Benemon
| Cuisine | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Price | $$ (16-30) |
| Rating | 6/10 |
| Last Visit | Aug. 9, 2019 |
| Location | New York: East Village |
General Notes
A good Japanese restaurant situated in East Village, specializing in donburi. I've come here twice - my first experience was during lunch, and I loved every aspect about my experience. However, there were a lot of flaws with the food during my second visit for dinner. In general, the food is very good and the atmosphere of the restaurant feels quaint and comfortable. I'd recommend giving this place a try.
Positives
> The food was prepared with precision. During my first visit, there really were no flaws with my food (except perhaps the oshinko, which is natural since I don't really like pickled vegetables much). The presentation of the food was also really elegant.
> I came here for lunch, and the atmosphere was just what I like - quaint, rustic, open-air, and at a reasonable noise level.
Negatives
> The food during my second visit seems to have fallen off the rails a bit. The karaage was disappointing and the egg on my katsu-don was badly undercooked to the point of being liquidy. The eggs were pasteurized, so probably not that unsafe, but certainly didn't taste as good as it could.
Dishes Tasted
- ★☆☆☆ Karaage Fried Chicken -- Very juicy, as the menu description suggests. However, there are a lot of flaws: it's too greasy, doesn't have a nice crisp texture, and has a really odd flavor.
- ★★★☆ Katsu Don -- Lunch special, came with a honey mustard salad, cucumber and radish oshinko, and homemade brown sugar sweet beans. Absolutely delicious. The pork was really tender, and the soy sauce broth had an excellent balance of sweet and salty. I loved the soft-cooked eggs (pasteurized), which had a really nice texture. I also surprisingly loved the salad. However, during my second visit the eggs were badly undercooked.
Karaage Fried Chicken
