Dainobu, the new Japanese bento place/grocery store on 47th btw. Lex+3rd, quietly opened a few weeks ago and it looks like they are going to be some serious competition for Cafe Zest (on the same block).

Taking a page from the Yagura playbook, Dainobu is half grocery store (with all kinds of wet and dry Japanese ingredients) and half lunch spot.

In the front they have pre-packaged sushi, bento boxes, rice balls, and more.

In the way back they have soups and curry, and plan on adding more hot prepared foods.

I wasn’t necessarily planning on eating anything until I spotted something pretty amazing…

A soft shelled crab sushi roll for $5.50!?! You know how I feel about soft shelled crab, and this is about as cheap as it gets for a roll that will run you close to $10 at some sushi restaurants. Putting aside the soft shelled crab (which was pretty good), the rice was surprisingly well made for pre-packaged sushi. Still not as good as fresh made sushi, but for the pre-packaged take-away stuff, Dainobu might be my new goto place. And the price is definitely right.

There was one misstep though… I got all excited when I saw one of the rice balls labeled “raw salmon”, thinking that finally somebody had made a rice ball with raw fish (they’re almost always made with cooked salmon or tuna). Unfortunately they forgot one important word… eggs. It was raw salmon eggs- which I don’t mind, in theory, but it was still kind of disappointing.

Either way, it was a fine first effort and I will definitely be returning to Dainobu.

Dainobu, 129 E 47th St (btw. Lex+3rd)

Cafe Zest (on 47th btw. Lex+3rd), the semi-upscale Japanese bento place from the owners of Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th) is about to get some competition. A few doors down, the space that used to be a Burger King now has signs for “Dainobu” a Japanese Grocery/Bento/Sushi/Deli coming soon from Japan. Their website is no help at all, but I’m always up for more Japanese fun in Midtown! I’ll keep an eye on the progress…

Yesterday Lunch’er Max sent me this photo from the line at Cafe Zest (on 47th btw. Lex+3rd), the new Japanese place opened by the owners Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th.) For their grand opening celebration they decided to offer everything for 50% off, yesterday and today, from Noon to 3pm. As you can see from the photo, yesterday got pretty bad, and they had run out of most everything but vegetarian bento boxes and white bread sandwiches by 1:45. Apparently today, it’s even worse. From the comments:

Walked over at 12 today, and man – the line was horrendous. For the usual folk who have just an hour lunch, it’s def’ not going to work out. We thought the 12pm lunch would be less crowded as 1pm is the more favored lunch slot – but we thought wrong. Apparently, Zaiya fans have all heard about Zest already. The line outside the door was about 70 deep at 12:15ish. There goes my plan for stocking up on ITO teas!

A review from somebody who stuck it out, after the jump… 

The wait was worth it for the an pan…and boy, was there a wait. Here’s the Breakdown:

The Salmon Shio Bento: the salmon was kind of dry, but the eggplant side was excellent. The Salmon Teryaki Bento would most likely be a better bet.

The Riceballs:
Tuna: Nice. The mayo wasn’t over loaded and balanced the tuna well, but the rice itself should have had a bit more salt.
Salmon: Bland.
Kobu: Yummy! Yay seaweed in a riceball! Nicely seasoned and stuffed. No skimping on the filling.

The Bread:
An pan: Just how it should be—delicious. Moist, sweet & an excellent combination of flavor and texture.

Mellon pan: While I’m not sure that it tasted as much like a melon as it should, it was still sweet & tasty. The texture was a bit harder than that of the an pan, but it suited the bread, and wasn’t so hard that it crumbled when you bit in to it…just pleasantly crisp.

Green Tea Muffin: (I know it has a real name, I just wish I remembered it) The texture was nice and moist, with the red beans adding a nice flavor. The green tea taste was a bit more overpowering and a bit less refined than I had hoped, but overall a good snack.

Yakisoba pan: Very authentic. If you’re used to the American version of yakisoba (i.e.: mostly oil with a dash of soy sauce) you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s nicely flavored, and the bread holds on to the yakisoba well, so you most likely won’t find yourself covered in noodles or sauce. This would make an excellent lunch for those on the go.

As with any of these things, you always have to ask yourself “how much is my time worth.” Prediction for tomorrow: no line.

Got your own report from the scene?  Post it in the comments below…

Finally some big time, super duper exciting news for Midtown Lunch’ers on the East side (yes, I just typed the words super duper.)  Cafe Zaiya (41st btw. Mad+5th), winner of Best Japanese Take Out in the Midtown Lunch Readers Poll, has opened “Cafe Zest by Zaiya” in the space formerly occupied by the 47th St. Japanese Convenience Store (on 47th St. btw.  Lex+3rd.)  A slightly upscale version of Cafe Zaiya, Cafe Zest sports an almost identical line up of goods, with a nicer (albeit much smaller) dining area in the back.  Sandwiches, bento boxes, rice balls, and a full dessert bar towards the back- plus they’re selling pre-packaged goods from Nonoca, a new restaurant concept opening in August (but more on that in a bit.)

Since the convenience store closed in January, I’ve been closely monitoring the progress, wondering what would end up in the space (and worrying it would suck.)  Now that Cafe Zest has opened, I can pretty much say that we couldn’t have done any better than this.  And I have even told you the best news.  That, plus your first look inside the new Cafe Zest, after the jump…  

On Monday and Tuesday of next week (July 21 & 22nd) all food will be 50% off to celebrate their grand opening. Here’s a look inside:

As for the space upstairs, which was formally occupied by the Japanese restaurant Amakusa, the owners of Cafe Zaiya have taken that space as well and will be opening Nonoca in August, a Japanese restaurant featuring all organic ingredients.  If you want to get an idea of the kind of food they’ll be serving, they are currently selling a few things as take out items downstairs- including a pork and potato Japanese stew, a chicken steak with pasta dish (seen on the right) and an udon noodle salad (which has been selling out very quickly- despite the place being open less than a week.)

All of this comes just 7 months after they opened the Zaiya Cafe on the 2nd floor of the Kinokuniya Bookstore on 6th Ave. btw. 40+41st. I can’t wait to see what they do next!  (Thanks to Lunch’er Nancy for the tip.)

The rennovation of the 47th St. Japanese Convenience Store between Lexington & 3rd continues on, and I got this look inside.  It’s hard to make out exactly what is going to happen to this place, but as long as they keep all the bentos and fun stuff they used to serve (at fairly low prices) it should be good.  The store, which is owned by the upstairs restaurant Amakusa, has been closed since January.

Major plywood just went up at the original Kati Roll location on 46th btw. 6+7th, covering not only Kati Roll but another location next door.  Still no word on what may be moving into the place… but from the last bit of info I got, it probably won’t be a Midtown Lunch.

Speaking of speculation, info about the Strawberry space in the McGraw Hill plus the Indian buffet on 37th St., after the jump… 

The West Tandoori Club on 37th btw. 7+8th is still closed.  Rennovations continue, and they hope to re-open next week.  I’ll try to keep an eye on it…

And finally, it turns out I was right about Oceana moving into the McGraw Hill Building.  The New York Times reported it today.  Bummer.  Think about the enormous Midtown Lunch’ish buffet they could have fit in that space…

And as always, if you have any bits and pieces of your own to report, please email them to zach@midtownlunch.com 

In between checking out the Steak Truck on 47th & Park, and meeting a friend for lunch on 47th & 3rd, I stumbled upon this little gem of a “Convenience Store” and wondered why the hell nobody emailed me about it!  Stop hoarding places from me people.  Especially Asian Food.  It’s not right.  (Even though discovering it myself made it that much more awesome!) 

What they have, Japanese Convenience Store Food Porn, and a +/- after the jump… 

Located on 47th st. btw. Lex+3rd, it is right next to the Yaktori place Amakusa, and has the same owners.  Like most Yakitori places, Amakusa doesn‘t open until after 5pm- but if you are a fan of that place, than you should love the 47th St. Convenience Store.

Compared to Yagura (the cheap, grocery store 1/3 of the 41st Street Japanese Trinity), the 47th St. Japanese Convenience Store is pretty small.  The front half of the store is filled with assorted Japanese snacks, drinks, and a few fresh groceries.  If you have ever lamented the lack of Pocky in Midtown, this place should solve all your problems.  But as you venture back through the groceries, the real fun begins.

On the right, in front of the check out counter is a table filled with pre-made bento boxes.  Every day they have a different selection, and I was most excited to find Takoyaki, the little fried Japanese dumplings, stuffed with squid.  It was just over a year ago today that I wrote about how envious I was of anybody who worked near Otafuku, a Japanese take out counter in the East Village, specializing in Takoyaki, Yakisoba & Okonomiyaki.  Well, it only took a year, but the 47th St. Japanese Convenience Store has answered my prayers!

I didn‘t actually get to try them, since I was on my way to eat somewhere else.  And the two times I went back afterwards to eat, they didn‘t actually have them- so I can’t say if they are good or not.  But who cares?  They have them!  That’s the important thing.  Plus there were plenty of other choices when I went back to actually eat there, including a Ketchup rice omelet, various tempuras, yakisoba and more. 

I ended up getting a bento filled with an assortment of goodies.  A piece of fried fish, a Japanese meatball, rice, shumai and konnyaku (which is this glutinous potato flour thing) that I really enjoyed.  It has a similar consistency to rice cakes, but a little more gelatinous, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, every piece of the box was delicious, and held up pretty well to being microwaved- which the lady behind the counter was happy to do for me when I told her I was eating my food there (they have a real nice seating area in the back).  The bentos are as fresh as pre-assembled food in plastic containers can be, but if you are still not into it, there is a menu of rice bowls, curry rice bowls and noodle soups behind the counter that are made to order. 

The food ordered from behind the counter comes up from the kitchen below on a dumbwaiter, which is very exciting for anyone who grew up watching Webster (but wasn‘t rich enough to have an actual dumbwaiter themselves).  My friend ordered the Pork Cutlet over Curry Rice, which came up Webster style, nice and hot.  At $8 it is a lot more expensive than Yagura ($5.50), but beggars can’t be choosers.  If you work in the low 50s, it might be worth the extra $2.50 to not have to walk the extra 6 blocks and 2 Avenues!

In addition to bentos, noodle soups, and curry rice bowls, they also have assorted snacks on the table which change every day.  Various fishies wrapped in saran wrap, as well as a small selection of Onigiri, or rice balls.  I tried the “Tarako“, which I thought she said was “Cuttle Fish” (squid), but it turned out she must have been saying “Cod Fish”.  Luckily roe doesn’t turn me off (it was actually Cod Fish Roe, not just cod fish), and it was not bad at all- if you like super salty fish eggs.  If you are not that adventurous, it’s ok.  They have the standard salmon and seaweed versions too.

Finally, they have what could be the strangest by the lb. buffet in all of Midtown, and it only has four items, so it’s definitely the smallest.  For $6.25 a lb. you have a choice of 4 traditional Japanese snacks/condiments, which the day I was there included seaweed, stewed daikon, dried fish and konnyaku (which I had already gotten with my bento).   Have it over rice (for $1.50) or add it to whatever bento you order.  This place is amazing!

I’ve never been to Japan, but I’m guessing that this place is the closest thing to an authentic Japanese Convenience Store you are going to find anywhere in NYC.  The Trinity on 41st St. is nice… but where is their fish wrapped in saran wrap?  Where’s their konnyaku by the lb. buffet?  No chance of Webster popping out of the ordering window at Yagura, that’s for sure!  Nope.  For all that, you’ll have to go to 47th St.

THE +

• The most authentic Japanese Convenience Store in Midtown
• Perfect place for anyone who likes Japanese bentos, and doesn‘t necessarily care about knowing exactly what they’re eating!
• In addition to pre made bentos, they have a menu of rice bowls & noodle soups that are made fresh to order
• They have Takoyaki!  (Although not every day, so don’t blame me if it’s not there on the day you go!  And don’t expect it to be as good as Otafuku or I’m sure you’ll be disappointed.)
• It’s Japanese Fun!!! (Especially for those who work too far north to venture to 41st. St.)

THE -

• The place is small, and their selection is not huge.  Get there too late, and alot of things might be gone.  The third time I visited, it was almost 1:30pm.  There was no Takoyaki, no little by the lb. snackies, and the selection of bentos was pretty depleted.
• The 47th St. Japanese Convenience Store is made for Japanese people, by Japanese people.  It’s not for Americans, and their English is not the best, so if you are squeamish about eating things that you don’t necessarily know what they are- you might not be into this place.
• Half the food is pre-packaged, and needs to be heated in the microwave to warm it up
• The prices are a little more expensive then Yagura & Cafe Zaiya

47th St. Japanese Convenience Store & Deli, 143 E. 47th St. (btw. Lex+3rd), 212-813-0675