Jen "yo..." Y.'s Profile

We live in a cynical world. A cynical world. And we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You... complete me.

I have a healthy once-per-week relationship with Saigon Grill for the following two reasons:

- Amazingly cheap price for a meal that is the size of two normal meals
- Delivery never takes more than 12-15 minutes.

Logistically and financially, it makes no sense to me how they do it. But I'm quite happy not questioning the good stuff.

I try to buy most of my groceries from more affordable markets (read: Fairway), but I can't walk past Zabars without sneaking in to visit the ginormous selection of fresh deli food and buy a loaf of the mouth-watering Olive Bread.

(P.S. - I'm devouring said Olive Bread as I type this review.)

There's so much character to Cafe Lalo that I can't bear to not give it a full 5 stars. But that's only because I'm emotional. If I were the level-headed critic that I clearly am not, I might mention these:

- Lalo is way too crowded on the weekends during brunch hours to even consider going if you have more than 2 people in your party
- The pastry selection is huge and include a mouthwatering selection of cakes/cheesecakes/cupcakes/pies/tarts/tortes/cooki es/etc.
- On the weekends there's always an excited tourist or two snapping pictures while waiting for seating. Sitting there for an hour or so, you will most likely appear in the photographs from at least 51separate cameras (that's at least one for each state, genius).

But seriously. Go. And try their Old Country Apple and Walnut pie.

An unbelievable wall of 66 types of beer on tap, and one of the only bars I've been to thus far that had Framboise on tap! shweeet!

Except this bar caters so much to the after-work crowd that I don't know anyone who has gone to the Ginger Man without spending the evening swimming in a sea of suits.

There's no question that Gari has great quality fish, and is one of the higher end sushi places in the city. I think the real question is if the value of the entire experience itself is worth the pricetag.

My friends and I ordered an omakase and a cooked cod dish to share. The omakase had a lot of variety, and each piece was paired well in taste and texture. The chefs experimented with toppings such as tofu cream cheese, and I'd definitely say that the experimentation had a fusion touch to it.

Meanwhile, the restaurant decor is minimalistic and the crowd felt more 'local,' which gave the vibe that Gari wasn't exactly a destination restaurant. But then, the slightly inflated prices suggest that it should be one. But if that's the case then I'd have slightly higher expectations for the food. So all in all, the puzzle pieces don't seem to fit together perfectly, and I'm left feeling a little unsure, given the abundant sushi choices in the city, that I'd have a solid reason to go back to Gari.

i mean, for the area, this bar was pretty fun, especially with their live cover bands. on weekends it's usually packed, but the room in the back is usually empty, with a few pool tables. i've got nothing against Prohibition, especially since it's a block away from my apartment. :)

As usual I was a fashionably 20 minutes late... but my friends forgave me because of their awesome bar area. When the waitress seated us, I couldn't believe how huge the actual seat area was - the spaciousness, tall ceilings, and high energy scene of Calle Ocho was amazing. It made for a great Friday night out. Make sure you try a few pitchers of sangria!

what a pity, i would have given Sushi Seki my rare 5 stars if it weren't for the 20+ minute wait even with reservations.

We sat at the bar for the omakase, which is really the only way to go. The minimum for Sushi/Sashimi omakase was $75 each, but my awesome date upped ours to $120 so the chef can have more creative room to play around.

Most of our sushi was served one piece at a time, so that we were able to fully concentrate on one without eyeing the next, which I thought  was thoughtful. We must have had 20+ slices, with different fish (except the toro - no complaints!), all of them flown/shipped within the day. I absolutely loved the king salmon and the snapper.

This bar doesn't belong in the East Village.

Yuck. That's all I have to say about it.