My Maki Sushi – Closed
11/2011 – Sorry to see My Maki has closed.
My Maki is the Chipolte or Subway of sushi. Located near Grand Central, it is in a good location for the business and on-the-go crowd. I stopped in for an after work snack, but would go to My Maki for lunch if I worked near Grand Central.
Here’s how it works:
- Pick the wrap – 10-piece roll wrapped in traditional Japanese Nori ($5.90) or 10-piece roll wrapped in neutral flavored wrap made of soybean ($6.90).
- Pick what’s inside – large selection of the common ingredients such as tuna, eel, and a few uncommon ones like crawfish. Price range is $1.50 to $2.95.
- Pick extras – All the stuff you’d expect like Avocado, Cucumber, etc. and a few different ones like Doritos and thai basil. (First two are free, additional are 75 cents).
- Pick an external topping like masago, sesame seeds or spicy bread crumbs.
- Finally, pick from one of their freshly prepared sauces including spicy mayo, edamame jalapeno, karashi mustard, citrus ponzu, thai chili sea and sweet unagi (eel) (75 cents)
The roll I had was tuna, shatakes, carrot, and avocado wrapped in nori and topped with masago.
The food was fresh and I got exactly what I wanted in a quick period of time. Though the concept is fairly innovative, from an ingredient perspective I would like to see a larger variety of more unique ingrdients. I also would like to see some more luxurious options.
All in all, I paid $12 for a large tuna roll, which I could have gotten on seamlessweb from 121 Midori Sushi (formerly Kiku Sushi 3). For those of you who don’t know me, that was a joke. I frequently make fun of the infultration of low quality sushi in the neighborhood. In addition to a lackluster selection in the Murray Hill Neighborhood, sushi places tend to result to shady tactics to attract customers on Seamlessweb.
My Maki addresses exactly what’s wrong with the NYC sushi scene. According to their press release, “My Maki was created after the founders discovered that it was nearly impossible for an on-the-go customer to get a high-quality sushi lunch quickly in Manhattan. Typically customers are faced with two unappealing options at opposite ends of the sushi spectrum: Traditional full-service sushi restaurants where average order preparation times are fifteen to twenty minutes, the environments are dull and uninviting, and prices are high; and deli sushi where a very limited assortment of pre-packaged rolls made with hard, tasteless rice and questionable fish sit for hours in a refrigerated case. (My Maki Press Release)”
I see no reason why this restaurant won’t thrive, after all, how could all the crappy, undifferentiated places survive in this market? Here are a few ideas to position My Maki for success.
- Get people to undersatand what it is and how it works - The key is to get people to understand the concept and give it a try. Spend more money with a talented graphic artist to design signs to walk people through the process.
- Help people find the place – Though the location is centrally located near Grand Central, it can be easily missed. The only reason I saw was I choose to walk on 43rd when I leave GCT.
- Innovative target marketing - Take a lesson from Vic’s Bagel Bar, who is doing innovative things like serving liquor at night while offering a crowd of recent college grads beer pong.
- Ingredient Management - Learn what’s selling and what’s not and take off low performers and don’t be afraid to introduce more innovative ingredients/specials.
- Give people a reason to come in for dinner (or to bring sushi home) possibly for a discounted price.
- Offer brown rice.
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – Sushi
Style – Casual
Price – Moderate
212-682-2795
China North Dumpling
I had just completed a long run… I was hungry… I only had $3 in my pocket… In all other neighborhoods I wouldn’t even be able to get a slice of pizza. This isn’t the case in the Lower East Side at China North Dumpling.
$3 for 12 fresh and very juicy dumplings! The dumplings were simple …I tasted scallions in the mix and the slightest hint of ginger. I didn’t taste mushrooms or cabbage (common dumpling ingredients). I knew the dumplings are fresh because I saw a lady in the back making them… there also were several large bags of flour up front.
The Hot Cock sauce was watered down.. but how much can I expect for a $3 order of dumplings!
It’s possible that the only thing that has changed about North Dumpling since it’s doors opened many years ago is the duct tape covering certain items on the menu.
Despite the run down interior, North Dumpling seems to be a local hang out. Right after I arrived I would say 12 people from the Lower East side community crowded into no frills establishment. As I left two police cars were in front of the restaurant… No there wasn’t a disturbance on the dark city street… It was just dinner time!
No Rating
27a Essex St (between Hester St & Grand St)
(212) 529-2760
Mr. Chow
Dear Mr. Chow,
Your restaurant is trendy. I was impressed with the modern decor with lots of expensive flowers all over the restaurant. We were immediately escorted to our table and greeted by our team of tuxedo-clad waiters right away. It was a nice touch to have such professionally dressed servers even though most of the patrons were in shorts and t-shirts the Sunday evening I was in your restaurant.
I thought your restaurant week menu included a lot of variety and enjoyed sharing several dishes family style. While everything was piping hot and presented elegantly, unfortunately the food was not memorable to me. I tried the Squab with Lettuce, which lacked flavor and was slightly dry. We actually left much of the dish over (I never leave the chicken lettuce wraps over at CPK or PF Changs).
The MR CHOW Noodles were overcooked udon type noodles with what appeared to be topped with the same mixture as the squab. Even if it wasn’t the same, the taste and consistency were very similar. I would have ordered differently had I known.
The best dish we had was the Ma Mignon, which was very soft fillet encrusted with peppercorn. Very tasty – cooked perfectly.
The Velvet Chicken wasn’t memorable and lacked taste.
I enjoyed the string beans (but then again I also enjoy very similar string beans at the local Chinese takeout).
The dessert for two was “intermezzo” sized scoops of ice cream and sorbet. The small scoop was not enough to warrant calling it a “third course.”
While I enjoyed the experience and the company I was with, the food just wasn’t good enough for me to recommend your restaurant to friends and family or for me to return in the near future (especially for the premium price).
Best regards,
Jay
Rating:
Food – 6/10
Ambiance – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – Chinese
Style – Trendy
Price – Expensive
Address/ phone: 121 Hudson Street (Hudson/North Moore), 212-965-9500
Web – mrchow.com
Aura Thai Cuisine
Upon entering the Thai restaurant named Aura, I wasn’t sure when I would see the Aura. It wasn’t in the Lincoln Tunnel approach outside…
And it wasn’t in the mismatched and cracked artwork on the walls.
When I started eating the food, the aura came through… Do you see it in the pic below of my Thai Iced Tea?
In all seriousness. You don’t go to Aura for ambiance. You go for better, more authentic Thai than you get in all the wanna be Thai places around the city. The lunch special is particularly a good deal – even after they crossed out a few of the offerings on the menu. Everyone starts out with some dumplings or shumai (depending on the day). I found the vegetarian dumplings to be tasty… I tasted mushroom, vermicelli noodles. I wanted to ask more about what was inside, but the waitress didn’t look ready to engage in that conversation.
The Aura PAD KEE MAO with chicken, vegetables and fresh basil in a spicy chili garlic soy sauce was so much better than the Thai noodles I order on the East Side ( I wonder if they deliver across town?). The heat came from a variety of colorful peppers (not just a squirt of Sriracha sauce). I ate every bite.
When I got a chance to research the name, Aura, I actually found out that my hunch was only slightly correct. Turns out “the fusion cafe is actually named after the matriarch of the Watanasuparp family, Nora; hence, NAURA.” According to the Aura’s website, “this minor misnomer is intentional and welcomed, though, because the eatery evokes Thai aura and flavor into every dish.” One can assume that the Watanasuparp family owns the restaurant.
Aura or not, you can count on high quality Thai at reasonable prices.
Wanna go?
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 5/10
Service – 7/10 (fast but abrupt)
Category:
Food Type – Thai
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable
Address/phone –
462 Ninth Avenue (Bet. 35th – 36th Streets), 212 971-8530
website- aurathaicuisine.com
menu – aurathaicuisine.com/menu.html
Boi to Go
Update 9/8/2010 : There’s a for rent side on the window of Boi to go – told you so!
Boi oh boy… I am not sure what to say about Boi, but at this point I am confident it won’t be good.
Now I am not an expert on Vietnamese food, but I can’t imagine going to Vietnam and getting something that resembled what I just ate at Boi to Go.
Step 1 – Select one base – rice, noodles, burrito, salad or wrap. I picked Jasmine rice. My first wrong choice. They said rice noodles would have been lighter… looking back having one “light” element to the dish would have be nice.
Step 2- Select a meat. I picked curried chicken meat balls with honey-hoisin. Second wrong choice.
Step 3- Add lots of seemingly unrelated items to the top. I am talking corn, peanut, cabbage, lettuce, etc.
Step 4- Top it all off with an overpowering sauce. I picked peanut, but all I could taste was the hoison from the meatballs (they may have given me the wrong sauce).
The plate was overwhelming to look at, overwhelming to attempt to eat, and as I sit to write this review, my stomach feels quite overwhelmed as well.
To top it off, this bowl was not cheap $11 with drink). It might be due to the fact that they are paying the salaries of literally 6 people behind the counter with about 3 customers while I was there. Also, the expensive midtown location is in a very intimidating building (the one with 24 hr police presence and concrete barricades on 42 street and 2nd).
Rating:
Food – 5/10
Ambiance – 5/10
Service – 6/10
Category:
Food Type – Vietnamese
Style – Casual
Price – Moderate
Address/ phone: 800 2nd Ave (Btwn 42nd & 43rd St), 212- 681-1122
menu: menupages.com/restaurants/boi-to-go/menu
New York City Street Fair Food Guide
It’s that time of the year. Last weekend as I walked my way through NYC, I stumbled across three New York City street fairs.
This guide will go through NYC street fair food options. I will divide street fair food into three categories.
- Food I look forward to eating at each fair
- Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences (i.e indigestion, a lost tooth)
- Pleasant surprises
Hopefully this guide will help locals and tourists alike to navigate NYC street fair food options.
Food I look forward to eating at each fair
I will pick up some pickles if, for some reason, I have no pickles in my fridge.
Kettle corn: I most likely won’t buy this, I have plenty of equally enjoyable Orville Redenbacher at home, but I will try a free sample.
Sticking with corn, how can you go wrong with fresh corn? I like how most use the grill to char the corn.
Another corn product is the sweet corn arepa. How can you go wrong with melted mozzarella and sweet corn?
Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences
This may be controversial but I never want a candy apple during the summer. Candy Apples are a Fall food for me. I am also afraid that I will lose a tooth when I bite into the hard shell.
Dirty hands making falafel balls and frying in oil on a dirty street, no thanks. The same applies to Zeppoles. I will sometimes try a spinach pie though.
Fear of indigestion, continued…
No desire to have one of those smoothies. How could they possibly wash all that fruit with no running water? They also use the same dirty blenders all day! If you do happen to be by a fair when it’s closing they may sell bananas and other unused fruit for next to nothing. That I will go for!
I may have a crepe or two in Paris, but not on a NYC street…
Pleasant surprises
I would try a lobster roll at lunch time!
As the summer goes by, I will add some pictures of some of the pleasant surprise food options that I come across.
Street Fair Calendars:
Shaburi
** Update 7/25 /2010 – Shaburi has closed***
I had the pleasure of dining at Shaburi two times in three nights. I very rarely go back to a New York City restaurant so quickly, but I was especially impressed with attentive service and gourmet cuisine at reasonable prices (based on how you order, more on that later). This restaurant, which is highly rated by Zagat and Michelin, has a noticeable awning, but often is overlooked on this quiet part of East 39th Street.
I ordered Shabu Shabu both times. Shabu Shabu is thin slices of meat and vegetables cooked on the table in a simmering pot of broth. I opted for Kobe Beef ($28) with the spicy miso broth ($2) the first time and Berkshire Pork ($ 16) with Tom Yom broth ($2) the second time. I will describe my first time…
The waiter quickly turned on the built in burner on the table.
Next, the spicy miso broth arrived.
Within minutes, the broth was at a simmering boil.
At this point, it was time to add the vegetables. Because I was a “first timer,” the waiter did this for me and explained that adding the vegetables first was necessary to add flavor. The vegetable assortment was a “work of art” including corn, several varieties of mushroom (shiitaki, enoki, and oyster) watercress, tomato, cabbage, tofu, scallions, and my favorite, pumpkin.
A few minutes later, the shabu shabu was back to a rapid boil.
It was time to dip the thinly sliced pieces of Kobe beef into the broth. The waiter demonstrated how it only took about 5 seconds to cook the meat. When cooked to your specifications, remove the meat, dip in either sesame sauce or ponzi sauce, and enjoy. The meal also came with sushi grade rice, which helped to tone down some of the spiciness of the broth.
Next, scoop out the veggies with one of the special spoons and enjoy from the soup bowl provided. The soup bowl also has handles to allow you to sip instead of spoon!
Shaburi shabu shabu was perfectly executed in every way. It was also a hearty portion – piping hot and perfectly seasoned. The broth was “harmonious” when all the previously described ingredients mixed together.
hough I enjoyed the Kobe, I found the Berkshire pork to be as enjoyable for a much lower price.
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 8/10
Category:
Food Type – Japanese
Style – Casual
Price – Expensive
Address/ phone: 125 E 39th St (Btwn Lexington & Park Ave), 212-867-6999
menu: menupages.com/restaurants/shaburi/menu
Chin Chin
According to Wikipedia, Chin Chin is A toast used when drinking, similar to cheers; most often used in Argentina, Portugal, and the United Kingdom; spelled cin cin or cincinin Italian. I think it is particularly funny that a Chinese place is named this way, especially since the owner’s name is Jimmy Chin!
We were greeted by Jimmy Chin. He has a reputation as “one of NYC’s most gracious hosts.” He has a presence and seems to be a very nice and accommodating guy. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time training his large crew of servers, who were also very accommodating (more so, when it was less busy at the beginning of the meal).
Our waiter said….“if it’s Chinese, we will make it for you, whether it is on the menu or not.” I get the feeling that they would get to know me on a first name basis if I dined there frequently. I liked the special formal touches like splitting dishes table side or making your mu shu pancakes. They are fancy Chinese but the ambiance is not as stuffyas Shun Lee or Mr. K and the prices are not as ridiculously high (don’t get me wrong, this is not an inexpensive place).
Moving on to the food. We had soup, chicken with broccoli and beef chow fun. All were prepared in the traditional American Chinese fashion. I personally prefer Szechwan spicy style from places like Grand Szechwan but I appreciated the freshness of the ingredients.
The free string bean and sprout starters were a nice touch.
I particularly enjoyed the traditional sauces placed on the table. The mustard, seemed to be recently freshly blended with bubbles (of freshness).
Loved the large piece of real crab meat in the sweet corn velvet chicken soup but needed to ask for hot sauce to perk it up.
The broccoli, the carrots, the large pieces of chicken and the tender pieces of beef were very fresh and high quality. However, I was glad I still had the hot sauce from the soup to kick the entrees up a notch.
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 8/10
Category:
Food Type – Chinese
Style – Fancy
Price – Moderate
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 216 East 49th Street , 212-888-4555
website- chinchinny.com
menus – chinchinny.com/menu.html
Woo Chon
Best bibimbap north of 33rd Street. Every time I go I can count on a wide array of fresh banchan (small dishes of appetizers served before a Korean meal). Loved the rice cake, scallions, kimchee, spouts and seaweed today. They are generous with seconds. Hope they have fishcake next time. So much better than a stale bread basket.
Back to why I came, bibimbap…the seafood gobdol (hot stone)bibimbap has some of the freshest ingredients I have had at a Korean restaurant. It included shrimp, mussels, squid, mushrooms & greens. Instead of mixing with hot sauce, they mix with a soy scallion sesame mixture. And when I say they mix, that means that the waitress actually mixes the dish for you table side. The surprise at the end is the crunchy rice that burns onto the bowl. The bowl is to hot to touch even at the end of your meal.
They brag about being in business for 27 years. The age of the restaurant shows in the decor, it also smells a little musty when you walk in before the small of bbq beef permeates the space. Love the R&B music playing in the background.
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 6/10
Service – 7/10
Category:
Food Type – Korean
Style – Casual
Price – Moderate
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 8 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018, (212) 695-0676
Zengo
Zengo loosely means “give and take.” The idea is to come with a big group of people, order several plates, pass the dishes around and enjoy. I plan to give and take a lot because it is so close to home and on their fourth day in business they impressed me as really “buttoned up” with excellent service, high quality, tasty food, and a really creative and well planned space to explore.
Before even entering the space, I was impressed by the thoughtful decor including wrought iron screens and wood beams to make the large and previously imposing space a little less imposing.
Sensing my curiosity, the bartender, Allison, arranged for the manager to take me and another interested diner a tour after our meal. I am looking forward to experiencing La Biblioteca downstairs with wall to wall shelves of over 400 types of tequila. It will open when they receive their liquor license. They say it is will have the largest selection of Tequila in North America. I was also impressed that they are sending the “tequila sommelier” to and from Mexico to learn about the product first hand (I need to get a job like that). It also is cool that you can buy tequila, get a “library card” and then go back and enjoy the bottle for up to 6 months from your locker. In contrast to the “chill” downstairs, the upstairs Sake and Sochu Longue was more of a VIP vibe. I plan to go back to try both.
I should probably get into the food… I sat at the bar and enjoyed three entrees. Of the three, the “give” would be the Wakame-Hijiki Seaweed Salad cucumber, carrot, daikon, apple, ginger vinaigrette. Though fresh, in my opinion it needed a kick of flavor. The “takes,” more than compensated for the lackluster salad. The Halibut Ceviche aji amarillo, red onion, cucumber, apple, tomato, cilantro was as fresh and flavorful as can be. It was sweet, light and tangy. I enjoyed the plantain chips that accompanied. Even better were the Charred Tuna Wonton Tacos with sushi rice, mango salsa, guacamole. This is a prime example of how to effectively mix Asian and Latin fare. The sushi grade tuna was impeccable, the wanton taco shell was crispy and the sushi rice was the hidden treasure.
The bill crept up there, but this is midtown, and I was more than happy to pay for the impressive and thoughtful surroundings, quality ingredients, and attentive service. This place will be lots of fun for those benefiting from the expense accounts from the many neighborhood businesses when the economy picks up!
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 10/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – Latin/Asian
Style – Nightclub
Price – Expensive
Wanna go?
Address/phone –622 Third Ave at 40th St, New York, NY 10017, 212-808-8110
website- http://www.modernmexican.com/zengony/index.htm
menus – http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/zengo
reservations – http://www.opentable.com/zengo