Sera: Nina New York was one of those places of lore to me for the longest time. I'd had friends who've gone and told me vaguely of how awesome it was, but since it was in an undisclosed area in New York city, I never felt the need to track it down. That doesn't even take into the consideration that I had anyone to go with either. Regardless, I was pretty excited when Chris had experienced Ninja's tasty wonders first hand and seemed pretty intent on taking me. I was only too eager to get swept away on this eating adventure.
Chris: This time it was during the day, and we located 'The Lantern' much more easily. Behold its mystery!
Chris: Once you enter Ninja you are in a small room with faux rock walls and plants. A single hostess ushers you down an elevator and once you step off of you are in a equally small room with no doors...and no one in it. Confused, the patrons stand waiting for some instruction. This instruction comes in the form of a black clothed Ninja jumping from the shadows. The wraith opens a hidden door in the wall and you are taken to one of two dining area. The first is a fuedal Japanese village, with each table set up like its own house. Their are rock walls, wooden pathways, plans, and some serious design magic. The second would be the 'rock garden'. Tables are situated in alcoves cut into faux rock formations, with plants lining the ceiling and walls.
Sera: All I can saw is, WOW. Despite how many detailed descriptions I've gotten on what the interior on Ninja looked like, I still wasn't prepared for how freakin' cool it is. It's *really* like walking in an old crowded Japanese town at dusk. They captured the light so perfectly.
We were lead to a house where our table was. It was low and the seating was traditional Japanese fashion. We tried our best to sit seiza on the cushions we were given.
Chris: Sera and I both decided to go with set set menus which augmented each others order. Certain courses of the set menu are dishes selected by the patron from a series of options so we simply chose the opposite of each other.
Sera: We figured this was the best way to experience the maximum amount of tastiness Ninja had to offer us.
Sera: My first course was crispy plantains served with guacamole and a garnish of broccoli dusted with matcha powder. The plantains were light, flavorful and slightly salty. The guacamole was zesty and very rich. Both were polished off with ease.
Chris: My first course was a tofu salad with broccoli and sesame dressing. The salad, while impressively presented...was a salad. Meh. However, the tofu is where this dish made its impact. It was honestly some of the best I've ever had. It was flavorful (which is sometimes tricky with tofu), fresh, and had what I consider to be the perfect tofu texture.
Chris: I also had sushi as my second course; there was no other selectable option, but I love sushi anyway. The dish came with a spicy tuna and an unagi rolls. Incidentally, those are my two favorites. What providence! I thought the rolls were well constructed and I particularly liked the...crunchies?... that were on the spicy tuna rolls. None of us could identify them, but they added to the presentation and texture!
Sera: Oh gawd. The rolls were so good.
Sera: Chris' friend Josh and Katie who also came with us got a wonderful selection of foods a la carte. Here you can see their meal came out on a giant plank of wood. How cool! The got steak wrapped in teriyaki zucchini, crab cakes and crab rangoon.
Sera: Ok, here's my third course. It's a fillet of salmon topped with slices of portobella mushrooms and served in a light cream sauce. The salmon was perfectly flaky and soft and the mushrooms added an extra level of savoriness to the fish. It was so delicious.
Chris: Pictured below is quite possible the most delicious pork dish I've ever tasted. Seriously, I do not kid. I had it the first time I went there, and the very thought of getting it again made me excited the entire week prior. This dish is simmered pork coated in a squid ink tempura batter and served in a sauce very close to teriyaki. It was heavenly. The outside was firm and formed a little bundle housing the meat. It was soft, a bit chewy, and was perfectly sized. The pork center was tender and full of flavor and seemed like it had been simmering all day. Every element of this dish worked together in perfect harmony and when I tell you that I would venture up to NYC for this dish specifically, it is no exaggeration.
Sera: This pork was one of the first Ninja's dishes that Chris ever gushed to me about. It sounded so unique, so mind blowing. And it was. The texture was so perfect: crisp outside with a melt-in-your-mouth interior. By far the star dish of the meal.
Last but not least, of the savory dishes at least, was the steak. It came with a Parmesan crusted grilled tomato and covered in a sweet salsa. It was nicely cooked with a pink center and charred outside (I like my steaks medium)!
The meal was finished off with dessert, but alas we have no pictures as the lighting for them was terribly dark and none of them came out well. Chris had a chocolate mousse cake in the shape of a ninja star and I had a three chocolate mousse.
Both of us wished there was more to it. It was so tasty we ignored out "we're full!" signals from our tummy. If you ever get the chance to go to Ninja, by all means go, go, go!
Chris: Emphatic OM NOM NOM. Seriously.
Sera: *head exploded from such OM NOM NOM* Can my rating go higher?
Ninja New York
25 Hudson St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 274-8500
