Three weeks ago I fell in love with The Big Apple. Visiting a friend who lives a 38 second walk from Times Square made it real easy. Not sure why the city appealed so much to me, after all, I do live in London which offers just as much fun and excitement (if not more) as New York. Maybe the simple fact that it felt more modern, with a faster yet not stressful pace and American yet metropolitan vibe is it. That, and my love for skyscrapers. Mmm... Skyscraper I love you.
We arrived late a Thursday evening, got our bags sorted in the apartment and then went out to grab something to eat. Liliana, our fortunate New York friend and host, took us to a sushi place she likes just around the corner: Pearl on the sushi, on 695 9th Avenue.
Lucky for us they have very generous opening times, it was just after 23:00 and even though they officially close at eleven most weeknights they welcomed us with a smile (maybe they felt sorry for us weary travellers, check out Amy in the photo, she looks really tired).
Weary travellers, our time: 04:00 in the morning!
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Since we were so late there was plenty of space (we were actually the only ones there, I think they had started closing the kitchen down just as we walked in...) so we sat down around the largest table a bit away from the cold draft from the door and made ourselves comfortable.
First impression was good. I have this thing about sushi places, they need to have the right smell. This is such a place. Decor is nothing special, the place doesn't look much. A few pieces of sea findings on the plain walls, simple chairs and tables.
The girl who was serving us seemed to be the only one working the floor (we went there again a few days later, this time a bit earlier, and she was still on her own) and she also had to take the incoming calls for ordering take away so if the place is busy I can imagine it will take some time to get served.
Looking through the menu I got quite excited. There were names on sushi dishes I had never seen before. Exciting and appetizing names like "Pink Panther Roll" and "Black Dragon Rool" among other, less appetizing but very intriguing, such as the "Green Caterpillar Roll" or the "Spider Roll" caught my eye. Prices were reasonable, even a bit cheaper than I expected, but perhaps that is the voice of the stronger pound talking.
Based on Liliana's recommendation I went for the slightly scary sounding "Spider Roll" and a "Sunshine Roll" since it had been gloomy all day, Anders went for a set plate with a selection of nigiri and make sushi while Amy ordered a salmon bento box. We all also had miso soup and tea.
Ordering was interesting since the waitress didn't talk very good English, we ended up doing a lot of menu pointing and verifying that we actually would get what we wanted.
Friendly banter ensued, as we for the first time since that morning started to relax having finally reached our first exciting destination (wooo, New York, and from here on to Las Vegas, yay). While we were catching up on latest developments in our respective home cities food arrived. Quickly served, beautifully arranged on our plates and the "Spider Roll" sushi looked just as exciting as it sounded in the menu...
On my plate was two big rolls cut in pieces. Eight pieces of "Sunshine" and six pieces of "Spider". Plenty of food in other words. I was completely amazed by the "Spider Roll", never seen anything like it. Wrapped in rice and make was soft shell crab with a special mayonnaise and the head and claws of the crab was actually sticking out of the roll! Drizzled on top of the slices was eel sauce, incredibly rich and tasty.
Sunshine Roll, Spider Roll
Originally uploaded by Manne.
To be honest, when I saw the head and claws of the crab, I hesitated a bit. Did I really want to put that in my mouth? Won't I cut myself and run screaming to the restroom? Ah, whatever, I thought, if I do it will be worth it! Taste was fantastic. Perfect rice, not too chewy make, lovely mayonnaise with a hint of wasabi contrasting the dark eel sauce and a crunchy taste of crab. Lovely. But I did actually give the slice with the full head to Anders...
Equally tasty, although not as kinky feeling, was the "Sunshine Roll". Wrapped in a shell of sliced mango and salmon this roll was "inside out" with an avocado center. Fresh and sweet with a perfect blend of tastes.
Amy's bento box was what we expected, also tasty but the teriyaki salmon was a bit over done. If I went there again I would stick to the rolls, obviously their speciality. Anders set plate of sushi was really good, well prepared with fresh ingredients and nice arrangement.
What we all really liked was their strong wasabi. Definitely powerful stuff. Interesting how that can differ so much between restaurants.
Anders, loving the Spider Roll and strong wasabi
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Finishing the two rolls was very filling. I certainly didn't feel the need for any dessert, even though I would have loved to try their honeydew smoothie or one of the milk shakes I saw in the menu. It being really late though we opted for home, bed, sleep so we paid and went home to Liliana. Ah, the luxury of living right in the middle of Hell's Kitchen, excellent.
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