Pricing: Not Cheap
Venue: Sit Down
Cuisine: Chinese, BBQ
Favorite Dish(es): BBQ Ribs, Crystal Shrimp Dumplings

Nancy’s Pig Heaven gets its name from specializing in pork dishes, and their menu is even broken down by whether the dishes have pork or not (Hot Pig, Hot No Pig). Their trademark pig dish is their BBQ Ribs. These aren’t American style ribs by any means (see Dinosaur BBQ), but rather a Chinese version marinated in various Asian spices and slow-cooked with a super sticky and sweet deep red glaze. You might see these on the menu at a typical Chinese takeout place, but it’s highly unlikely that theirs will be nearly as moist or flavorful as these. If you fancy sweet meats, this is the spot for sweet, sticky, and succulent ribs. Beyond the ribs, the menu is fairly comprehensive with a good variety of familiar Chinese restaurant dishes (mostly sauteed and not deep-fried), including an assortment of dim sum favorites. The interior is very clean and more upscale than your average sit-down Chinese restaurant, with a funky little pig shrine area and a Chinatown-style decorated open kitchen with BBQ’d meats hanging in the window. They’ve got great service, with attentive and friendly waitstaff (instead of the usual grumbly downtown attitude). Nancy’s truly is a little slice of Chinatown on the Upper East Side, the only drawback being the Upper East Side prices. If this is where pigs go to heaven, make sure they stop by your stomach on the way.

Sorry, no pics this time…!

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Sushi of Gari
402 E 78th St, between 1st and York Aves
(212) 517-5340

Pricing: Not Cheap
Venue: Sit Down
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
Favorite Dish(es): Omakase, also called “Gari’s Choice” ($$$$)

If you love sushi, you must try the chef’s special “Omakase”. If you’re not sure about sushi but you’re adventurous, you’re in for one of the best Japanese experiences you’ll ever find in NYC. Sushi of Gari is about serving contemporary Japanese creations with fresh, quality fish. The UES location is small and semi-upscale, and the waitresses are attentive, gracious, and very polite. Reservations are a must.

Now, on to the food.
Even though I love sushi, I’m pretty limited to salmon and any white fish. I don’t like tuna because it tastes too iron-y and everything else is too “fishy”. Now having said that, I was able to eat every single piece of sushi they brought out (all 12) and loved all but two. Each piece is specially prepared to bring out their best flavors and mask the negatives (such as fishiness or mushiness). Whether it be pairing the fish with a sauce, adding different textures with vegetables, or cooking it to add firmness- it’s obvious that each one is thought out and intentionally choreographed. Case in point, the seared rock cod had a fantastic smoky flavor, which if served unprepared is just another white fish. The yellowtail is just another white fish, but paired with the jalapeno sauce is crunchy, spicy and one of my top 3 favorites. Remember I mentioned earlier strongly disliking tuna? The seared tuna with shredded onions and crispy garlic is truly the best tuna I’ve ever had. I still don’t like tuna in general, but I’ll gladly eat it here.

Let me toss in my least favorite of the group, so we don’t end on a bad note. The raw sweet shrimp with bell peppers. It’s not their fault. It’s the shrimp’s fault. The crunch of the peppers just wasn’t enough. They’re just so gooey. Slimy. And sea-y…

Moving on.

Now my ultimate favorite was the salmon with tomato and minced onion. I love salmon- so what can go wrong with this combo? It’s melt-in-your mouth goodness. Reminiscent of the toppings on a lox bagel, even moreso because there was a dollop of cream cheese under the tomato. *shiver* (I’m re-living the moment as I type wondering what special occasion I can think up to have Justineateat take me here again…)

After 3 courses, surprisingly full from fish, we had just enough room to be tempted with their fried red bean ice cream. I’ve had bad experiences with fried ice cream (being served goopy and melting) so I was hesitant to order it, but THIS was really yum. All in all, would definitely recommend this place for a special occasion.

cool gari logo

"omakase" is the chef's choice

pickled burdock root appetizer. crunchy.

And onto the Sushi Porn…

Round 1

Round 1 begins..

seared salmon. like a lox bagel.

seared rock cod, very smoky and tasty.

whiting with a little salad and crispy lotus root on top. pretty but pointless.

fatty tuna (toro) with grated radish. so rich and buttery.

Round 2

Round 2 has some interesting pieces.

seared mackerel. very fishy and oily in a good way.

poached alaskan king crab with a generous dollop of wasabi hidden underneath.

spicy jalapeno sauce on yellowtail. one of our favorites. the combo works so well.

tofu-based cream on tuna

excellent up until this point when we got a fish flake from the mackerel.

Round 3

Final Round. Getting full on fish.

Shredded onion and crispy garlic on some seared tuna

tomato and minced onion on salmon. so good. our #1 pick.

pepper slaw (possibly with celery) on sweet shrimp. her least favorite.

mushroom pate concoction on a seared bluefish. not our favorite.

And Something Sweet.

fried red bean ice cream w strawberry sauce. so good and served un-melted. perfection!

green tea to cap it off and cleanse the palate. what a meal. gari's logo in the middle of the sumo cup!

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J.G. Melon
1291 3rd Ave, at 74th St
(212) 744-0585

Pricing: Cheap
Venue: Sit Down
Cuisine: American- Burgers
Favorite Dish(es): Hamburger ($8), Key Lime Pie (dessert, $5.50)

This is one of the best burger joints in the city. Inside, the place looks like a darkly-lit, old 50s-style American bar, with a small, cramped dining room in the back. There’s usually a wait, but we got there around six and avoided the dinner rush. Our burgers came cooked medium as ordered, super moist, but not too greasy, and really thick – just the way we like them. You could really taste the quality of the meat, unlike a lot of other places. At first glance the burgers might look kinda small, but these are so thick that one is plenty. The fries are great too, the thick, stubby, round kind with ridges. We finished off a great meal with a proper key lime pie.

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