Sakagura

Sakagura: 211 East 43rd Street
New York, NY 10017-4707
(212) 953-7253

"Do you mind sitting at the bar?" Not an unusual request by the hostess. As someone who doesn't mind going to restaurants alone, I am often sat at the bar, especially at dinner time.
I do not mind sitting at the bar because the service is usually faster and it is easier to listen in on other diners' conversations.

Last night I dined at Sakagura, a highly recommended Japanese restaurant by Grand Central Station. The restaurant is hard to find; it is in the basement of a large business building. Walking down the concrete stairs, the spot does not immediately appear all that nice. Once you enter the restaurant, however, the decor is very pleasing. The tables are well spaced out and the lighting is romantically dim.

I was feeling like some meat and was deciding between chicken and steak. I asked my waitress what she recommended and to no surprise it was the steak. So I ordered the Saikoro steak, described on the menu as " diced steak sauteed with olive oil flavored with grated onion and soy sauce."



When I first looked at my plate it did not appear all that appetizing. The steak was smothered in the onion soy sauce. The sauce was initially too strong for my liking. By the third slice of steak in my mouth, however, I got used to the sweet soy sauce flavor and managed to quickly devour the rest of my plate. The steak did not come with any sides so I also ordered rice half way through my meal.





The service was incredible. My glass of water never got to empty and the food was delivered in less than 5 minutes. Tea after my meal was also a nice touch.

I recommend this restaurant as a place to go with friends. The dinner menu is HUGE and consists of tapas size portions of a lot of interesting sounding items. Next time I will try the jaga dango or mashed potatoes coated in a sweet donut batter fried crisp. The prices are very reasonable; most items are under $10.00. My steak was only $12.50, not bad at all.

They also have a large selection of sake, which I did not try.
(My view from the bar)


You also know this place is legit when most of the other customers are Japanese business men.
Rating: 7

Sezz Medi

Sezz Medi: 1260 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027-5027
(212) 932-2901

Met up with Marti, Jeanette, Liana, and Genesis for dinner at Sezz Medi, an Italian restaurant on Amsterdam and 122nd. The place is bigger then it looks, with a large room in the back. We were sat in the back of the restaurant which I prefered because it was quieter then the busy room up front.

I was really craving pizza so Jeanette and I decided to share the margarita. We were deciding between different appetizers or salads to share but none sounded all that appetizing and were almost as expensive as just ordering another pizza. So we opted out.

The other three girls all got the cheeseburger, which came with fries. When the girls got their cheeseburgers first, Jeanette and I both looked at each other sadly because the burgers looked so tasty. Our pizza finally came and we shared sad looks once more. The dough was great; fluffy and not too toasted. The rest of the pizza however was sub-par. The tomato sauce was too thin, dripping off the pizza. The mozzarella cheese was clumpy and cold and there was no oregano anywhere. Also, the pizzas weren't all that big for how much they cost ($12.00 for a margarita). Four measily slices ain't cutting it friend.


Luckily, my nice friend Marti shared some of her delicious french fries and I got a taste of her burger. While the burger and fries were better than the pizza, we both agreed that the $5.00 M2M hamburger deluxe on campus is much better than this $14.00 sucker. The burger was bland and pretty small.


The best thing about this place was the bread basket served prior to the entrees. Why isn't this a standard in NYC restaurants; it is in LA? A nice helping of bread before a meal is always a great way to start. Hear me NYC? Thanks!



Rating: 4 (mainly for the atmoshpere)

Angelika Film Center Cafe

Angelika Film Center & Cafe: 18 West Houston Street
New York, NY 10012-1503
(212) 995-2000

I went on my weekly movie trip today and saw City Island at the Angelika. I enjoy going to this movie theater because they play the popular indie movies and there are tons of shopping places close by (Noho/Soho). I am giving the Angelika Cafe a shout-out on the blog because today along with the purchase of my movie ticket I got a free coffee and muffin from the Cafe!

Eating my muffin before the movie I realized how chill of a place the cafe is. I highly recommend it as a resting spot even if you are not seeing a movie. It is better then the manufactured culture at Starbucks. There are tons of chairs and a few comfy couches. They have ice cream, coffee drinks, teas, scones, and hefty desert bars. The Cafe is distinct from the popcorn and candy stand downstairs.



Rating: 6

City Island (the movie): two thumbs down

16 Handles

16 Handles: 153 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 260-4414
Hours: Open Mon-Thu,Sun 12pm-11:30pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-12:30am

FROZEN YOGURT! I don't care if it is just a fad, but frozen yogurt is the shit! Especially when there are many different flavors to choose from and even more toppings. Los Angeles has a much greater selection of create-your-own yogurt shops than NY, but the best one I can find out here is 16 Handles. They recently added a red velvet yogurt option that is quite tasty. I ALWAYS get peanut butter yogurt too, along with oreo, sprinkles, and sometimes cookie-dough toppings. Supposedly this deliciousness is healthy, but I think that's all bologny.



Regardless, 16 Handles is where you want to go because you also get to decide how much yogurt you would like. None of this pinkberry shit where you have to pay $6.oo for one weird super tangy plain flavor. GROSS!

The only downside is that there is no sampling. How am I suppose to know which new flavor I like without trying it out for free?

Rating: 9 ( it would be a 9.5 if there were sample cups)

SAMPLES

I am the QUEEN at finding free samples. Call me frugal, call me cheap. Whatever it is, I spot free food like a slut always manages to show her thong just a little bit. GET EM!

Yesterday, after another job interview( pray for me) I was walking down First Ave. and went into Gristedes. This grocery store was FULL of free samples. Immediately walking in I spot vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, st. patty's day cookies, and cake with BOMB vanilla icing. I choose the cake and also sneakily snag some cookies. Then, I proceeded to walk around for two minutes like I was going to buy something and made my exit.

The pics are bad because it was really sunny outside.



FREE!

Pinche Taqueria

Pinche Taqueria: 333 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012 - (212) 343-9977
Open Mon-Tue,Sun 10am-1am; Wed-Sat 10am-4am
http://www.pinchetaqueria.us/

Best taco's in NYC!
Pinche knows what's up! I usually get the carne asada tacos. They come with guacamole, which I ask for on the side with onions. I mix them together and make a little free salad. One taco is less than $3.00. The place has a pretty large menu for how small it is and the wooden tables give it an "authentic" vibe.

Rating: 8

[Competition: Taqueria y Fonda
Close to school and gives substantially more meat per taco than Pinche. But, you have to pay for guacamole and their delivery service is pretty bad. Free chips when eating in is a plus though! Meat is better at Pinche, so Pinche wins. (also, the cheese at taqueria is a little funkalicious)]

FIRST

I like blogs with pictures SO this one will have a lot of them.

Documenting where I go and what I eat.