Since I'm getting lunch out at least once or twice a week, and since I work right at 7th Avenue, Manhattan, I think I might as well make it a fun culinary journey to talk (and taste) about to the folks that don't or might want to let a hapless blogger give a shot first.
I'm going for quick sushi lunch today - Wasabi Sushi & Bento, a new Grab'n'Go spot at the 7th Avenue/West 40th Str. junction. And it was quite unlike what the online comments offered - in a rather pleasant way.
I'm going for quick sushi lunch today - Wasabi Sushi & Bento, a new Grab'n'Go spot at the 7th Avenue/West 40th Str. junction. And it was quite unlike what the online comments offered - in a rather pleasant way.
A nice and clean layout. Entices your taste and has a very "sushi" feel to it. Can't quite describe in a better phrasing!
According to the more accountable parts of the net (I don't know, New York Times?), this is the first Wasabi Sushi & Bento in the US. That doesn't mean it's new top-to-toe however, as the grab-and-go franchise has garnered quite some buzz in the UK for a while now.
A Wasabi outlet across Waterloo Station. Nabbed this from the London Se1 Community page for bars and pub
First thoughts...
Think Au Bon Pain with a massively saturated tint, Bauhaus architecture, and of course - sushi, bento, yakisoba and the likes.
Similar to the said bread-n-soup joint, Wasabi Sushi & Bento let you wander about, pick your things, soy sauce, paper plate and whatever. Once you're done, you'd go to one of the counters and get your bill. Maybe a bit more Kikkoman and the girl's number while you're at it!
Unlike the online reviews, the Wasabi that I went to today has nothing to do with the UK at all (that I can tell), apart from the rather obscure URL with a .uk on the chopsticks cover. Excellent chopsticks by the way - broke off cleanly and surprisingly smooth.
Similar to the said bread-n-soup joint, Wasabi Sushi & Bento let you wander about, pick your things, soy sauce, paper plate and whatever. Once you're done, you'd go to one of the counters and get your bill. Maybe a bit more Kikkoman and the girl's number while you're at it!
Unlike the online reviews, the Wasabi that I went to today has nothing to do with the UK at all (that I can tell), apart from the rather obscure URL with a .uk on the chopsticks cover. Excellent chopsticks by the way - broke off cleanly and surprisingly smooth.
...yum value sushi...
The menu as taken from my horrid S4 camera
No UK-themed sushi, sushi set or noodle/bento at all (online reviews don't lie to me), and the name of everything is quite generic (nope, no Buckingham Combo here). Despite these changes (or misconceptions), a healthy selection of sushi is indeed on display, as the left side is filled with 3 rows of sushi of around 20 kinds or so. They run your wallet from 1.5$ for 2 to 3$ for 2, depending on the caliber of the ingredients of the sushi. In this case, I say ingredients, because for the cheaper ones (them 1.5$ per pair) are lightly packed with some eggs and sushi rice, or maybe some sesame and sauce along. Great for filling your tummy, not so much to satisfy your fish needs. Spending a tad more and at 2$ per pair you'll get the classics - Californian, nigiri sushi and more (for those not in the know, nigiri sushi is a delectably simple combo of a tiny sushi rice piece and raw salmon on top).
If you are just here for the fish, try the sushi sets and save yourself a buck or two. The box is ingenious, serves as a tray with opening for soy sauce, ginger and everything and is very take-away-ish. As you might have imagined, however, the choices for both the sets and the sushi inside is limited, but it does make for quick choices and a meager savings. These run from around 7 to 13$, and is filling enough. The dolphins would probably be saving their salutes for whoever did the serving sizing here.
The bentos and noodles are slightly better deals, very filling but a tad bit cumbersome. There are about 4 types of each, all on the left of the counters, and don't quite garner the attention that the sushi does. At 20% less than the top tier sushi sets though, running at 7 to 9$, they still sell like hot cakes (or hot bentos). The choices includes chicken teriyaki, grilled version of said chicken, beef version, and stir-fried yakisoba. All of them taste rather dry, but the bentos are packed with black-bean rice, which makes for an interesting combo.
If you are just here for the fish, try the sushi sets and save yourself a buck or two. The box is ingenious, serves as a tray with opening for soy sauce, ginger and everything and is very take-away-ish. As you might have imagined, however, the choices for both the sets and the sushi inside is limited, but it does make for quick choices and a meager savings. These run from around 7 to 13$, and is filling enough. The dolphins would probably be saving their salutes for whoever did the serving sizing here.
The bentos and noodles are slightly better deals, very filling but a tad bit cumbersome. There are about 4 types of each, all on the left of the counters, and don't quite garner the attention that the sushi does. At 20% less than the top tier sushi sets though, running at 7 to 9$, they still sell like hot cakes (or hot bentos). The choices includes chicken teriyaki, grilled version of said chicken, beef version, and stir-fried yakisoba. All of them taste rather dry, but the bentos are packed with black-bean rice, which makes for an interesting combo.
...and the experience.
Fiddling with the box and the bunch of Kikkoman on my messy desk. I'm an engineer at WSP Group USA, by the way, that's why I'm walking around for food along 7th Avenue at lunch time
The fish is quite fresh, and since they only do 24 stacks every type (which means it runs out every 12 servings, rather fast), the servers are always on the clock to fill up the sushi. Which probably double the freshness.
The packaging is confusing for me until I found the sticker on the bottom "lid". Opens up and you'll find some instructions on sushi etiquette, your sushi (well obviously), and two tiny bowls made into the box to aid with the ginger + soy sauce + wasabi placement business. I asked for more soy sauce (4 packets of Kikkoman sauce, which is double the default serving), and it still didn't fill the soy sauce bowl to the halfway-up mark. Must be made for the soy-tub chaps that prefers dunking the whole sushi down for a soy bath, or worse, a soy drown murder. Never quite like that style myself, as too much soy sauce kills the delicate taste of the lighter fishes on sushi, but hey, Wasabi bento-engineers know to cater to even the less agreeable of palettes. Which is good I guess. The bad that you get is very nice too! It's the semi-opaque thick type, not the wrinkle-lover types at Target or Duane Reade.
The fish taste good, and the sushi's softness and sourness hits the spot, but the caviar is a bit too much on the cheap side. I doubt people will notice because even then there's not that much caviar to work with, being sprinkled on like the sesame on onigiris. The build of some of the wraps are also not as good as you'd expect, with the rice not being as tight as it could have been, but it can be passed as a fault of rushing. After all, despite the clean, minimalist Bauhaus architecture and the spacious venue, the place is packed at lunch time. Loose sushi and a lack of caviar could have been displaced with worse problems.
The packaging is confusing for me until I found the sticker on the bottom "lid". Opens up and you'll find some instructions on sushi etiquette, your sushi (well obviously), and two tiny bowls made into the box to aid with the ginger + soy sauce + wasabi placement business. I asked for more soy sauce (4 packets of Kikkoman sauce, which is double the default serving), and it still didn't fill the soy sauce bowl to the halfway-up mark. Must be made for the soy-tub chaps that prefers dunking the whole sushi down for a soy bath, or worse, a soy drown murder. Never quite like that style myself, as too much soy sauce kills the delicate taste of the lighter fishes on sushi, but hey, Wasabi bento-engineers know to cater to even the less agreeable of palettes. Which is good I guess. The bad that you get is very nice too! It's the semi-opaque thick type, not the wrinkle-lover types at Target or Duane Reade.
The fish taste good, and the sushi's softness and sourness hits the spot, but the caviar is a bit too much on the cheap side. I doubt people will notice because even then there's not that much caviar to work with, being sprinkled on like the sesame on onigiris. The build of some of the wraps are also not as good as you'd expect, with the rice not being as tight as it could have been, but it can be passed as a fault of rushing. After all, despite the clean, minimalist Bauhaus architecture and the spacious venue, the place is packed at lunch time. Loose sushi and a lack of caviar could have been displaced with worse problems.
The verdict
For a sushi place, especially located a block down from Times Square's flashy screen, Wasabi Sushi & Bento is a place of good value and decent taste. While there are better sushi spots around NYC (Manhattan has one of the best sushi chefs in the world), those run at least 7 to 50 times more for a filling sushi set, and have even more ridiculous waiting queues. If you are craving some quick, fresh fish sushi-style or a value bento for lunch as you stroll midtown Manhattan, then this place is a good choice.
Taste: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Price: $$
Taste: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Price: $$
The place
Go to Penn Station, get out at West 34th Str. - 7th Avenue, then walk straight up North towards Times Square until you hit the West 40th Str. - 7 Avenue junction. You should see Wasabi Sushi & Bento on the right.
Of note, it is usually faster to walk than to wait for the tube, but renting a CitiBike can net you some extra whoosh towards the venue if you would like to pick one up outside Penn Station.
Of note, it is usually faster to walk than to wait for the tube, but renting a CitiBike can net you some extra whoosh towards the venue if you would like to pick one up outside Penn Station.
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