03.23.08
Review of Megu Midtown, Restaurant Week, Tuesday January 2008
845 UN Plaza (1st Ave.) & 47th St.., 212-964-7777
Great for: watching the kitchen, getting rid of excess cash, lethal cocktails, luxurious toilets
I like Megu in Tribeca very much so when a friend invited us along for Restaurant Week at the midtown branch, I was excited. I’m not sure why they need another Megu only halfway up the island from the other one, but I suppose there are a lot of uptown snobs who don’t come downtown. I can understand that – now that I live downtown, I think everything above 34th is like the North Pole.
They’ve got a beautiful black Swarovski crystal chandelier in the entrance, maybe to make up for the smaller ice Buddha inside (Tribeca has an enormous one). The hostesses seemed a bit disorganized, first taking us upstairs for cocktails and then downstairs to our table. One of them was also not pretty enough to justify such a bitchy attitude. [Why is it usually Asian girls who do that? Those Asian fetish guys must be turning their heads.] The drinks made up for it, though.
We added the sake pairing for $25 each, on top of $35 each for the Restaurant Week prix fixe. It turned out to be a good idea. Somehow each one complemented its course well, even though there were three choices for the savory ones. My starter of panko-fried scallops with black truffle oil and okaki asparagus was a little strong but very yummy. The Boyfriend’s shrimp cocktail was good, nothing special, though the spicy sauce was great.
The hosho yaki silver cod with miso juice, asparagus and lemon was delicious. My Kobe kagero steak flambéed with Hennessey accompanied by garlic chips was quite good, although it basically tasted like normal steak. It may have been a bit overcooked, I don’t know. The omakase six pieces of sushi plus a roll was better. Everything came with a bowl of tasty white miso soup.
Our desserts of green tea crepe were great, as was the mango sorbet with pieces of fruit that they brought for our gluten-allergic friend. The drinks were just as good – the Tokyo sunrise, made of shochu, mango liqueur, orange juice and a Campari float was orange-y but yummy. The best was the Japonais 75, of Hendrick’s gin, champagne and lemon. I couldn’t taste the alcohol but I sure could feel it afterwards.
My favorite part of the evening was the incredible Neorest toilets. They are marvels of engineering, with front and rear jets of air or water for cleansing, drying, pulsating, oscillating, etc. The seats were even self-warming. I played with it for a while, more from shock and curiosity than anything else. We should totally get more of those things over here.
One of the things they do well at both Megus is service. Everyone smiles (except the unjustifiably over-confident hostess), is friendly, and makes sure you have everything you need. They were really cool about substituting a non-gluten dessert. The sake pourings were generous, and our waiter was attentive without hovering. The only thing I didn’t like was the strange chant all the staff performed every time a new party came in, which was cute the first few times but kind of annoying later. It was a very theatrical way of notifying all staff that people were coming in, but unnecessary since the open plan allows everyone to see pretty much every part of the dining room. I know it’s the custom in Japan – it just felt overdone here.
I’m glad we were doing the (very cheap) prix fixe, because the meal wasn’t astounding enough to warrant how expensive it would have been at any time besides Restaurant Week. Considering how restaurants participate to get customers who wouldn’t ordinarily shell out so much money to try their food, I would expect this week to be the best they can do. It was pretty good, don’t get me wrong. Certainly good enough for business dinners and the like. But I’ll maintain my loyalty below 14th street at Megu downtown.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $330 for 4 people doing Restaurant Week prix fixe with sake pairing plus 2 cocktails
Noise level: decent
Chance of walking in: medium.
Eric P. said,
May 28, 2008 at 03:04
Dominique –
Found your blog through Grub Street and the Ko-Craigslist exchange. I like your comprehensive reviews of restaurants and your doses of attitude are just right. I found this particular peek into your personality hilarious:
“Why is it usually Asian girls who do that? Those Asian fetish guys must be turning their heads”
Also glad to read reviews from someone who also has a discerning palate for Chinese food. I’m looking forward to using your reviews as a starting point when I move to Manhattan in the fall.
Keep up the good work!