Tag Archives: lunch special

Zen Palate

29 Apr

Back to lunch options West of Midtown West (though this one is encroaching on Hell’s Kitchen really), Zen Palate is a mostly Thai place with 3 locations in NYC (Union Square, Upper West Side, and Theatre District).  We went to the Theatre District one on 9th Ave at 46th Street.

Each lunch special starts with soup and a springroll.  I believe this one was a broccoli potato soup.

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The spring roll was surprisingly flavorful.

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We also ordered kebabs.

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And steamed vegetable dumplings.  (Which I thought were quite good)

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For our entrees, I was impressed with the portion size. 

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Even the curry dishes that came with rice was a full bowl of food.

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Other coworkers also got a spicy seafood mixed meal.

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My coworker went super healthy that day and ordered steamed veggies and rice.

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I went almost as healthy and got steamed veggies with steamed seafood and rice.  The veggies were surprisingly fresh, however, I found the seafood a bit chewy and obviously frozen.  Next time I’ll probably get it with just shrimp.

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Overall, we were all pretty pleased with this place.  Thai restaurants are a dime a dozen in this area (some people even call it “Thai Town” or “Thai Row”).  I wouldn’t recommend the seafood mix, but if you’re just eating veggies, these are good ones.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

Azuki Japanese Restaurant

31 Jan

My coworkers and I decided on Sushi for lunch one day, but my go-to sushi place is just a bit too far for a quick bite at lunch.  Someone found Azuki, which was close enough on 8th Ave between 36th and 37th Streets.

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The Bento Boxes seemed like a good deal, and I chose the Sashimi version.

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It looked beautiful… but it was bland. Bland. Bland. Bland.

Totally not worth it.

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The guys got a sushi sampler.  Nothing was outstanding and we all agreed it was perfectly average sushi.

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Overall, I can’t recommend this place.  Go the extra few blocks up to Kodama.

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10