Midtown Lunch

I have pretty low standards for the Japanese food I review for this site. I know it’s chancy buying sushi lunch specials for less than $10, or buying maki rolls from a pharmacy chain. Yet, I do these things because sometimes I want rice and fish in a cheap format without street meat dumped over the top, or stepping into Terrace Fish & Chip. So when Sushi By Bento Nouveau shortened its name to Bento Sushi and got a fancy new look, I knew I had to check out its cheap offerings. Read more »

The somewhat grubby Sushi By Bento Nouveau at Broadway & Cortlandt St. closed at the beginning of February to get a makeover and the results were revealed on Monday as it once again opened for business. I didn’t actually go inside, but it has a sleeker new look and seems to sell the same pre-made sushi rolls along with rice bowls and some noodles, although it looks like they’ve pared down the offerings and aren’t emphasizing the udon noodle soups as much. I’ll take a closer look soon, but if you were one of the people checking it out, let us know the good/bad in the comments.

A few weeks ago it looked like the location of Sushi by Bento Nouveau at Broadway & Cortlandt St. was closed for good, but then it reopened after a couple of days. When I walked by during lunch yesterday the gates were down once again and all it took was a peek inside to show it was absolutely demolished. The above note taped to the door offers the explanation that they’re renovating until February 23, and directs you to their other location in the Financial District down at the bottom of Broadway by Bowling Green. I’ve never actually eaten the sushi, but I used to have a slight addiction to their cheap udon soup, so I consider it good news that they’re not closing for good.

One of the two Financial District locations of Sushi By Bento Nouveau was closed yesterday during prime lunch time (and may have also been shuttered on Friday, now that I think about it). The shutters at Broadway & Cortlandt were locked tight and there was no note or DOH sticker to be seen, so maybe they’re just taking a really long Thanksgiving break? It would be a shame to lose a cheap source of udon soup right before winter hits. Update: They’re back open today. Let’s hope that was a temporary blip in business.

I was surprisingly pleased with my first visit to Sushi! by Bento Nouveau. Despite the worryingly corporate and chain-y appearance, the food I had was very good and not at all a bad deal for the price.

I was happy with the udon, the sushi, and the dessert, so I went back for a hot entree. This time, I checked out the location on Broadway near Morris Street and got myself some Teriyaki Chicken. The verdict: very good. Photos to drool over after the jump.

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Zach decided to give the Midtown branch of Sushi! by Bento Nouveau a pass after this post on Food in Mouth, and I can’t blame him. Had I seen that picture before I went, I think I’d have given it a wide berth as well. But SbBN (as I’ll call it from here on in to save time and to avoid typing that stupid exclamation point) actually came recommended to me after my post about Tokyo Kitchen by Lunch’er John D., who said it was his go-to place for udon.

I always prefer following up on recommendations to just trying places blindly, particularly because I have a sense of what to try when I go. I think that served me especially well at SbBN, where I really enjoyed my udon and my sushi, while avoiding the curry and rice dishes that have received pretty negative reviews elsewhere. SbBN didn’t blow me away, but its food is better than solid, and the prices much more reasonable than I would have guessed.

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