Midtown Lunch

Muntin opened this May and I really really hope they make it, unlike their predecessor Misso. Japanese food dominates, with some Thai dishes thrown in. I strongly believe that lunch is the meal to get here. The deals during the lunch time hour are excellent values. So much so, that I was surprised at how empty the place was in the middle of the day.

Besides sushi, the lunch menu includes teriyaki or tempura bento boxes, noodles, curries,  and meat or seafood entrees. I was torn between the Thai crispy chicken and the Malaysian Red Curry. The waiter suggested the crispy chicken, so I went with it. The cutlet was fried just right, not too heavy and not too light. I liked the sweet and sour sauce that came on it. I am still curious about their curries… next time.

Lunch rolls are either 2 for $7 or $3 for 10, if you chose the 2 roll option, you are clearly bad at math. The choices of rolls are pretty awesome. I was expecting a limited selection of plain rolls, while being forced to look longingly at some list of lovely rolls that are not included. Not the case- included are rolls with yellowtail, tempura, and white tuna. My 3 were spicy tuna, pumpkin tempura, and soft shell crab tempura. The three rolls came out relatively quickly and were nicely presented on a long white plate with black and white sesame seeds outside the rolls. I was very very happy with my choices and would recommend all 3; everything was fresh. The pumpkin tempura was just a touch sweet and served as a nice contrast to the seafood rolls. The spicy tuna was actually spicy. The crab roll was also fun to eat. A friend’s tuna roll was simple but came with sizable chunks of tuna. A cucumber and shrimp roll was less successful, not enough shrimp.

The sushi combos and the chicken lunch specials come with a choice of miso soup or house salad. The miso soup was extremely clean tasting and splattered with enoki mushrooms. The salad was the typical Japanese side salad: lettuce, shredded carrot, cucumber, a tomato chunk or two and the carrot ginger dressing. But I thought Muntin’s dressing to be brighter than the average sushi joint side salad’s.

I hope this place lasts. Do your part by checking out Muntin on your lunch hour, we gotta support a business with such great lunch specials.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Fresh sushi and many other lunch time options for people who don’t love sushi
• 3 rolls for $10 plus soup or salad is an extremely awesome deal
• They don’t cheap out and only offer lame rolls with the combo

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Each roll came with 6, not 8 pieces

Muntin, 1326 Spruce St (@13th St), 215 546 0180