Umami Mart

As you might know, I don’t go out to to eat often because I cook so much at home. Usually I can’t justify spending $200 for something I could probably recreate for $45. I’ve been to Gramercy Tavern before, and had an ok time. But I felt like, $86 for this? Probably $36 is for […]

I posted about Mangetsu’s Mugi-toro Don the other day, Tokyo JUNKtion: Mugi-toro Don at MANGETSU, and promised to get back to UMAMIMART with more coverage on Mangetsu since one post was just not enough. You will probably see me at Mangetsu one to three times a week during these past two months (I was introduced […]

Went out to the Brooklyn pizza institution, Di Fara the other day with Jorge. I don’t want to go on and on about this (since there’s been so much written on the place), but seriously, it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had in the States, hands down. Frankly, it even beats out pizzas I’ve had […]

Been making a pilgrimage to the beach every Friday for the past few weeks now. It’s so easy- I just hop on the A train to Far Rockaway and I’m there in less than an hour. PARTAY! This also means that I’ve been eating at the Wharf. They’ve never let me down, not once, since […]

My brother and I ran into Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches by accident on Mother’s Day. We almost went to Bratwa but it was too fucking crowded (too full–my complaints against Bratwa are now that it is too expensive and the service is bad. The curried goat is still off the hook, just watch for bones), and […]

I made it to Cupertino to meet the Kakaboris. I was with my mother, and on our way to Half Moon Bay, we stopped by there. It was about an hour drive from San Francisco. We rented a huge ass Chevrolet minivan, which was like, “who the hell drives this kind of monstrous gas guzzler […]

(For some Umamimart Rashoman, please see ayagwa’s perspective on this very same day.) So the day I flew into Tokyo, I met Aya, dropped off my stuff in the Shinjuku Washington Hotel, took a shower and a nap, and we headed over to the Shinjuku station to meet up with Yoko, fellow Umamimarter (or is […]

This post is dedicated to Tmonkey and Wong Kar-Wai. Went to see my acupuncturist the other day in Chinatown. Dr. Wu is a miracle maker, truly, and I send everyone to him for their ailments. Migraines, bad shoulders, allergies, bad knees, insomnia– whatever you’ve got, he’ll fix it, for real. While pinning needles into my […]

Went to Elias Corner for Fish the other night- a reputable Greek seafood joint in Queens that Aya wrote about a few months back. It was awesome! Aside from the soft, char-grilled octopus, the gooey garlic musselfest, and the plethora of grilled fishes we ordered (red snapper, salmon, the kickass monkfish), my favorite part of […]