Tag: east village

Categories
asian

Sushi Park – 50% off Dollar Menu Sushi

I’ve been craving wasabi so much lately. I’ve been talking about going to one of those All-You-Can-Eat Sushi places with my friends. It never happened, but I still wanted sushi. So I went by myself to try the 50% off Dollar Menu sushi at Sushi Park. Not 50% off a dollar, but either 50% off the regular menu or a special dollar menu (Mondays through Thursdays).

I went on a Wednesday night and it was pretty packed full of people. I got seated at the sushi counter with a menu. But I couldn’t find where the dollar menu was. I figured I was there at the wrong time or maybe even the wrong place. So I just went with the 50% off Chirashi sushi bowl. It was freakin’ $28. Good thing that really meant $14. Apparently 50% off the regular menu is all the time, so it’s more like a trick. It was good, but not worth $28.

Right after I finished eating, the person that was seated next to me had the dollar menu. Why didn’t I get that? Fuck. I asked to see it. There was a decent selection of stuff you could get for a $1 each. Plus the back had dinner sets that included a free beer or sake. Fuck. I definitely would have gotten one of those sets if I knew.

I got a few dollar menu items. Smelt Fish Roe, Spicy Tuna sushi and Takoyaki octopus balls. They were alright. Made sense for a dollar. The Spicy Tuna was made up of mashed meat. I noticed they were using mashed fish for a lot of sushi and rolls. Looks really gross, but it wasn’t that bad.

I don’t know about this place. I feel sort of cheated. One for it not really be a true 50% off. Two for not getting the dollar and dinner set menus to begin with. And third for paying about the same price I would have if I had gone to the All-You-Can-Eat and Drink Sushi place. Oh well. At least I got my wasabi fix.

Sushi Park - 121 E 2nd Ave (btwn 7th St & St Marks Pl) New York, NY 10003

Categories
indian

Milon Bangladesh-Indian Restaurant

Justin asked if I wanted to meet him and his friend at Milon (one of those Christmas tree-lit Indian restaurants on 1st Ave and 6th St …see Panna II). I told him I wasn’t going to make it, but came anyway to surprise him. Joke was on me. I waited for twenty minutes inside the tiny restaurant before I went ahead and ordered. It reminded me of when I was young and had a bloody nose running down my face. I thought it would be funny if I laid in my sister’s bed acting dead. I heard her watching TV in the living room with a friend. Joke was on me. It was a long movie. I must’ve waited over thirty minutes. So I eventually cleaned up and went back to my room. She never knew.

I ordered the Chicken, Lamb, Beef and Vegetable Malai curry dish. It tasted good. It was made with almonds, bananas, mild spices in a cream sauce. I think this is the first dish I ordered when I came to one of these Indian restaurants ten years ago.

Justin and his friend eventually came. They ordered the Lamb Kurma, which is similar to my Malai, but not as sweet. The Coconut Naan bread was amazing. First time I’ve ever had that. I’d get that again definitely. The Reshmi Kebab (boneless pieces of chicken breast cooked in curry masala sauce with onion, pepper and tomatoes) was really good. I finished off the rest.

It wasn’t crowded this particular night, but there were two birthdays. They turned on the birthday techno Indian song and brought out free mango ice cream. Justin told them it was his friend’s birthday. We got free mango ice cream too. Then afterwards, they brought out ice cream for everyone else. It was a constant birthday party.

Milon Restaurant – 93 1st Ave (btwn 6th and 5th St) New York, NY 10003

Categories
pizza

Joey Pepperoni’s $1 Pizza Slice

I was walking from the UCBeast for some comedy and improv and I saw this new $1 pizza joint near the L train on 1st Ave. Joey Pepperoni’s it’s called. I can’t help say it without an NY Italian accent. It’s like that restaurant, Tommy Lasagna. I feel like I can’t even say Tommy Lasorda without an accent.

Anyway, I never heard of these Joey Pepperoni’s, but apparently there’s a few of them in NYC. I think they’re relatively new though …like within the past year.

I guess it’s pretty good. Kinda tastes like a $1 pizza –like a 2 Bros slice. They all pretty much taste the same when you’re walking home drunk.

I shook some seasonings on my slice and saw something that came out that looked like a squiggly hair. I figured it was just something from the oregano or herbs. On closer inspection of the photo, I think it was. …I hope it was. It was. Right?

Joey Pepperoni Pizza - 222 1st Ave (btwn 13th & 14th St) New York, NY 10009

Categories
restauranting

Khyber Pass – Afghani Restaurant

We went to Khyber Pass, one of my favorite East Village restaurants that I never ever go to. It’s surprisingly never crowded at this place. I don’t know why. The food is great.

I ordered the special of the day Mahicha Palow (Lamb Shank) $18. It came with two big shanks. Very tender meat. I love the Harissa spicy sauce on the table to go with it.

Vegetable soup came with the entree. There was a dollop of sour cream in it. I liked it.

Justin got the Mantoo dumplings $11. Dang, these were good. Why doesn’t anyone eat here?

I remember leaving a large umbrella there years ago. I came back a week later and they still had it. I think one of the chefs was using it. But they still had it!

Their sign used to say “Afghani Restaurant” a long time ago. I wonder if they took that down because tourists are scared of terrorists?

Justin told the waitress she had a cute smile. I think I was a little drunk.  But that doesn’t really explain anything.

Khyber Pass Restaurant – 34 St. Marks Pl (btwn 3rd Ave & Astor Pl) New York, NY 10003

Categories
bar/drinking

Dempsey’s Pub

I came here with Mike and Sam to watch the Jeremy Lin game in the East Village. We got to wing it up. Pretty decent wings, but the nice thing was the $5 big bowl of Nachos. I can’t tell if it looks big in this photo, but it was. That’s a good deal on nachos …even though they always get soggy at some point.

I can’t tell if I’m over Linsanity. I’m Lindifferent?

Dempsey’s Pub - 61 2nd Ave (btwn 3rd & 4th St) New York, NY 10003

Categories
restauranting

Sa Aming Nayon’s Pork Blood Stew

This past weekend, I visited Rik and Nancy while they were shooting a tribute video for their good friend Seth, who’s recovering in the hospital. It was very touching how many people came to support. I can tell he’s very loved and there are many people that are very loving in this world.

On my way to the train, I stopped in for Filipino lunch at Sa Aming Nayon in the East Village. Service was a little weird. I think they just forgot about me. And when I asked for a menu, it was really awkward. They were very apologetic.

I went with the Dinuguan (Pork Cheeks with Pork Blood cooked in vinegar). I’m not sure what pulled me in –the Pork Cheeks or the Pork Blood? I started to regret my decision immediately after I ordered.

It came out. Looked pretty good. Tasted really good. The bloody vinegar sauce complimented the tender pork cheeks. The sauce had a bit of a livery taste and grainy texture. I didn’t regret it after.

Sa Aming Nayon - 201 1st Ave (btwn E 12th & 13th St) New York, NY 10003

Here’s the tribute video…

Categories
street

Halal Truck on East 11th St & 1st Ave (East Village)

Rusty and I were watching the Denver game last Sunday at O’Hanlon’s in the East Village, rooting for our boy Tebow. Yikes!

During half time, I walked around to try to figure out what’s the meaning of life after I just saw Tebow get smashed, smothered, and diced. I passed by the Halal truck on the South-East corner of East 11th St and 1st Ave. I’ve passed there many late nights before and it always smelled so good. Most of the time I see a cart there, but this day it’s a truck.

Got the Lamb & Chicken combo over rice with white sauce, hot sauce $6. Dang. This is some of the best and spiciest Lamb & Chicken combo I’ve had in a long time. The rice is very similar to the Famous Halal Guys on 53rd & 6th. But I like this better. They put slices of jalapeno in there for extra spiciness. The chicken is not chopped up as much as most halal carts. The flavor was tangy and spicy. I just might have a reason to go back to root for Tebow tomorrow.

I suppose being a professional athlete has it’s ups and downs just like the challenges of real life. Maybe last week loss is just a stepping stone to success. I hope Tebow learns from last week and becomes the best NFL winner in the world. So keep Tebowing.

Categories
indian

Carb Diet Fail

I’ve been on a no-carb diet for the past three weeks and today was supposed to be my last day before I go on tour and gain all the weight back. But after band practice tonight, Matt and I went to Punjabi Deli and I ate the rice. So close to finishing the goal. Only a few more minutes until midnight. I fucked it all up. It tasted good though …but I do feel fat now.

Punjabi Grocery & Deli - 114 E 1st St (btwnn 1st Ave & Ave A) New York, NY 10009

I also got a new camera today …the Sony HX9V point and shoot. A lot of DSLR videographers are raving about the video quality …and from the videos, it looks sharper than the Canon DSLRs. Perhaps it doesn’t have the shallow depth of field, but at wide angle, it’s freaking amazing for such a small thing. Shoots 1080p at 60fps (only $350). That’s insane. Motion a little flickery on Youtube, but I think that’s a Youtube thing. Looks better on Vimeo.

Anyway, I bought this for pocketable quick video, but I’m really impressed at the stills …especially compared to my Canon S90 that I’ve been using for a year and a half now. The HX9V hardware and optics doesn’t seem as good (f/3.3 lens vs f/2.0), but I feel like the results is comparable and maybe a little better through the software trickery. For the low light, it takes multiple images and somehow composites them to look decent. It’s slow shooting this way, but the resulting photo is pretty good.

The faster lens on the S90 is a little brighter, but a little more washed out and more noise.

I know video is looking darker in low light compared to the S90, but I still can’t wait to shoot some sweet HD video with it. Look at what Cheesycam blog did with this camera…