THAI GRILL & SUSHI BAR

THAI GRILL & SUSHI BAR
37 W.54TH STREET
NEW YORK, N.Y 10009
212-581-8808

After visiting the MOMA, my sister and I got hungry. I was in the mood for some sort of dessert. Right across from the MOMA, stood a tiny spot which I naturally wanted to try out. Sushi and dessert, you can't go wrong I thought. Here is my review.  I hope this will help you out with your choices.

Service -  The moment you arrive , you definetly are greeted at the door and seated with menus. It is the standard treatment a good restaurant would normally give you. No surprises or anything spectacular. Waitresses are kind and up to par with the menu choices. All staff is uniformed and the place is well kept. Waitresses, although knowledge of the menu, don't make recommendations. This is not good only for the mere fact that if you come across a customer who needs help with making a choice, that attitude will definitely make that customer not want to comeback.

Atmosphere - As you walk down the stairs, to enter the restaurant, you will see the sushi bar to your immediate left. No seats for the sushi bar area though. So if you are deciding to seat by there, don't, because their are no seats. What is a sushi bar without seats?? 
Thailand decor paintings hang all around the restaurant area. A creatively built bamboo wall divides the restaurant are from the bar. This makes you feel as if you are really sitting down in a dining room of a Thailand family. Decor in the entire area allows you to feel a quiet mood and calmness.

Food - (Mocha bubble tea, Chicken satay ,and fried ice cream)  
Mocha bubble tea: This is a mocha coffee drink with tea and tapioca balls. Yes, tea and coffee. Very delicious. But that day I went, I sort of felt cheated. The reason is, my bubble tea was served warm even though it had ice. Bubble tea, no matter what flavor is suppose to be served chilled.  

Chicken Satay: The restaurant had failed a second time in achieving this dish. It is a dish  where you are given skews of chicken and a side of spicy peanut sauce. The chicken had no taste. Now normally, when you do eat a dish like this there is no need to put a lot of the peanut sauce on your chicken. I just couldn't help myself but pour all of the peanut sauce to get some sort of flavor. What I found even more disturbing about the sauce was that it wasn't even spicy. Peanut sauce for this dish is supposed to be spicy. Bland dish. I was upset.

Fried ice cream:  A dessert known in the Asian cultures, were ice cream is covered in a tempura batter then quickly deep fried. To make it sound a little better, it sort of tastes like a warm zepolle with a soft core of cold ice cream. The restaurant had failed a third time in attempting to follow through on this as well. The batter was tough and chewy. The ice cream tasted like it was a week old and cardboard like.

Recommendations: Three strikes you are out!! No! No! Stay away!  Being a restaurant located so close to the MOMA, it needs to uphold strong with its service and foods. If you are taking your date to the MOMA or anywhere along that area of NYC, avoid the Thai Bar and Grill. It is too pricey. Food is either bland or not served in the proper temperatures. What they call a sushi bar is a sushi bar without seats. Don't embarrass yourself and you date by going here. HEED MY ADVISE!!

LASAGNA RISTORANTE

LASAGNA RISTORANTE
196 EIGHTH AVENUE 
(CORNER OF 20TH ST.)
NEW YORK, NY 10011
212-242-4551
AUGUST 20, 2011 

Temperature in the lower 80s and sunny that day made it perfect to go out for lunch in NYC. My sister told me of a spot she had heard of from a friend or two. Getting off at 33rd street from the path, I knew it was going to be quite a walk to get there. Did I mind? Of course not. Good food and great reputation at a reasonable price? Why not!!

Service - This is probably what the restaurant needs most help in. As you walk in, you are seated and not greeted with a friendly "hello" or "how is it going."  You are just seated. Waiter is dressed down with Bermuda shorts and canvas shoes, this is not a good look to represent a so called reputable restaurant. When taking the order, we were asked what we wanted to eat but no drink was offered in the entirety of our stay. Our glasses kept getting refilled with water. With my observation, other customers only had water instead. This is OK, I guess if you don't want to spend on drinks, but if a restaurant wants to make money, perhaps start with offering a drink!! You would be surprised what else customers would want besides water. Instead, we actually had to wave him down to ask for a drink.

Atmosphere -  The restaurant has french doors all around that open to more seats out in the sidewalk. In the weather it was that day, it was an excellent look for the place and allowed air to flow smoothly through the entire place. The bar was large and clean. Well kept. Romantic atmosphere for the afternoon and evening hours.

Food - (Meat Lasagna and Minestrone soup) (Lunch special $10.95) Minestrone soup was served hot. It was hearty, filled with plenty of carrots, celery, and the usual components you would find in this particular soup. Great beginning dish for a lunch special. The Meat lasagna was excellent. It arrived in a deep oven dish. The look alone on the lasagna told me it was good. It contained those burn marks you would find in the corner of an oven dish. This told me it came straight form the oven to the table. Presentation was spectacular. As I took a corner piece of the lasagna, the fresh ricotta stretched from the pull of my fork to my mouth. Very hot. Nice. A bit of chicken broth did hover my dish. Was it incorporated in the plate? If so, good job!!

Recommendation - Now I would normally give you an answer for a restaurant. But in this case, I will leave it solely to you, the consumer. For this particular spot, you have to choose between service and food quality. It contains one bad aspect and a good one. If you are looking to impress a date with a night at the town of NYC, and not care for service and delivery aspect, then for food purpose alone, this is the spot.
If you care for both VERY important aspects, food and service, then this would NOT be the spot. You would embarrass yourself and your date with the lack of care from the waiters. Unless your date likes to drink water with all his or her meals.

RUMBA'S CAFE

RUMBA'S CAFE
513 CENTRAL AVENUE
JERSEY CITY, NJ 07307
201-216-9655
August 18, 2011

After attending doctor's appointments all day for my daughter and husband, I was so hungry. My husband probably knew that I needed a good meal in me, so he took me to a spot he knew to be an authentic Cuban spot. As we drove there, he told me of its reasonable prices and reliable delicious dishes. Our total for the both of us was $13.00. You can't beat that for good food!! Here is my review.

Service -  This is a self- sit down cafe. Service is mediocre. Menu for this establishment goes through a Monday to Sunday schedule, certain dishes for certain days. This I thought was a great idea, that way you as a customer know that the food you'll be eating is made fresh for that day. Wait staff are uniformed. Clean. Food will arrive within minutes of ordering.

Food - (Ropa Vieja w/ yucca and yellow rice) - This is a popular Spanish dish made of shredded beef. The beef in this dish was so favorable. The taste of the cilantro was found in every spoonful I took to my mouth. Moist. It was seasoned along with green and red peppers, I couldn't help but steal some more peppers of my husbands plate. The beef was so juicy that it dripped onto the rice, flavoring it as well.  

The yucca, slow- cooked with onions was a side dish to the meal. Yucca is normally hard to season. But, with the onions it is a harmony of flavor with the beef. The yellow rice, finally!! Rumba's is the spot for real yellow rice. Not that bagged stuff. As the plate sat on the table, the smell of sofrito sang in my nostrils.

The only issue I had with the entire experience was that the food arrived warm. Yes, I do know that it is fresh but I would of loved for it to have been piping hot.

Recommendations - Yes! Yes! and Yes! This is a place I would definitely recommend for great food at a low price. It is a yes to impress your date. You will not be disappointed in the foods at all.

ZARO'S BAKERY

ZARO'S BAKERY
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
(LOCATED INSIDE GATEWAY CENTER)


This is a small corner bakery found in the middle of Gateway Center, New Jersey. As soon as you walk out of the Path Station and walk down the escalators, you will immediately see the yellow and black sign to the entrance of the bakery. You can't miss it. 

Service -  Staff always looks clean.  They are uniformed. Line is never long. As I walk by most days, I sometimes see a line, but it quickly diminishes in about a minute or so because staff is quick. They always have someone stationed to do a particular task.  Coffee is self served. So no mistakes on that department.

Food  -  (Buttered Challa bread and coffee). Originally, I walked in for a cup of coffee, but decided to grab a butter roll, just a quick breakfast.I had no time to breath. I had to go!! One girl who took my order said they only had poppy seed rolls. I just don't favor that. It's a seed I hate due to the black seeds that get stuck between my teeth. So, I told her I'd pass. I was ready to pay for my coffee, but another cashier made a  recommendation for a buttered "Challa" bread. At first when she said it, I thought she pronounced it as "Balla" bread. I was scared to try this "Balla" bread, but being a food critic I had to try it. So I agreed. As I got to my desk, I opened it and sure enough it was that sweet bread I knew as "Challa." It was like opening up an early Christmas gift.

The bread is delicious. It was so fresh as if it just came out of the oven. Soft and sweet. It was buttered also so that was double my sweetness with the Challa bread. Along with the coffee it is the perfect combination for a quick breakfast on the go.You can smell the brew from out the door. Milk and other condiments to go along with your coffee are all encased in an ice box, so you know milk and etc is never bad.

Recommendation -  Great spot!! If you are on the go to work and have no time for long lines, this would be the spot. Coffee is great. No LINES!! Very important!!! Staff makes recommendations if you can't really decide on what you want.

CRAB SHANTY RESTAURANT

CRAB SHANTY
361 CITY ISLAND AVENUE
BRONX, NY 10464
AUGUST 11, 2011

I got a call from my younger sister that my mother wanted to go out for lunch. We were in the mood for some sort of seafood. Naturally, I would've recommended a local fish market, and cook it home instead, but my sister decided to drive us to a spot she frequently goes to after work hours. I agreed. It was to spend time with mom anyway. Here is my review.

Service -  The place has kind and generous waiters who are knowledgeable of the menu. When food arrives you don't hear the frequent "who ordered....?" line. Instead, the waiter will put your order right in front of you and tell you what you ordered. They know who ordered what dish or dishes, depending on the size of your party. A barrel of large apples greet you as you walk in the door. Free of charge. Just to see my mother smile from that gesture alone made my day. 

Food - Snow crab with rice - Steamed. Best way to have them. Easy to break. Juicy. Side of melted butter to compliment the crab. Not salty. Fresh. The rice, although, was the typical bagged rice I despise. You know, the uncle ben's quality. Not a fan. But as fresh as the snow crab was, and knowing that it is not a place known for it's rice. The crab compensated for it. So it wasn't much of a bother.

New England Clam Chowder - Not too creamy. Served hot. Potatoes could of been bigger, but flavor was bountiful. Enough flavor of chowder to not really need potatoes. Excellent.

Dessert (Chocolate Cake) - Homemade. Fresh and warm topped with whipped cream. This is where hot meets cold in a richness of sweetness. Chocolate frosting melted and poured over your piece of the cake as you cut into it.

Recommendation - Definitely Yes!! This is a family-oriented town, located by a marine harbor. Lovely area. You would see water and boats. It would be great for a lunch date or for a family nite out.