So here's the format. I will be rating each restaurant on four scales each from 0-10: Decor/Atmosphere, Service, Food, and Affordability. What I mean by affordability is whether the meal was worth the money I paid, so if I paid 2.50 for a Gray's Papaya Hot Dog Combo, I'd rate if 2 hot dogs and a drink were worth 2.50 (just to tell you that's a 10). But anyways on to the story:
Friday I visited the 28th Street Flower Wholesaler with my friend, Mimic and his girlfriend. I've know Mimic since my second year at Columbia, he's one of the most reliable people I know but very goofy and not much of a liar. That being said, we were supposed to go purchase flowers for our respective girlfriends but his girlfriend decided to skip work that day and tag along. Luckily his girlfriend is very gullible and somehow believed his lie, however this made his surprise a bit difficult. Now since this isn't the subject of the post, I'll just say that the surprise worked out... kinda and we ended up spending the whole day with me being the third wheel. Around 4PM, we realized we hadn't eaten all day and since the two of them ABSOLUTELY LOVE sushi, they wanted to go to Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. However, if you've ever tried to find the place its damn near impossible because its actually in a Hotel, I hate trendy restaurants...
We ended up going to a restaurant half a block away called Sushi Damo on 58th Street between 8th and 9th. We tried to look up information about the place i.e. ratings or reviews and we couldn't find any because we were using my IPhone but mostly because I really didn't want to get sushi. It's really easy to be an asshole...
Upon first look, the restaurant follows the vein of most Columbus Avenue joints; glass pane windows allowing passers-by a look into the diners and their meal. The decor was simple with the traditional Japanese style architecture however without anything overbearing like a large golden dragon or Buddha. Mimic's girlfriend remarked it was a bit to simple at times but personally the only problem was that the restaurant was darkly lit, just like every trendy New York restaurant. Decor: 8/10
The service was impeccable. I've rarely seen more attentive or polite waiters in my entire life. The minute anyone's water glass was even close to empty, it was filled; the food came out perfectly one after another, not a minute spent waiting for the next part of the meal; and the waiter was alway checking on the progress or status of our meal. It could have not been a better serviced meal (no pun intended...) Service: 10/10
Being with two sushi fanatics, the restaurant had a lot of expectations to live up to. The sushi platter was your typical sushi platter with all the amenities, however the sushi itself was far from typical. Most Japanese restaurants try to cheat you out of sushi by providing more rice than actual sushi, Sushi Damo actually gave you more sushi than rice! (Now I understand the more cultured or wealthy individuals may have already experienced this; first off, bite me... and secondly, this is a blog from the perspective of a broke college student... so again piss off) For the non-sushi eaters (because I know there are a lot of you out there), Sushi Damo is chock full of variety. We ordered two traditional Japanese entrees: the Pork Katsu and the Shrimp Tempura Udon. First, they came out with your choice of the typical miso soup or salad with ginger sauce, both excellent in their own right.
The miso soup, although a tad bit salty, was a perfect amount of miso and seaweed in a small enough portion to prepare the diner for their meal. On the other hand, the sole place you can truly critique salad in my opinion is the dressing which in this case was a perfect amount, making the salad nice and tangy. The Pork Katsu was two breaded pork cutlets with both a mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce. The cutlet was remarkably fried just enough to be crispy but not burnt and was not fatty at all. Accompanied by the mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce, this was easily one of the best Pork Katsu I've ever eaten. While I did not order the Shrimp Tempura, the small taste I received was more than enough to make a solid impression. The shrimp had a nice tangy taste that complimented the fried tempura batter which was further complimented by the perfect udon broth. It was a nice surprise to see a Japanese restaurant that provided a perfect variety of both sushi and traditional Japanese cuisine. Food: 9.67/10
Now upon first entering the restaurant, I was under the impression that for three people our meal would be devastating to the health of my wallet. However, once the damage was done the meal only cost us $130 with a cocktail and tax and tip! Yes, $130 is a lot of money but you have to remember we're in Columbus Circle right across the street from the Time Warner Building, rent there is about $3500 for a 1.5 bedroom apartment (this is verified). Affordability: 8/10
In total this restaurant received a 35.67, which from this rating is one of the restaurant elite. Mind you I am not a sushi fanatic and am going purely on the word of my sushi obsessed friends, and I can only really speak on the traditional Japanese dishes. I would suggest this place as a nice date restaurant and casual group dining place, however if money is not much of a worry this is a great restaurant period.
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