One perk of my job is that I get to go on client dinners. This supplements my expensive eating habits nicely. Sometimes I wind up at places that are less than ideal (a recent trip to Dos Caminos left me in the prickly position of a waitress saying to me “there is NOTHING on the menu you can eat”… awesome) but sometimes I wind up trying awesome places like Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill (on 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in the 6 Columbus Hotel).
I had been there once before, however, this time I was with a coworker who knew the manager and he knew EXACTLY what to order.
We started with the lamb chops, which was yummy. It even converted someone who typically doesn’t like lamb. Winner.
It came over a delicious sweet potato puree.
Next up we ordered the pork belly.
It was a delicious slice of perfectly cook pork belly with a great balance of sweet and spicy veg on top.
We also ordered pork and shrimp dumpings, both of which were good, but no better than most NY Dim Sum.
They enjoyed an order of spicy ceviche. I’ll take their word for it that it was good.
We also ordered the duck, which came with orange teriyaki, cauliflower puree, and asian broccoli. The skin on this was so perfectly crisp and the meat was so well cooked it almost melted in your mouth. One of the top duck dishes I have had.
And then… heaven came out…
This was Oxtail Fried Rice. It came with daikon, shiitake, and bone marrow. The bone marrow was actually tucked inside an egg pocket. See it broken open in the picture below.
This was unbelievable. One of the best dishes I have ever had. And it was rice. The most delicious rice I have ever had! I actually felt bad while eating this that Mike wasn’t enjoying it with me and look forward to bringing him back here soon just for this dish. Add this to the list of dishes I will crave during bad days. Om nom nom nom nom nom nom.
Just in case that wasn’t enough food, a sushi tray made its entrance. I won’t go into the specifics (since I don’t remember them anyway) but I can tell you that every piece was awesome.
For dessert we got bread pudding and this made lovers out of haters. It was insanely good, perfectly cooked, unbelievably tender and moist, and full of flavor. YUM!
We also got green tea chocolate lava cake. Awesome. Simply awesome.
This was a fantastic meal. Absolutely fantastic. Knowing what to order is key. I usually wouldn’t focus on the cooked food at a sushi restaurant, but don’t forget about the “Grill” part of their name. It’s fantastic.
And that Oxtail Fried Rice… mmmmmmmmmmmmm
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
