Midtown Lunch

Sapporo has once again undergone a menu makeover, as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago. And Sapporo regulars from the Yelp community have been complaining that the gyoza are not the same, neither is the miso ramen. Not a good sign. I’ve been by a couple times now for takeout, now, and have had mixed experiences with both new and old dishes.

The chicken nanban don ($10), a new dish to the menu, came with miso soup. My immediate reaction was that it was a nice sized portion of food. Marinated fried chicken (larger pieces than karaage, but similar) sat over a bed of cabbage and Japanese rice. Chicken was a little fatty (not greasy), and that’s a very good thing. If you usually gravitate towards some kind of boneless, skinless chicken breast dish, this is definitely not the lunch for you. The whole thing was topped with a few chopped chilis for very little heat. Not sure what exactly the rice soaked up, but there was a little soy color/vinegar flavor in there. Lunch’er thened commented on a previous post that the chicken nanban (unclear whether that’s the one on the teishoku — or sets — menu, or from the donburi one) came with a tartar-like sauce on it, but my donburi-style one definitely did not. Bummer.

On another occasion I went back to try the vegetable ramen, which I ordered with shio-flavored soup, and I got it to-go. When I got back to my desk, I was super annoyed, because WTF is with those two inches of space at the top of the container?? I didn’t order 3/4 of a lunch. Fill ‘er up! I thought that the reason “to-go” ramen is tricky business is because the noodles can get too soft, but really the issue was I totally got skimped. I wonder if eating there will get you a full bowl of ramen or have portions shrunk across the board?

The noodles did became a little soft in transport, which is to be expected but was nothing to complain about. In the end, it was still a soulful dish with garlicy braccoli rabe, scallions and corn. I can’t remember which soup I had last time I had the vegetable ramen, so I can’t do a direct comparison. However, I have definitely ordered the shio soup (the lightest option Sapporo offers) before, and although it was not the same, it was still very flavorful. I just wish I had more of it.

Sapporo, 152 W 49th St (btw. 6+7th). 212-869-8972