Sushi on Jones - NOHO, New York, NY

A small little sushi spot, giving a taste of how Japan run their business. It's a no frill, quick 30-minute meal. Don't expect any lengthy conversation with the chef, just a smile is what you'll get. The concept of less talk and more eat fits perfectly with NYC lifestyle.

Sushi on Jones has been on the sushi scene for a while. They've started out with $50 omakase and now (thanks to inflation) has gone up to $58 which is still a great price for good quality omakase style sushi. Be sure to make your reservations since there are only 6 seats available.

The omakase menu changes seasonally, so your best bet is to check out their Instagram and see which items they have to offer during that time.

They don't offer alcohol, so we opted for green tea. It was nice and refreshing on sunny spring day. Also helps to cleanse your palette if you don't like pickled ginger.

From top left counter-clockwise: hamachi, golden eye snapper, albacore, artic char, scallop, tuna

From top left counter-clockwise: ikura, botan shrimp, eel, squid, hokkaido uni, wagyu-ni

The omakse consist of 12 pieces, 12 delectable and satisfying pieces. All prepared within minutes of each other. Once you devoured a piece, the next piece was placed in front of you - hence the 30-minutes time frame. But, I like that. It doesn't give you time to think twice about it nor time to digest and feel "full." It was fast, delicious and to the point.

Specials from T-B: toro w/ caviar, uni w/ caviar, The Big Mac (wagyu, toro, uni)

We indulged a bit and that's where the price sky-rocketed - but it was totally worth it. These specials were amazing and to be quite frank with you, I've never had French Sturgeon caviar before. If this is how it taste, then I can eat this all day. I can understand why they are priced so high, it's so clean tasting and decadent, one of life's little pleasure.

If you get the chance, definitely do yourself a favor and visit Sushi on Jones. They have another location in the West Village that has indoor seats and alcohol but still only slot you 30-minutes. I'd much prefer this location since it's outdoor, you get to eat delicious sushi while basking in the sun and the busy streets of NYC surrounds you - quite an experience you can't get anywhere else.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4.5 out of 5
Price ~ 4.5 out of 5
Service ~ 4.5 out of 5

Sushi on Jones
348 Bowery
New York, NY 10012

Grace Street - Midtown West, NY

I remember Grace Street to be a very unique spot. My fiancé and I visited Grace Street when they were still in the works a couple of years back. They were still renovating and fixing the dining area when we got our first hodduk.

It was the best dessert I've had before. Hodduk is basically fried dough with a sweet brown sugar filling in the center - almost like a donut. It was fresh and delicious.

Fast forward a couple of years, I re-visited Grace Street with my girlfriends. It's a lot more crowded since it's a good late night hangout spot, especially after dinner and you wanted a place to have some dessert and chit chat.

The wait didn't take too long and we sat at a bench. Wait staff was very friendly, even after a long day of work they look happy to serve you. We ordered Hodduk, Chocolate Brownie Waffle, Bubble Tea and Green Milk Tea. To be honest, everything tasted very mediocre. The hodduk tasted like it was just reheated in the microwave and cut up into really small pieces. The taste was there but the texture was lacking. The drink were good but not great. And the waffle...it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Grace Street wasn't how I envisioned and it's quite disappointing.

Green Milk Tea, Hodduk, Jasmine Bubble Tea

Chocolate Brownie Waffle

Verdict:
Food ~ 2 out of 5
Price ~ 3 out of 5
Service ~ 4.5 out of 5

Grace Street
17 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001

Maharlika - East Village, NY

Maharlika has been on my list for the longest time, even before the hyped, but I'm glad it died down a bit because that's how J and I were able to get a quick seating on a Saturday during lunch.

It's a really small restaurant but filled with personality. The walls were decorated with Filipino style art and photos which really gives a cool eccentric vibe. Our waitress was so adorable, very friendly and outspoken. It didn't take long for us to decide on our dishes and everything we ordered was delicious.

We shared all the dishes which we almost had a problem finishing. Started off with the Lumpiang, Filipino version of a spring roll, it was absolutely phenomenal. Crispy and flavorful, I really like that sweet and tangy sauce, and also the banana ketchup. Next two things were Sisig and Tapsilog, excellent. The sisig was something special, in a small cast iron were pork ears, snout and belly all sauteed together and mixed with an egg. Tapsilog is a basic lunch dish with steak, garlic rice and some lightly pickled cucumbers. All of these dishes we were drenching them in this special sauce they provided us - vinegar and chili sauce. Absolutely tasted great with every dish, and they encourage you to eat it with everything cause it's that good and it enhances the flavor of the dish.

Filipino food is pretty awesome and Maharlika just makes it that much better. Definitely a must visit.

Menu

Rizal's Ruin

Lumpiang Barquillos

Tapsilog

Sisig

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 5 out of 5

Maharlika
111 1st Ave
New York, NY 10003

MarkJoseph Steakhouse - Financial District, NY

Restaurant week creeps upon us twice a year, in the blistering cold and in the scorching sun. It's always that time when J and I have a hard time deciding if we want to go to any participating restaurants and which ones.

This year, we decided to drag along 2 friends with us to a steakhouse. I mean, how can you say no to steak? I've done a good share of researching. I'm the type of person that wants to know what I'm exactly getting at a restaurant for a deal that they usually don't offer. What I mean is a lot of places would either lessen the plate of the food or just serve you something that's what you expect. I don't like surprises...in that way.

MarkJoseph was the winner for us and I gladly made the reservations.
The date we chose to eat as MarkJoseph will forever be memorable, just because the next day, NYC had the biggest snow storm in a long time. It was already snowing pretty hard when we left the restaurant. But, now back to the food.

The service was quite superb. Even dining during restaurant week, I felt like an appreciated patron. The food was amazing. Definitely the best deal we got. We started off with the thick cut Canadian Bacon and Baked Clams, both were very good. Of course, portion size was cut in half since it was restaurant week, but that's ok. Then onto the main course, we all ordered the Sirloin Steak which was 20oz each. Cooked perfectly to medium rare and served on a sizzling hot plate. The steak was so tender, add some salt or use their in-house steak sauce or nothing at all. Each steak came with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. For once, the mashed potatoes actually tasted like potatoes and wasn't covered and mixed with butter and cream, the spinach tasted like spinach and not fancied up cream that had a gloppy consistently.

Lastly, the dessert was simple yet delicious. The Mini Brownie Sundae definitely was a nice ending touch to a wonderfully satisfying meal. Oh, forgot to mention, the wine was amazing also. If you're curious, we ordered the 2011 Ruffino Chianti Classico Reserve from Tuscany, really good bang for you buck wine.

I'd go back to MarkJoseph in a heartbeat. It's hard to find a good steakhouse in NYC because there are just too many, but once you find one that you like, don't let it go, keep it in your radar.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4.5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

2011 Ruffino Chianti Classico Reserve

Thick Cut Canadian Bacon

Baked Clams

Sirloin Galore

Brownie Sundae

MarkJoseph Steakhouse
261 Water Street
New York, NY 10038

Chelsea, NY - Le Grainne Cafe

Cappuccino

Cafe Au Lait

Chicken Crepe

French Toast

Omlette

Le Grainne Cafe 

183 9th Ave 

New York, NY 10011

(646) 486-3000

Midtown East, NY - Hinata

Kara Ramen

Hinata
159 East 55th Street
New York, NY 10022
(212) 355-2974

Midtown East, NY - Katsu Hama

Katsu Sauce

sesame (for katsu sauce), miso soup, and pickled vegetables

Minced Meat Katsu

Pork Katsu

Tori Kara Nanban

Katsu-Hama
11 E 47th Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 758-5909

Gramercy, NY - Casa Mono (Michelin)

Bar Seating

Razor Clams a la Plancha

Upstate Burrata with Greenmarket Pepper Sambal and Anchovy Toast

Pulpo with Fennel and Grapefruit

Sweetbreads with Fennel al Mono and Marcona Almond Vinaigrette

Pig Ears Chilaquiles with Pickleback Ramp Sauce and Crema Fresca

Grilled Dorada with Sun Shrimp, Yellow Tomatoes and Squash Blossom Salsa

Rabbit with Habanero Cuajada and Mono Kimchee

Quail

Foie Gras with Cinco Cebollas

Espresso

Casa Mono
52 Irving Place
New York, NY 10003
(212) 253-2773 

Midtown East - Hot Kitchen

I've been to Hot Kitchen a couple of times, for dine-in and takeout.

I see myself coming back whenever I'm craving for something spicy. It's a Szechuan style cuisine. The service is quite fast and the food is usually a hit or miss, depending on what you order. I usually get the lunch specials since it's the best 'bang for your buck' kind of deal.

I'm not exactly fond of their soup, the Hot and Sour Soup is barely hot - spicy wise and temperature wise.

I think this is probably one of the best dishes I've had from them. The Double Cooked Pork was very flavorful and I just couldn't stop eating those scallion/leek things.

The Shredded Pork with Dried Bean Curd was insanely oily. I think I would've enjoyed it if it was more gravy and sauce without the extra dollop of oil in it.

Not a bad rendition of the Mapo Tofu. Feels like it's missing some magic powder or ingredient but overall, not a bad choice for something spicy.

Hot Kitchen
251 East 53rd St
New York, NY 10022
(212) 588-8826

Chinatown - Ken's Asian Taste

Takeout only --

Sunday lunches are a difficult decision when there are so many choices. But lately, the choices are getting more and more expensive. Before this whole lunch inflation thing, I would order regularly at Ken's Asian Taste. Might I add, they have really good dim sum.

Their lunch specials are $5.95 and $6.95 the last time I ordered, which was just a month or so ago. The extra dollar one applies to the rice being totally separate, which means you get more rice and more side dish by paying a little extra.

I love eggplant and this Eggplant with Fish Filets was not bad for $5.95. Really good flavor and wasn't overly salty, it also had enough gravy for me to eat the rest of the rice with.

I think this would by my second favorite dish. Sate Beef with Vegetables, the gravy sauce is killer with the rice. The vegetables had enough crunch to them and was not soggy or soft at all.

And my favorite? Pork chops with Onions really hit the spot. This is the $6.95 lunch special I was talking about. A lot of pork chop in the container which was a great deal. For people that eat a lot less, this can be divided into two meals.

The Beef Filets with Chinese Broccoli was ok, felt like something was missing and the beef didn't exactly tasted like beef.

It's a good lunch, but depending on what you order it's going to be a hit or miss.

Ken's Asian Taste
40 Bowery Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-0806

East Village - Ten Degrees Bar

I don't understand why it took so long for J and I to come to Ten Degrees. He's been nagging me about the wine bar but I was dumb enough to ignore (sorry babe!).

Ten Degrees has this awesome happy hour, like really really awesome. It's from 12-8pm everyday and you basically get 2 drinks for the price of 1. Insanely good right? The deal isn't just good but the drinks themselves are quite incredible.

The service was pretty quick. The wine bar was spacious and even had a backroom. The atmosphere was honestly really carefree and you can sit here for hours talking about absolutely nothing.

We ordered a meat and cheese plate and it was a really good bang for your buck deal. They had fresh berries, I mean, what other place gives this many fruits?! It was the perfect snack to go along with your happy hour drinks.

Ten Degrees is definitely a place I would recommend. It's no speakeasy but the quality and the deals you get here can't be beaten anywhere else.

Ten Degrees Bar
121 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
(212) 358-8600