked out this restaurant as a Friday workday lunch, to escape the office.  Chimi Sushi had a sandwichboard outside declaring it to be the grand opening with some specials.  I usually do not walk down this block, so I hadn’t noticed the new eatery.  Chimi is tiny; it has maybe 8-10 tables in the dining area.  You can sit wherever you like.

The lunch menu is pretty standard.  Liz and I elected for the bento boxes, at $8.50.  She opted for the chicken katsu and I took the sushi option for a whirl.  Liz ordered green tea, and I didn’t see it on the bill, so either it was free, included with lunch, or the waiter forgot to tack it on.  I just had water.  Our waiter wasn’t totally with it because he took our orders and came back to ask what they were again.  I thought I saw him write it down, but guess not.

The boxes emerged in good time, after bowls of miso soup.  The two pieces of shumai were microscopic both in size and taste.  The pieces of fish were fine, along with the salad.  Rice was also okay but it’s tough to mess that up.

Chimi Sushi was all right, but it certainly didn’t carve out a niche in my mind or establish a unique selling proposition.  Out of all the restaurants in the shuffle of Gramercy/Murray Hill, it might just get lost.

Restaurant experiment: Tokyo Japanese Restaurant

Tokyo Japanese Restaurant

342 Lexington Avenue between East 39th and 40th Streets

New York, NY 10016

212-697-8330

http://tokyorestaurant.net/

My mom picked out this place since it was supposed to be authentic.  That was certainly the case: the waitresses are decked out in kimonos, and they have menus written solely in Japanese, as well as English versions.   The website states that Tokyo has been around 35 years which has to say something.  It was still pretty early when we arrived, not really needing the reservation that we made.

Hot towels were brought over, and we perused the menu.  An appetizer we ordered was fried chicken legs with scallions and fish eggs.  That sounds like a mish mash, but it was actually delicious.  Sipping green tea, my dad and I decided to chow on the cheaper sushi morawase option and my mom went for the chirashi.  I stole some of her avocado and purpled pickled cucumber and tobiko.  The miso soup came out prior, and it was strongly flavored which I dig.  I had requested no wasabi on my platter, though somehow they put wasabi on the maki.  Huh.  And I was a little disappointed that ikura was not available a la carte, or at least it wasn’t on the menu.  Mmm, fresh sushi.  I was surprised the rolls were a little messy instead of made with Japanese precision, but no huge deal.

As it happens often, the service grew less attentive as more guests wafted into the restaurant.  This would have bothered me less except for the fact that I was racing against a deadline.  I did order dessert because I thought it would be faster.  My father’s dessert seemed to take more time (mochi) than mine (green tea ice cream).  I know Tokyo doesn’t make their own green tea ice cream, but it’s still good stuff.  Tokyo: uncreative name, but darn good sushi and authentic!

Restaurant experiment: Kiku Sushi III

Kiku Sushi III

121 East 27th Street between Park Avenue South and Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10016

212-213-9888

Three cheers for expense account dinners!  Wait, is there a difference between expense account dinners and business dinners?  Okay, Kiku Sushi III is not Jean-Georges, but I never turn down a comped meal.  And you shouldn’t either.

No clients involved, thank goodness.  Kiku Sushi III was chosen due to its proximity to our workplace and due to Kathy’s desire for sushi.  I’d walked by Kiku several times and always assumed it was more upscale than it was really; perhaps it was due to the kanji characters on the door and the generous use of dark wood.  I heard it’s quite the popular lunch locale though.  But this Wednesday evening, it was only our table and one more (a tutor and his tutee who were later replaced by a man and a woman).

AmyW, Kathy, and I shared an order of pork gyoza and the Philly roll as appetizers.  These two were fine but not particularly memorable.  Deep down, I’m a purist so the idea of smoked salmon and cream cheese being proffered as sushi still strikes me as odd.  Though I do adore salmon+cream cheese in other forms, bagels anyone?  Gyoza could have come out of a frozen bag. 

I got the sushi deluxe for my main course, along with a miso soup.  The soup was pretty decent, not too strong and not with those microscopic tofu cubes which remind me of powdered soup mixes.  The sushi deluxe certainly did contain a lot of sushi: ten pieces and then tuna rolls.  I liked the inclusion of tobiko though this particular roll had somewhat of a chemical aftertaste.  The fish slices were nearly 2x the size of the rice balls, creating a bit of a messy look.  But hey, more fish!

Dessert time!  Us three shared fried banana and green tea ice cream.  I should say here that Kiku Sushi III also has a Thai food menu.  So the fried banana is off that side of the restaurant.  Usually I love green tea ice cream, but this version was droll.  Guess I’ll stick to pints from Maeda-en or Haagen Dazs.  The friend banana was actually the highlight of the meal.  Sweet, sugary crust on the hot fruits cut up into eights, perfect for sharing.

Kiku Sushi III was your run-of-the-mill sushi place.  Not a dump, not a palace.  Somewhere comfortably in the middle.  Here’s hoping for more expense account dinners!

Restaurant experiment: Sapporo

 Sapporo

152 West 49th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues

New York, NY 10019

212-869-8972

Dave and I popped into Sapporo one evening.  If asked to describe it, I might refer to the place as a Japanese diner, as there isn’t too much in the way of decor, food appears promptly, prices are reasonable.  And the older Japanese gentleman who loudly greets you is kinda charming, in an strange way.

The menu features a lot of ramen, but Dave warned me that their ramen is nothing like Ippudo, where we had dined the previous night.  Duly noted.  What seemed to have befallen me here was a case of the wrong ordering.  Or rather, I believe I’m getting one thing, but I’m actually getting something else.  Eh, it’s really a textbook case of I don’t know what I want.

I ordered the oyako don for $8.75.  Before that, Dave and I shared an appetizer combo of edamame and gyoza.  The edamame weren’t salted…usually the beans are salted.  No matter, I know how to use a salt shaker.  I like my gyoza fried longer, but again, not a huge matter.

This was a generous portion, and besides chicken and egg on top of the rice, there were white onions and scallions.  I took half home for lunch the next day.  I also dashed soy sauce and vinegar on the donburi.  Hmm, if a restaurant has a lot of condiments on the table, does that send off a secret message about the food’s flavor?  Man, should have gotten the yakisoba!

Restaurant experiment: Oh! Taisho

Oh! Taisho

9 Saint Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10003

212-673-1300

http://www.yakitoritaisho.com/main/

Though I’ve been to Takitori Taisho twice, I’ve never been to its sibling Oh! Taisho.  They’re basically the same place, though Oh! Taisho seems to get less love; it’s always somewhat less packed than Yakitori Taisho.  Luckily Oh! Taisho zipped to the rescue when Yakitori Taisho already had folks spilling outside when the parents and I arrived on Saint Marks.

We only waited a minute to be seated, and I ordered a frozen alcoholic Calpico to enjoy with the rest of my meal.  With the yakitori skewers, I ordered two chicken chunks, a beef, a pork, a shrimp, and a bacon wrapped scallop (initially I requested bacon wrapped okra but there was no okra to be found).  And for some greenery, a tuna and avocado salad.

The skewers were fantastico as usual.  The pork was fatty fat phat however, but we all know how fat=yum.  As a corollary, the bacon was also fatty, but delicious.  All the other skewers were lightly peppery and delish.

The tuna and avocado salad came with more, to my surprise, more meaning tomato and onion and spinach.  It was in a ginger dressing.  I liked how there was lots of avocado and the tuna wasn’t skimpy either.

Oh!  Oh! Taisho!  You rock just as much as your sibling, and I like you more even maybe since I’m awfully fond of underdogs and less crowds.

Restaurant experiment: Zen Japanese Restaurant

Zen Japanese Restaurant

31 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10003

212-533-6855

I was all giddy to take my parental units to Ippudo but the wait for three was 45 minutes.  This was nearly 3pm on a Saturday.  Sigh.  The backup was Yakitori Taisho but that doesn’t open until 6pm.  We wandered further down St. Marks.  Places were either closed or crowded.  An udon place told us 15 minutes.  Gah.  I wanted food that minute.

Thankfully the not-so-busy Zen was able to accomodate us.  And the lunch special ended at 4pm, so we were just in time.  My parents ordered noodles while I got the ramen special: ramen, salad, and your choice of sushi.  I got salmon.  I didn’t know if you could pick your ramen; they have different varieties.  Either you can or you can’t.  I wasn’t offered a choice.  Therefore you either get tonkotsu or there’s no choice.

The salad came out right away, and it was your typical salad which usually accompanies sushi.  The bowls of noodles came out and were good.  Not Ippudo good, but not terrible.  Not quite as rich tonkotsu as Ippudo.  These ramen had seaweed varietals (kelp and dried), bamboo, scallions, a hard boiled egg, and one wimpy piece of pork.  Stealthily salty broth, as hours passed and my mom and I wanted to guzzle water like there’s no tomorrow.  The salmon was fine.  Nothing phenomenal, just fine.

Thanks for being a friend, Zen!

Restaurant experiment: Ippudo

Ippudo

65 Fourth Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets

New York, NY 10003

212-388-0088

http://www.ippudo.com/ny/

I have found my new favorite ramen joint.

Ippudo has been on my list ever since I tried Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ramen Setagaya.  Even though Dave and I got here a little after 6:30 on a Tuesday, we still had to wait around two minutes to be seated (the hostess said five).  Not bad, considering waits are notoriously lengthy here.

We agreed that the decor was beautiful, with wood pieces (yeah, I don’t know Home Depot words very well) on the restaurant’s outside as well as inside.  Mirrors, wood, a sculpture that looked like fireworks.  Dave and I were seated side by side facing mirrors and a centerpiece reminiscent of a fireplace.

Our bowl-cut-sporting waitress suggested we get the pork buns.  Was she on point or what?  They were much like Momofuku’s pork buns and just as good though they were a little spicy.

Dave ordered the specialty tonkotsu ramen which is a pork-based broth, and I went with soy sauce-based broth ($13). 

The fried egg reads “Ippudo,” how nifty is that?  Mmm, the pork was tender and just fatty enough.  Scallions!  Seriously, scallions make all better.  Dave and I were in heaven because the ramen ruled.  Or rocked out socks, if you will.  Hells yeah!  700+ Yelp reviews can’t be wrong.

Restaurant experiment: Dojo

Dojo

14 West 4th Street at Mercer Street

New York, NY 10012

212-505-8934

I took pictures of my meal but accidentally deleted them in a wine-induced haze from the next restaurant I will write about.  Sigh.  So this will have to be pictureless.

Dave suggested we dine at Dojo since he had given it his seal of approval; plus it is cheap.  Good enough for me.  Dojo is pretty popular with the college crew, judging from all the young ‘uns sitting in the main dining area.  We sat in the bar area which was healthily crowded as well.

Despite the Japanese name, Dojo serves up all sorts of things, from burgers to burritos, salads to sandwiches.  I eschewed the Japanese grub in favor of the chicken parm sandwich with fries.  The fries were skinny and salty which earns an A from me.  The sandwich was huge too: on a baguette the size of my foot, healthy slathers of marinara, and too much chicken which was escaping from the clutches of the buns.  I gave up and had to leave a tiny portion.  Food wasting kills me.

So yes, Dojo is the perfect college kid restaurant!

Restaurant experiment: Sushi Samba 7

Sushi Samba 7

87 Seventh Avenue at Barrow Street

New York, NY 10014

212-691-7885

http://www.sushisamba.com

Leslie pointed out the West Village Sushi Samba to me over three years ago, and I remembered it because she was saying it was in Sex and the City (disclaimer: I do not watch that show).  Since then, it was on the food rolodex, but I hadn’t pulled it out until now because Zen wanted to do Restaurant Week and wanted a Japanese joint.  Okay then, Sushi Samba it was.

Peruvian, Japanese, Brazilian.  There sure are a lot of Peruvian places in the West Village, no?  The hostesses exuded bitchy vibes.  The colorful room made up for that.  Though a loud table of mostly males nearby brought the points down a bit.  Our waitress’s heavy accent was sometimes difficult to decipher.  Swift service though.

Frito Mixo
squid, prawns, rock shrimp, ponzu mayo, smoked soy

The seafood was fine, nothing stellar, but I was all over the ponzu mayo.  Dee.  Lish.  Harped about it to Zen.  Smoked soy was just tempura dipping sauce.

Braised Short Rib
roasted garlic, boniato purée, honshimiji mushroom , cabrales-stuffed shishito

The pepper looked like a breaded okra.  The rib was tender though lacked distinctive flavor. 

Warm Chocolate Banana Cake
maple butter, banana chip, vanilla rum ice cream

The wafer was exceptional!  They needed to forget the other components and just make this dessert solely chocolately wafers. 

Sushi Samba was style over substance.  Not bad food, but I wouldn’t enthusiastically rave about the place to my pals.  Though I did feel trendy sitting in our corner booth with bamboo wall.  If you wanna go, go early, and be armed with a reservation.

Restaurant experiment: Inase

Inase

1586 First Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets

New York, NY 10028

212-268-1238

http://www.inasesushiusa.com/

Sushi restaurants in the Upper East Side are a dime a dozen.  I always say that there are too many sushi parlors and Italian joints in the hood…what is up with that?  Lisa suggested we go to Inase for dinner because she’s been a few times and could safely recommend it to me.  Plus it’s run by Japanese people which is a plus in my book.  Yes, I am looking at you, East.

It was a gross wet evening, but we made it to Inase without getting drenched.  The dining area is long and narrow with an art gallery feel.  For real, the pieces had price tags next to them.  Lisa was telling me that the place is family run; the husband is the chef and the wife is the hostess/waitress.

I settled for the sushi regular since it was the most inexpensive sushi meal at twenty bucks.  You know what’s impressive?  You receive both soup and salad with your entree!  I was blown away since that doesn’t happen in NYC even though that is usually what goes down at other sushi sellers in other parts of the country.  The miso soup and salad were fine.  I wish we would have those hot towels, but none appeared.

I had requested no wasabi, but they goofed and gave Lisa my no wasabi regular and me her wasabi regular.  Not a grave error, but still.  That’s exactly what happened last time I had a sushi meal elsewhere.  The waitress apologized a million times.  What made up for that was having uni (sea urchin) included in the sample.  That’s amazing!  That doesn’t happen much either since it’s costly.  Yum yum yum.  And instead of dried seaweed, they used shiso (beefsteak/perilla) to wrap the salmon.  Interesting.   

Not pictured are the rolls that were included.  I picked salmon amongst the other choices.  Good good.  Low key atmosphere, high key food.  Thanks Lisa!