Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill

Filed under Japanese, Upper West Side

308 West 58th Street off Columbus Circle
212/397.0404
$170 for two, with three beers, with tip
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I was so glad to hear when Blue Ribbon opened their new space in the upper west side. I don’t have to go to the east side for sushi! I don’t have to go downtown for Blue Ribbon! Right across the street from the Eighth Avenue entrance of the Time Warner Center, this new location is the most convenient for me coming from home or from a movie in Lincoln Center. It’s exactly what we did last week after watching Dave Eggers’ movie, Away We Go. The rain let up and we walked down eight blocks from 66th Street.

We opted for the sushi bar when the maitre d’ let us in past the bar. Minus the Brooklyn branch, this Blue Ribbon is actually the most spacious. It looked like any other restaurant situated in the floor level of a hotel and it definitely strays away from Blue Ribbon’s more serene setup. Of course, every Blue Ribbon gets loud and this uptown branch is no different, but the noise is spread out because of the high ceilings and wide dining room.

We nursed our Sapporos and Kirin Lights while we enjoyed several small plates with the ubiquitous bone marrow. The salad of sautéed wild mushrooms bathed in tamari butter and was very fragrant; same with the simple mushroom broth that calmed my stomach. An appetizer of octopus was fresh and tender and a half dozen Canadian oysters drizzled with a ponzu-like sauce were deliciously tarty. I don’t think I’ve ever had wild Alaskan salmon as sushi before–they were really fresh and buttery here. The uni was silky and rich while the roe with quail egg was expectedly light and crisp.

It might have moved uptown, but the prices are up to par with its counterparts downtown. At Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, it’s impossible to spend less than $80 a person, but you’d be surprised at how full the place was on a rainy Friday night.

Related post/s:
Per Se is inside the Time Warner Center. You’ll definitely spend more money in there.
Or you can go to Brooklyn and enjoy lobsters and cooked fish

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The Mermaid Inn

Filed under American, Upper West Side

568 Amsterdam Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets
212/799.7400
about $70 for two, with two beers, with tip
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I’ve never been big on moderation and that’s why a lot of the time, I find myself eating and drinking too much and paying way more than I can afford. At The Mermaid Inn, the Dr. pushed on the brakes and ordered for both of us while I went to the restroom. He ordered just enough food to keep me happy and full. The half a dozen oysters were from Washington: briny and just delicious. He’s a bigger fan of littleneck clams than I am so I let him finish five out of the other half dozen.

If I called the shots, I would have ordered a whole roasted fish after the oysters and the littleneck clams that we started with. Instead, we split a bowl of steamed mussels. It hit the spot and our waiter accommodated our request for some extra toasted bread to sop up the leftover aromatic broth.

Sometimes, you just want a no-frills dinner in the city. At the new branch of the Mermaid Inn, we got just that.

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