Sushi motor speedway. (Sushi Go Round and Tapas DC)

As Silky Johnson would say: What can be said about Sushi Go Round and Tapas (SGRaT) that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan, it looks bombed out and depleted! Tonight I met up with a friend who I met last summer in Cartagena, Colombia who wanted to try sushi. I only picked SGRaT because I was coming from the gym, and I wanted to go someplace that was acceptable in my spandex and it was only a block away. Conveyor belt sushi, if done right can be really awesome. I once went to this super fancy place in Roma, Italia that had a little sushi river, and they sent little boats around filled with sushi that you just plucked out of the water.  SGRaT however felt like a gross, old, sushi factory--with the same old pieces of sushi going around and not any new ones being put out! So after a while you maybe see 5 or 6 types of different sushi going around, and less and less plates, and then you start to feel annoyed that you don't really have a choice anymore--just stuck with whatever is leftover. I've been here plenty of times for lunch--and its the only time to go, because its busy and they keep putting new plates out. I had some spicy tuna, salmon and yellowtail which were okay but the rice was not real seasoned sushi rice, and the seaweed was on the chewy side-- I would definitely recommend ordering the pad thai from next door instead (little known fact, SGRaT and Thai Chili have the same owners so you can actually order food from either restaurant). The decor is tacky and minimal, a lot of stupid people couldn't figure out the sliding doors that DO NOT close by themselves which made the place freeezing and it was super distracting watching all these idiots pulling and tugging at the door, and as person closest to the door tonight, I felt the need to tell people--SLIDING DOOOOR, after they bojangled the doors a few times. So overall I hated it, but if you don't know squat about sushi and you love conveyor belts, you'll probably love it!

4 out of 10 ninja stars

701 7th St NW

Washington, DC 20001

www.sushigoroundatmci.com

I love cockroach of the sea. (Mary's Fish Camp NYC)

Lobster rolls are probably one of the biggest rip offs in the whole world. I have such a problem with them because you end up paying three to four times the market price of a whole lobster for a few pieces of it and a bunch of filler. And i'm always hungry after i leave. It's like good sushi, always follow up with a slice of pizza or risk going home hungry and eating the dog. Mary's Fish Camp is not cheap, but its so good its worth every penny. These are hands down the best lobster rolls I have ever had. They are so full of meat and I can actually see and distinguish tail, knuckle, and fresh vegies. The sauce is just perfect, not overpowering but enhancing the lobster. There was just enough bread to keep the lobster inside but not too much that i'm eating a bread sandwich. I love this place and highly recommend it on paycheck day.

8 out of 10 ninja stars

246 W 4th St
New York, NY 10014
(646) 486-2185

Some new blood.

So one of my most avid readers has accepted a position to cover Washington DC for my blog. The way I figure it, I'm still a few cities behind gridskipper but still a heck of a lot funnier. My friend Chion will be moonlighting from her other blog to share some restaurant reviews from some of the many dates she goes on. She's hot and actually asian so I'm sure she'll do a good job. What this means for you is that there will be more posts, and some more perspective. Thanks to all my loyal readers, hopefully I'll have a bit more for you to read now. 

Cheers,

KungFuChef

Chocolate Crack. (Debauve & Gallais NYC)

Questing for good chocolate is every bit as fun as it sounds. It's especially rewarding when you get to start at a place like this. I mean this is like the fanciest chocolate shop anywhere. The guy who sells the chocolate is like a guru of chocolate and even used to be a chef. KungFuChef likes other chefs a lot so he got a lot of my respect. The place has lots of region-specific chocolate from all kinds of places I thought were in some kind of war on CNN and not good at chocolate. But they make chocolate so good it would make a sober girl sleep with you. The chocolate bars are all over 10 dollars so bring plastic because it's a pricey place. However, the bars are not more expensive if they have more or less cocoa in them, which is listed clearly on all of the bars. This place does amazing dark chocolate, but I don't recommend going much higher than 90% cocoa because the 99% chocolate bar they sell tastes so bitter I get bitter beer face so bad I feel like im gonna implode. The truffles and ganache they sell are so good they are like chocolate crack. It's hard to say no to more once you tried one. This place will be hard to top.

10 out of 10 ninja stars

20 E 69th St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 734-8880

Zucco the french pirate makes good food. (Zucco le french diner NYC)

Who would believe that this guy who fell off a pirate ship would have opened a great little french place in les? It must have been a delicious french bistro-boat because this place was supercool. It's a tiny little nook on Orchard st with maybe 15 seats. I imagine the wait here must be terrible on a weekend but I couldn't tell you honestly because I dont eat on weekends, just drink. This is the kind of place you could take a girl from NYU on a date to and she would give you points for just knowing where to find it and the owner who looks like a pirate would make you look good by comparison. The wine list was really inexpensive but I realized why after I ordered because the glasses are smurf sized. If I poured two of them together into a normal 'adult' wine glass I would have had a full glass but whatever, let the man make a buck. Clearly he's cutting corners wherever he can because not only was he bartending but he was also waiting on my table and probably cooking the food as well. The menu was awesome. There was so many choices of great french dishes it was hard to choose. There are a lot of sandwiches which would make this place a really great lunch place as well. I tried the homemade foie gras which was excellent. Very rich and incredibly fresh. I tried an escargot and found them to be a bit bland, but nothing a little salt couldnt fix. For my main dish I went with a traditional french favorite, duck confit. It was perfect. The side was a sort of potato au gratin souffle which was the best execution of this side dish I have ever tried. My hot date had rack of lamb and she said it was good. But it wasn't good enough to get me an invitation over to her place for a night cap. Probably because it's impossible to get a girl drunk enough with their tea-party sized wine glasses. We shared a creme caramel for dessert which was sooooo good. I guessed there was orange in it correctly and it was a really nice flavor enhancer. Great dinner. Unfortunately this place is cash and amex only and since im not that baller I had to run out to an atm. They also don't take reservations. But don't let either of these points deter you from this great little pirate ship---er, french restaurant.

8 out of 10 ninja stars

188 Orchard St

New York, NY 10002
(212) 677-5200