Ginza

And now back to sushi...

We stopped into Ginza on a very busy Saturday evening, and right away we knew it would be good. The place was PACKED. Yet, in the first of many testaments to their impressive service, we were seated right away. You see, Ginza runs like a well-oiled machine. No table has one server; every server works with every table, and no orders are written down. Yet we got the correct food and the correct bill -- and quickly. That would be impressive even if everyone working there spoke perfect English, but they don't. Add on the sheer volume of customers, the noise, the relativily small space and well .... I don't know how they do it.

I've never been to Japan, but I'd wager that Ginza is the closest experience I've had so far. It's small, loud, crowded, and very little of the menu is in English. IN keeping with the spirit of things, we decided to stick with traditional favorites: beef gyoza (dumplings), edamame, yellowtail and tuna sashimi, sake. We only went off the reservation one time and ordered a Lava Roll, which is a fried salmon roll with eel sauce.

The sashimi was very good -- fresh, nicely cut, and arrived in 5 very generous pieces. I liked the texture of the lava roll, but there wasn't much flavor there. The eel sauce tasted good, but unfortunately it gave my husband heartburn (or at least we think it did - it was the only thing he hadn't tried before, so we're assuming it was the culprit). Edamame, and even gyoza, are fairly difficult things to mess up, and Ginza didn't.

For dessert my husband tried a house specialty, green tea ice-cream. The bright green color of the ice-cream belied its delicate flavor and creamy texture. This came highly recommended, and we can see why -- it's a perfect dessert after a light Japanese meal.

Unfortunately we weren't given much time to enjoy it, or the massive amounts of sake we ordered to go with it, as we were handed our bill and rushed out the door by a waitstaff that obviously thought we owed them our table back. And that's my one complaint about Ginza: the atmosphere, though lively, isn't very relaxing. For the same kind of food, at similar prices, I prefer to go someplace a little more inviting.

Pollo Campero

It's been so long since we ate at Pollo Campero that I almost feel guilty writing about it. They just put one in on Washington Avenue next to my husband's building, and his coworkers were raving about it. I wish I could say the same.

Maybe it's just that I'm not used to Latin fast-food. I was impressed with the variety of the offerings -- not just entrees, but also sides, salsas, even the drink menu. I had the empanada trio, with one of each offered filling (Cubana pork, grilled chicken and spicy chicken). I didn't love my empanadas. They were a little bit greasy, a little bit floppy, a little bit doughy -- a little bit everything but delicious. The rice and beans I had on the side were good though.*

The people couldn't have been nicer. If anything, they were a little overly friendly; I think that might have been new-restaurant nerves though. The space itself was nice, and clean, and everything was moving efficiently. And in fairness, the fried chicken (their specialty) did look and smell very good.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't try Pollo Campero. Washington Ave has changed in the few years we've been here, and there's a great need for affordable lunch choices in this area. I'm just really hoping that they step up and work out some of the kinks, and soon. Some other places need a little competition.


*I'm trying so hard to give this place a good review. It's killing me.

Vietnam Restaurant

Sorry it's been a while, blog fans. The hubs and I spent Valentine's weekend in NYC, where we went to Colicchio & Sons (AMAZING service, impressive yet approachable food, great prices for Manhattan -- if you're travelling, try it!).

We're back now though, and we had lunch yesterday at Vietnam Restaurant.

Vietnam is located in a very modest building, across from a car garage and an upholstery place. Not exactly an ideal location, but the outside belies the nicely appointed interior and the attentive waitstaff.

We went a little before noon and found a healthy crowd. Obviously people appreciate the lunch specials, which are a good value. I had the chicken with oriental vegetables. It came with an eggroll, brown rice, and a cup of the soup of the day (chicken with mustard greens).

The soup consisted of a thin broth with plenty of greens and (as my husband pointed out) very little chicken. It was tasty though, and probably authentic and healthy.

My chicken with vegetables was served piping hot -- almost not edible, but once it cooled, it was good. Nothing was overcooked, the chicken was all-white meat and there was a nice variety of vegetables (carrots, cabbage, beans, etc). Did it stand out in any way? Not really. Was it healthy, cheap, and filling? Yes. Was that really all I can ask of a lunch special at an Asian restaurant in a not-so-nice area? Yep.

But if given the choice between Vietnam and Colicchio and Sons, take the latter.