raji

I'm pretty sure one of the various midtown east places might do it for lunch i.e. Azusa, Ariyoshi, Chikubu, Hizen, Kiroiihana, Donburiya I see Menkuitei opened on 56th between 5th and 6th do they have soba downtown?? I just can't eat it anywhere that does have a big curtain saying vertically そ ば ！！！

I'd say there's ways to stop the bleeding and any sushi chef would take the hint. I mean if you order otoro repeatedly what do you expect. When I don't have an expense account handy or in mixed company, sometimes I'll get some tempura or something from the kitchen to help fill-up a little pre-omakase, but nothing that would disturb the palette. Or more maki and less sashimi. If you are an experienced sushi hand you know that ordering things like egg, salmon, some of the less expensive fish, making the more expensive stuff more of a luxury....

Wow what a coincidence, I'm going there Monday night. I'll take pictures. With booze, 100-150 for 2 is totally doable. If you're not starving, less. I would definitely go. Aburiya Kinnosuke and Totto are the 2 restaurants most like stepping directly into Tokyo, save some of the higher-end Sushiyas...

I think Menchanko-Tei might not be bad, but I've never been. I'd go down to 9th street, Sobaya. Honmura-an, if you've already eaten..

Another vote for Horn & Hardart! And of course, the Miracle Cafe

Is Trader Joe's a franchise?

How much was it?

I went there for dinner during NY Restaurant Week. We ended up only ordering half off that menu. Nevertheless, the food was absolutely fantastic. The service was OK, but they were trying to rush us out towards the end, although it was past close. Great wine list too. I would wholeheartedly recommend it, and I am an admitted and recovering Japanese food snob. I'll post a full review later -

When does it open to the public?

Rairaiken is ok. I'm suprised Taisho would be better. I have yet to try Minca but Menkuitei was the best I'd had in the East Village, and Saburi better than all of them. HOWEVER, The best Ramen in NYC is... drum roll.......... in Edgewater New Jersey!!! The Mitsuwa mart has an outpost of Sapporo-based chain Santouka. They also had an outpost across from my office in Tokyo, on Meiji-dori at Namikibashi, when I lived there, so I know their ramen well. People used to queue up their as well for their delicious chyasuu-torinikuramen. If I close my eyes I feel like I'm in a Tokyo depaato devouring that ramen. It's the real deal and better than any in Manhattan, unfortunately. Still - try Saburi - you'll thank me.. Worth the $2 bus ride from Port Authority? Certainly for an egulleteer. While you're out there you can also take in Katsuhama, which is the best tonkatsu in NYC, with an outpost also at Mitsuwa...

Possible, but very improbable... With handles like "mulan999" and "mahalo321", with their Ninja review being the ONLY review they've posted, and they're all about the same length, I think the jig is up. That, and Ninja is a bit of a joke in the Japanese community, like Benihana, I seriously doubt any would go there...

If White Plains is not too far for you, I'd heartily recommend Mulino's - www.mulinos.us ranks up there with any Manhattan Italian....

Myself as well. I'm not a fan of any of the Midtown Indians, and it's usually Curry Hill for South Indian soul food for me, or Haveli. Maybe Tabla for a splurge. Sounds like I have to check this place out immediately.

Queen of Sheba is also my favorite NY Ethiopian. To do better you'll have to go to DC. Every dish is consistently good, drink selection is great, and their staff greets us with the same smiling faces every time. That last point is the exception to the rule in NYC :-) I live in the neighborhood and everytime my brother, who lives across the Hudson, comes to visit, him and his wife always want to go there. If you go you'll probably understand why. My recommendations are the vegetable combo and the Tibs...

Without going into too much detail about my work, I've had to deal with a LOT of engrish in my years. Most of these reviews are clearly written by Japanese natives because of VERY telltale spelling and grammar mistakes - stuff = staff makeing = making unbelieveable coctails Common lack of participles etc. I guess they trained their Ninjas to use the InterWeb

I'm leaning towards avoiding it altogether, but the sushi chef IS Japanese so maybe worth a try... but if not open for lunch, not...

Sure - John's 260 W 44th St Donny G's 358 W 44th St As for slices, I think there was a Little Italy in the area that was decent. Sbarro makes me vomit. Also, the 99cent pizza place at 42nd and 9th is actually quite good..

I thought Thalia is kind of touristy, and to me Marseilles is still very strong, and I've been there less than a year ago. I still like Hell's Kitchen very very much. Or how about Oceo, Abboccato, or Esca? Hey! what you got against indians!

Sugiyama is the man - never fails to disappoint. That restaurant is the ultimate teishoku omakase... leave it to the Morimotos and other trendroids to draw the poseurs away!

IRASSHAIMASE! It's not just a sushi bar thing, it's a Japanese restaurant thing. Just so happens that at a sushi bar that you open the door and you are facing 2-3 sushi chefs. O-MA-KA-SAY with no emphasis. I just say omakase onegaishimasu, but my accent can approach a native while my vocabulary cannot... I wrote a lot about the intracacies of the omakase here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=79444&st=34#

Santouka! My bad. Do you know where they had those in Tokyo? So I guess shirataki is more of a staple item.... if so, then you might even find it at Kan Mah on Canal as they stock a lot of japanese products. I've found the jp products at han ah reum increasingly dwindling... I'm still venturing out to Mitsuwa - it's huuuuuuuuuuuuge - it reminds me of the LIFE marts in suburban Tokyo I used to go to...

That's it; I'm totally going, you got me in the mood. I was waiting for a ride from a friend but it's been months! While you're out there, I forget the name but there is an AUTHENTIC ramenya, a satellite of a popular Japan chain, out there. I believe their tonkotsuramen is top notch. N.B. Ramen is so varied in Japan that each place has it's specially, i.e. tonkotsuramen, chyasuuramen, shiyoramen, even some places specialize in their gyoza...

You might have to take the free Port Authority shuttle to Yaohan, now called Mitsuwa. Does anyone know if this still runs? There's no Japanese mart of any decent size in the five boroughs, such a shame.

That's what I'm thinking, I go to the East Village rarely and based on what I've read here, it seems like those who know, when it comes to Japanese food, know that this place isn't worth the fuss. If Ramen/Japanese food is not their speciality, then why are they copping the Japanese name and menu? Maybe it's Chang's reappropriation of what is, after all, a Chinese food? Especially when there are much better places like Menkuitei, Rokumeisha, Saburi, Menchankotei... I heard there is even a US branch of a popular Japanese ramen chain out by the Yaohan Mart, anyone been there?

Anything new here? Westside = sucks for Japanese Although in the past month I've been to the 2 of the best places for Japanese on the West Side, and they're within 5 feet of eachother - Sugiyama and Yakitori Totto