I've had a chance to sample a few restaurants in Manhattan since moving my stuff in, so I figured it would be a good time to write about them...in the case that anyone should come to the City and find the urge to eat at somewhere other than a local pizza joint (which could be hard, I know):
Umi Sushi: This little shop was fairly empty when my girlfriend and I visited for a weekend lunch (I feel like the sushi shops only fill up at night; I'm not sure how they stay in business otherwise), but the sushi was delicious. The prices were very good for New York (only slightly more expensive than Vic's in Philly, which I've mentioned several times before), and the special roll we ordered (called the Shogun roll) was huge - 10 large pieces - for a very reasonable $13. The rice-to-fish/veggies ratio in the regular hand rolls was very manageable, but I wasn't a fan of their tamago sushi - the egg was a bit too big.
Shanghai Cafe: My girlfriend loves these Shanghai specialties that she calls 'soup dumplings' (but seem to be referred to as 'tiny pork buns' on the menus), so we visited this restaurant on one of her friend's advice. The soup dumplings were extremely delectable - better than New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe, which is where we had previously eaten them. The dumplings here were larger, and the liquid had a better taste to them - namely, they didn't make my arteries choke on fat with each bite (as much). The other food was delicious as well; we ordered wontons and mooshu pork, which we ended up getting for free when we discovered plastic in the dish. That ruined it a bit.
Aki Sushi: Slightly more expensive than Umi, but the taste was very good here. I wish I had a Dragon roll there, because the one that the chef at Aki put together melted in my mouth - it was that good. The hand rolls were good, but there was a bit more rice in them than at Umi. They did a better job with the tamago, though - it was a much more manageable size. This is closer to where I live (half a block away, compared to 4.5 blocks for Umi), so I may be visiting more often.
Black Duck: Also close to where I live (one block up and half a block over), the food here was very good. While my girlfriend had some qualms about the service, they did a good job with keeping the water glasses filled. The soup was a good appetizer; I had their clam chowder, which was different from authentic New England chowder - it was thinner and also employed a lot of dill. Their cream of spinach soup was very good as well; it wasn't the cheap kind that mixed spinach into condensed cream, diner-style. That being said, the portions were too big; I wish that they had served less soup. The entrees were fantastic; the host wasn't lying when he said the chef did seafood well. I had salmon done medium-rare over cous cous; my girlfriend had their fish of the day (wolf fish, which turned out to be quite tasty in its own right). Dessert was a chocolate granache - a great finish to the meal. It doesn't quite match the level of Roy's famous chocolate souffle (which is served hot), but for a cold dessert, it was very well done. I would visit the restaurant again, but I'd probably get a lighter appetizer.
Saravanaas Bhavan: I ate food from here with my mom after we finished a long day of unpacking/building furniture. The apartment's pretty damn near the center of Curry Hill, so I might as well get used to the cuisine. While the meal ended with me sweating a river, the food itself - I had a dosa (basically an Indian crepe) filled with spiced potatoes and various dips - was very filling and tasty. I'll probably end up visiting it on a regular basis...as long as I have the air conditioning on.
Todai: We ate here for a Sunday brunch-style meal. For the price, I don't think it was worth it. The sushi was above average, but the pieces were tiny, and there weren't any standouts among what I ate. The fruit was...well, fruit (it's hard to distinguish), and the desserts - bite-size pieces of cake - were far too creamy. Maybe if I had a bigger stomach, I wouldn't mind, but I didn't feel like I ate $18 worth of food, either in quantity or quality.
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