Barn Joo

35 Union Square West

(between 17th Street and 18th Street)

Earlier this year Barn Joo moved from their Flatiron location to Union Square (to the building formerly housing the Heartland Brewery).

 

Restaurant still featured their signature bamboo décor.

 

Went for a birthday lunch. I ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice ($17), which came with caramelized kimchi, pickled cabbage, and, of course, an egg sunny-side up. VERY spicy. Even just looking at the photo, makes my lips tingle!

My friend went with the Tofu and Mushroom Bimbimbap ($18). Decent bibimbamp, but nothing memorable.

 

Both meals came with a starter of either a salad or oden soup (fish cakes in vegetable broth). She went with the salad and I went with the soup. The soup was surprisingly refreshing and particularly liked the veggie crunchiness.

We also ordered a side of Garlic Truffle Fries ($6). Deliciously crispy and you can definitely taste the truffle!

 

To accompany our Korean meal, we of course ordered beer. I went with a bottle of Kloud ($8) from Korea.

 

The highlight of the meal, though, was our dessert: Bibim Bingsu ($16). The dessert is specifically prepared for two (2). It’s honey milk, seasonal fruit, condensed milk served over shaved ice and goguma (similar to red bean) ice cream. Best of all, it looked like a bowl of Bibimbap (my friend’s favorite Korean dish)!!

Perfect dessert to end a spicy Korean meal. Would also be great to have on a hot summer day as it’s super refreshing.

And since it was a birthday celebration, we paired out dessert with a glass of Riesling Dr Konstantin from the NY Fingerlakes ($12), which the restaurant kindly comped us (knowing that it was a b-day lunch)!

Cheers!

Pros:

Bibim Bingsu dessert!

Cons:

Relatively pricey.

Service was a bit confusing. We started off with one waitress and then ended up with another midway through the meal without any explanation. But on a positive note, both waitresses were friendly.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely return just for the Bibim Bingsu dessert!

Notaro Ristorante

635 Second Avenue

(between 34th Street and 35th Street)

If you find yourself in midtown on the East Side and looking for a relatively lunch spot, Notaro is a decent choice.

The restaurant is quaint and definitely old-school Italian.

Their $13.95 lunch special comes with an appetizer, a main, and coffee/tea. The main dishes are pretty varied from lasagna to salmon.

We both started with their Caesar Salad as it was highly recommended by our waiter. The salad was of decent size. Appreciated that it came on a large plate as opposed to a small bowl.

For my main course, I went with the spaghetti and meatballs. Can’t go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs in an Italian restaurant!

My friend ordered the Pollo Marsala (chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms). Decent-sized portion, but not loving the presentation.

And even though it wasn’t offered with the lunch special, we ordered their homemade cheesecake ($9). Decent, but not memorable.

Their Montepulciano ($9 per glass) did pair very well with both the pasta and dessert.

Pros:

Decent lunch special.

The waitstaff let customers linger without rushing them out (at least from what I could witness from their lunch service!).

Excellent coffee!

 

Cons:

Wished the lunch special offered a dessert. Even a simple choice of ice cream/gelato would have been nice.

Final Thoughts

As was noted throughout my review, the word to describe the experience is “decent,” but I don’t consider it a must-return-to dining experience unless I’m in the neighborhood.
 

Turntable Chicken Jazz

314 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor

(between 31st Street and 32nd Street)

If you are in the mood for delicious KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), make a trip to Turntable Chicken Jazz.

The bar/restaurant pays homage to their name by hanging retro turntables on their walls.

 

We immediately ordered their Medium Wings Half & Half (hot & spicy, soy garlic) for $17.95. It came with twelve (12) pieces. The wings are cooked to perfection. So tasty: the skin has that perfect crispy factor and the meat is juicy. And don’t even get me started on the soy garlic sauce! Addictive. The hot & spicy was VERY spicy. Luckily my dining companion ate up most of the hot & spicy wings, so that I could enjoy most of the soy garlic wings.

And they offered a small bucket (pictured on the right in photo) to discard the bones. Brilliant!

Now, since they actually cook the wings to order, it takes a while for you to get your wings. I think our wait was about fifteen minutes.  So to while away the time, we ordered draft beer. What other drink goes better with wings??? I ordered an Asahi lager ($8). I’m not a big beer drinker, so I went with a light beer that actually lasted me for the entire meal.

We also ordered the Seafood and Scallion Korean Pancake ($14.95). Sometimes I find Korean pancakes to be overcooked, where the bottom of the pancakes are burned to a crisp. Not in this case. It was deliciously greasy goodness.

Overall, a very filling and satisfying meal!

Pros:

Memorable yummy wings!

Cons:

Hard to find! Must emphasize that the restaurant is located on the second floor. The street entrance is very narrow and many (including my friend!) walk by it. I had arrived early and had to go down to meet her at the front of the restaurant so that she could find it.

Narrow, dark stairs. Once you do find the restaurant, be careful walking up the narrow stairs. I can’t imagine after a night of hard drinking how hard it would be to walk down the stairs without stumbling. Keep those stiletto heels at home!

Final Thoughts

Will definitely return the next time I get a hankering for KFC!

Union Square Cafe

101 East 19th Street

(between Park Avenue South and Irving Place)

After having lunch at TsuruTonTan—the old location of Union Square Café—I became nostalgic and wanted to experience their new location, which formerly housed City Crab.

As it was only a few blocks away, we decided it would be a good place to go for dessert after our udon noodle lunch.

The décor is relaxed and comfortable, and I have to say moreso than what found in their original location. It feels more open and spacious.

Entranceway.

Bar.

 

Stairs leading to second-floor seating.

Main dining room.

We didn’t have a reservation, but as we arrived after the lunch crowd, we were seated immediately in the front lounge area. Great spot for people watching.

As soon as we were seated, a server provided us with a complimentary bowl of olives as well as freshly made sourdough bread along with a schmear of butter topped that was topped with sea salt! That bread was nothing short of heavenly! So good that I asked for seconds!!

Though we had wanted dessert, we were craving salt so we ordered a side of fries. It’s not offered as a side on their menu, but they were more than happy to accommodate us! The fries were perfectly crispy and not over-fried. Also, they were cut wide enough so no floppy fries, either!

All desserts are $13. After speaking with the server, we ordered the rhubarb sundae (frozen yogurt and whipped cream). As it was a birthday celebration, it arrived discreetly (no singing!) with a lighted candle and beautifully scripted birthday wishes in chocolate sauce. They also provided us with complimentary biscotti.

 

Have to make a special note on the plating. Traditionally sundaes arrive in long V-necked glasses. Straws and long, skinny spoons would be required. Instead this sundae came in a pretty dessert dish that one could imagine being served in an outdoor Southern afternoon garden party.

We also ordered a slice of Middlebury Blue cheese from Vermont. It is described as a semi-soft raw cow’s milk with a mild, buttery, grassy flavor. Good, but probably the least memorable part of the meal. All cheeses are $7.

As it was a b-day celebration, champagne had to be ordered. My friend went for the restaurant’s own Tassin Champagne: the Union Square Cuvée from France ($22).

 

I, in the meantime, was debating between a red or white wine. So as an excellent solution, the waitress suggested the Cavaletto.  It’s a Pinot Noro Bianco, “Pinner,” from Italy’s Piedmont region ($18). It’s a white wine with a fuller richer body containing hints of caramel notes. Though to be quite honest, I was probably most taken by the lovely wineglass it was served in!

 

Finally, do go to the restroom on the ground floor to look at a cool psychedelic design (a morphed image of the person looking at the design!) that may possibly hypnotize you.

Note: Gratuity is included in bill!

Pros:

Excellent service.

Relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.

Large, well-cared-for unisex restrooms.

Cons:

Wished they offered a wider variety of cheeses.

Final Thoughts

Excellent experience. Will definitely return.

TsuruTonTan

21 East 16th Street

(between Fifth Avenue and Union Square)

On my continuing quest for noodle soups during this cold spring of 2017, I heard about TsuruTonTan, a restaurant specializing udon noodles.

And the fact that it’s in the former Union Square Café location also intrigued me.

As I had heard that reservations were highly recommended, I went ahead and made lunch reservations a week ahead of time for a friend and myself.

The upfront restaurant décor near the bar is lovely.

 

I especially appreciated the graphic wall design with the lit-up letter spelling out the name of the restaurant.

 

The restaurant was comprised of several different sections or rooms. There was a back room (where we were seated), a more cafeteria-style seating room, and an upstairs room for probably larger or private parties.

 

The menu, which provided a photo for each menu item, reminded me of the menus normally found in Korean restaurants.

 

We decided to start with two appetizers. The spicy tuna tartare cone ($12), which was comprised of avocado puree, micro shiso, and wonton skin. It was a very cool and yummy concept and design.

With the appearance of a mini ice cream cone, the tuna tartare and avocado were layered. So with each bite, one would experience a different flavor texture.

The hamachi carpaccio ($13) was fresh and light.

And we, of course, had to order a bowl of udon. We decided to share a large bowl of duck udon ($18). A regular and large noodle bowl cost the same, so it makes sense to just go ahead and order the large!

 The duck were both duck breast and duck meatballs. The broth was light as we were hesitant about ordering a creamy broth. We also went with the chef suggestion of the thick, wide noodles as opposed to thin noodles.

 

Going with the wider noodles, meant less noodles overall, but I could definitely taste that the noodles were freshly made.

The spoons, though, are ridiculously large. They’re fine to help ladle out the noodles, but not useful whatsoever to drink with. So don’t be shy about asking for a smaller spoon.

To accompany our meal, my friend ordered a non-alcoholic lychee mojito ($8). It was very refreshing and tasty.
 

And after some very generous tasting samples (I think they let me sample about four wines???), I went with our waitress’s suggestion of the Riesling Havemeyer Piesporter ($12) from Germany. It was sweet and light and went perfectly with our meal.

On our way out, we noticed the Japanese Waving Cat bidding us fare thee well!

Pros:

Friendly service.

Tasty udon.

Cons:

Small, hot bathrooms.

Uncomfortable booth seats.

The little stone they provide as the chopstick holder is ineffective. Chopsticks kept sliding off throughout the meal. Should either be larger or a groove should be created for the chopsticks to sit on. Or just simply have the chopsticks folded within the napkin or rest on top of the plate.

 

Final Thoughts

Glad to have tried their giant bowl of noodle soup once, but unless I’m in the neighborhood it’s not someplace that would be a destination spot. It would, however, be a good option to take an out-of-town friend.