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Food

Japonais, New York, and the Eight Samurai

September 8, 2006 at 10:05 AM | 0 Comments

This summer saw the opening of the third big box Asian mega-restaurant in New York City. Buddakan and Morimoto opened at the beginning of the year, and now Japonais has joined them. A Chicago import serving sushi and French-Japanese fusion, it's not quite as big or as flashy as the other two, but that's decidedly a good thing.

Enjoying these food barns is a matter of personal taste more than anything else, though it's hard to deny the skill it takes to serve 1,000 people in a night without a total kitchen meltdown. We visited the other week, and we liked two things in particular at Japonais: The Eight Samurai, which is eight different kinds of tartare, including two kinds of tuna, shrimp, and scallops. We also liked Le Quack Japonais, which is a cross between Peking Duck and Mu Shu; you get to make your own little duck burritos with fresh scallions and mango chutney.

It's not a super authentic Asian experience, or even a revelatory one, but who cares when you get to make your own duck burritos?  

[Image via ronnyg/Flickr]