EN? Maybe out.

New York is known for a lot of things when it comes to its restaurant culture. One trend that seems to be ever-present and always popular is the uber-modern, high-end Japanese/Sushi joint. I'm sure a few come to your mind...Bond St., Nobu, Tao, Megu, and where I dined last week...EN Japanese Brasserie. This restaurant is newer to the scene, although it's been open for a few years now.

I went to EN when it first opened and had a great experience. I was blown away by the design of the restaurant and its decor. It's a huge, loft-like space with an open kitchen. Everywhere you look there is a really cool design element, from the soy sauce to the chopsticks, from the concrete slab floor to the furniture. The meal I had there was phenomenal, and the service was excellent.

So, it's safe to say that this prior experience set my expectations at a pretty high level for my visit last week. In addition to that, there were a few things that were out of our control that made this meal turn out the way it did. First off, we were seated in the bar dining area, rather than the main dining room. This had a cool atmosphere too, but paled in comparison to the main room. The tables were more lounge tables with arm chairs, which made it sort of uncomfortable, especially if you're really tall.

Now to the food. The menu changes semi-annually, so you can never be sure as to what will be featured when you get there. We decided to order a few dishes to split...some good and some not so good. EN is known for its homemade tofu. While I'm not the biggest tofu fan, I figured having some served on top of a salad would be a good way to try it without ordering an entire dish of it. Unfortunately, that was a bad call! The EN House Salad was made up of greens that were more stems than leaves, walnuts, tofu skin, and a soy milk dressing. The entire thing was bland and gross. Now I wasn't expecting your typical ginger dressing green salad served at every sushi place, but this was just too much. I was tempted to ask for soy sauce to pour all over the salad, but decided to just stop eating it.

Luckily the next dish offered some redemption. The Sea Bass Kara-Age was small pieces of fish marinated in sake and then lightly fried, which were delicious. We also ordered the EN Garlic Shiso Fried Rice. It had a great taste without the garlic being too overwhelming. My friend had heard that the duck at EN was a dish not to miss, so we got that. I don't eat duck, but he enjoyed it. It was topped with grated daikon that had been cooked in a ponzu citrus soy that was so flavorful I ended up putting some on top of my rice to give it a little extra kick.

Overall, I wasn't blown away by this experience. The waiter was MIA most of the time, and the busboy ended up getting us a few things that we needed. I had hoped for a great night with fantastic food, but no such luck. I think all of this would have changed, though, if we had been seated in the main dining area and ordered a few different dishes. I wouldn't rule EN out from recommending it to friends, but I would highly suggest asking the waiter/waitress for good suggestions and descriptions of each dish.

EN Japanese Brasserie
435 Hudson Street
b/t Leroy & Morton Street
website
Menu Pages listing

East Village Food Adventure - Part 1

As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one.” And, that certainly was true when it came to the East Village food adventure that I went on with NYC Food Guy on Sunday. Usually, when I’m dining out with my friends, I’m the only one truly analyzing a restaurant…its food, its atmosphere, its inner-workings. That’s part of what made Sunday so fun (obviously the food didn’t hurt!). I had someone there to share in the commentary and offer another critical eye (well, two).

We set out from 14th & 3rd with only a few simple rules:
1 - The meal had to be under $10 per person
2 - There could be no wait staff, just counter service
3 - Continue on the adventure until you feel sick

With a massive list and a map in hand, we set out. First stop was Vanessa’s Dumplings. The menu consisted mostly of fried or steamed dumplings, sushi, and their house specialty, sesame pancake sandwiches. My pork-less diet eliminated a good amount of menu items, but NYC Food Guy was willing to humor me.

Ordering the namesake dumplings was a no-brainer, and having not had a sesame pancake before, we had to go with that as well. The steamed vegetable dumplings were really tasty. They were made fresh and actually had visible vegetables inside, not the mushy mixture often found in fast food dumplings. The sesame pancake was a pleasant surprise. Not sure what to expect, I really enjoyed the texture and the flavor of the pancake itself, which wasn’t too heavy on the sesame. Carrots, lettuce, cucumber, and bean sprouts served as the “meat” of the sandwich, and was mixed with an Asian vinaigrette of sorts.

Off to a great start. If you’re in the Union Square area, Vanessa’s Dumplings is a great spot for a quick, cheap Japanese fix. The day was young, but we wasted no time…next stop, here we come!

Vanessa's Dumplings
220 East 14th Street
b/t 2nd & 3rd Avenue
Menu Pages listing

Shot (of Sake) in the Dark

I was pretty sure I had heard of Ginger before, but also knew I had never eaten there. But the second I walked in and saw the stack of take-out menus on the counter, I knew why it sounded familiar. It's one of the dozens of menus that get slid under my door each week by delivery guys. Great. My friends left the restaurant selection up to me since I'm the one with a new restaurant blog, and I picked place that does 95% of its business via take-out/delivery!

Once I looked past the menus, my first thought was, wow this place is deserted and so plain inside. Guess it wouldn't make sense to spend a single penny on decor if next to no one is going to see it. I saw my friends at one of the two tables that were occupied, and hoped that they wouldn't be slightly disappointed like I was. Luckily we were all just excited to see each other after the holiday "break," and I was off the hook. (Right girls?!)

I've mentioned in a previous post how I'm not exactly the most adventurous sushi eater. I am proud to say, though, that I've come a long way from my days in college where I'd order my staple of chicken teriyaki, while all of my friends were served wooden boats covered in dozens of sushi rolls. Despite my increasing willingness to try new things in the past few years, there's still something comforting about ordering the good ol' chicken teriyaki. And if I'm going that route, why not go all out and order a bento box...which is exactly what I did last night at Ginger.

I knew my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I was OK with that. Something about a lot of food, including hot miso soup sounded so good on a night with temperatures below 20 degrees. I have no clue what "bento" means in Japanese, but my guess at a translation would be "a little bit of everything." And that is exactly what I got. Granted everything was very small portions, but it included miso soup, vegetable gyoza, a California roll, seaweed salad, green salad, mixed tempura, and chicken teriyaki. I think I'm in another food coma after typing that all out!

I was really happy that it all worked out in the end...we enjoyed our food, and, of course, the company. But if you're looking for a cool ambiance or lively crowd (aside from the people you're with!), pass this one by.

Some suggestions:
- Unless you live in around the block and don't want to wait for delivery, I'd just order in from this place. Of the countless sushi/japanese menus I have in my apartment, I may move this one a little closer to the top of the stack.
- I've decided a bento box is a great solution when you're feeling indecisive about what to order.
- The tempura was really fresh, and very tasty.

Ginger
146 East 55th Street
b/t 3rd & Lexington Avenues

Menu Pages listing

Ah, tourists...

Last night I decided to brave the mobs of tourists in Times Square for dinner. I work only an avenue away, but that one avenue makes such a difference. After throwing a few elbows and weaving my way through the crowds, I finally made it to Haru.

I'm sure many of you are aware that there are a handful of Haru locations around the city. I think I have been to almost every location, and have to say that the Times Square one is my least favorite. The reason is two-fold...a lot of tourists decide to dine there, and also the atmosphere feels a lot more cramped and a little dingier than the others. Regardless, the food was still really good. And so was the hot sake. I'm not the most adventurous sushi eater, but the rolls I ordered were very fresh.

I also went there for lunch with co-workers a while ago. It's a nice change of pace from the run-of-the-mill lunch options in Midtown, and they have great lunch specials too.

Some suggestions:
- Ask for the spicy mayo and tempura sauces on the side. Both taste great with many rolls.
- Request a table away from the door. It's really drafty and cold.
- Avoid going during the pre-theater dinner rush. It'll make for a much more pleasant experience.

Haru
205 West 43rd Street
b/t 7th & 8th Avenue
website
Menu Pages listing