Fuji Sushi: Seafood Udon of My Dreams

RESTAURANT:  Fuji Sushi

DATE OF VISIT: 5/17/17

ADDRESS: 238 W 56^th St New York, NY 10019 (Not too far from Central Park and Times Square)

GENRE: Japanese Food

AFFORDABILITY: I found the restaurant reasonably priced for the serving sizes and quality of food.

VENUE: Standard sit down New York restaurant. I sat with a friend by the window so that was really nice. The restaurant seemed to have a lot of seating and a good atmosphere to bring family or friends.

From my experience and observations, the restaurant seemed LGBTQ+ and POC friendly. Did not take note if there were gender neutral bathrooms.

GENERAL: The service was fast and attention was great! My friend and I had time to kill before our train and it was a great spot for that! The menu is large and expansive covering a variety of Japanese food, which was really awesome. The server checked to see if I needed a fork to eat my Udon, and I appreciated the concern.

THE FOOD: I ordered Seafood Udon Noodles. It was affordable and the serving was huge – I couldn’t even finish it! It comes with salad on the side, but I instead asked for Miso Soup. The Miso Soup was delicious. The Seafood Udon Noodles came with a variety of Seafood like scallops, squid, and more. Some pieces were a little bit rubbery, but it was still satisfying. I definitely appreciated the quantity food. Quality Udon! I definitely recommend!

I think next time I visit I would order some sushi. My friend did and he received a ton of food and it looked delicious.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Does have vegetarian options.

OVERALL: It was a pretty good restaurant! For the price and location, I think it is definitely a good bet if you’re looking for a variety of Japanese food options!

Melt Shop: Meeting Grilled Cheesus

So this is my first review. I haven’t read many professional reviews nor do I know what these should even look like. I love to eat and always love trying new foods and always have lots of thoughts. So I thought it would be fun to start casually writing about them!

RESTAURANT:  Melt Shop

DATE OF VISIT: 5/16/17

ADDRESS: 877 8^th Avenue New York, NY 10019 (Eight Locations Nationwide, mostly in New York)

GENRE: “Comfort Food” (Sandwiches, Tater Tots, Milkshakes, etc.)

AFFORDABILITY: A sandwich is $5-$10 which isn’t too bad for Manhattan. Decent portions that are fairly filling.  

VENUE: A short walk from Times Square in the Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen area. The inside reminds me of the inside of a lot of new, trendy grab’n’go restaurants you find in cities like DC or NYC: sleek and modern. A few tables and high chairs for seating but you probably won’t find a seat during peak rushes.

From my experience and observations, the restaurant seemed LGBTQ+ and POC friendly. Had a single gender-neutral bathroom with an entry code given to customers (pretty standard for city restaurants like these).

GENERAL: If you are looking for sandwiches in NYC and don’t want to go to a random deli, this is definitely the place for you. A good variety of tasty options that can be taken on the go if need be. The staff was super friendly, patient, and worked fairly fast. The food was made fresh so that was really nice.  The restaurant itself was clean, nice, and sleek; a great place for tasty food after a long bus ride into the city.

THE FOOD: I ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich, Shop Tots, and a Chocolate Truffle Milkshake.

 The Fried Chicken Sandwich was absolutely scrumptious. My biggest concern when ordering it was that the chicken would be soggy, but it was nice and crispy. I’m also not usually a big fan of slaws, but the tangy red cabbage slaw and melt sauce went perfectly with the crispy, hot piece of fried chicken and sourdough bread. Great combination of contrasting flavors – I definitely do recommend!

I ordered the shop tots because how could you not order something called “shop tots” (it’s just so fun to say!). They were your standard tater tots. Not disappointed (but I wouldn’t say they were mind-blowing. if you like tater tots you most definitely will love these shop tots!)

I ordered the Chocolate Truffle Shake just because “Chocolate Truffle” sounded so good. The consistency of the shake was amazing: nice, thick, and creamy. It was too chocolatey for me, but at least the chocolate drizzle around the cup made it look really nice. 

I think next time I go, I would definitely order one of the other four shakes because I feel like there is less chance the flavor would be too strong. And I would definitely order cheesy tots or loaded tots – you can’t go wrong with “Tots covered with stuff”.

ACCOMODATIONS: Vegetarian options available and sandwiches can be substituted with Gluten-Free Bread.

OVERALL: Scrumptious meal with a decent serving size at a decent price (for Manhattan). I could see this being one of my favorite lunch places – I would definitely come back! I strongly recommend The Melt Shop if you’re watching a Broadway show or are visiting Times Square and want a filling meal with a variety of options!