Photo of the Day: The Menu at Mitsuwa
Photograph from spiffae on Flickr
I've found myself in this same position many times while trying to figure out what to eat in the food court at Japanese shopping center Mitsuwa in New Jersey. It's hard to choose from so many enticing bowls of meticulously arranged plastic food—plastic food that looks surprisingly close to the real thing. This display doesn't actually glow green in real life, but I like the eerie feeling it gives the photograph taken by Ben Duchac.
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11 Comments:
Yes! This place is amazing!!
annawesley at 8:39PM on 11/20/08
Haha. It doesn't look THAT eerie in real life. But man, I love fake plastic food. It really helps the decision making process.
LHSK12 at 8:59PM on 11/20/08
Wow. What a beautiful image. I always wondered where they get the plastic meals from. And, do they have to wash them from time to time?
Robin, did you eat here? If so, did the dish look like the one in the window?
Linnea Covington at 9:27PM on 11/20/08
Is the food from that place good? I think I've had at least one thing from each little food stall except for that one. The number of different dishes looks overwhelming :O
forsheezy at 9:31PM on 11/20/08
@Linnea: I think I've only tried this vendor once (it's Chinese, I think...and I always go for katsu), but it's the coolest looking display. :)
@forsheezy: Not sure how good it is; the katsu vendor is my fave. Mmmm.
roboppy at 9:58PM on 11/20/08
I love having a Mitsuwa here too. Especially Santoka Ramen and Miyabi-Tei. Good stuff.
alosha7777 at 10:12PM on 11/20/08
Beautiful photo Robyn.
I love Italian Tomato in the Mitsuwa food court. Crazy to go all the way out there for semi-fast-food spaghetti and tomato sauce, but the Japanese have a knack for perfecting things, and this is no exception. Then after that I have to have at least three or four cakes from Oishinbo. Mmmmm..........
simon at 11:11PM on 11/20/08
Funny because I wrote about Mitsuwa a couple of weeks ago (and posted a photo of the same spot, on a similar angle, and it most definitely doesn't glow green), but I too wondered how they create those food displays. Is it real food covered in shellac or what? I've tried every vendor at Mitsuwa except for that one though. It's one of the newer ones (relatively speaking), and as I recall, it's quasi-Chinese or something, but the have a variety of foods.
http://justcooknyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/speaking-of-mitsuwa.html
justcook at 8:17AM on 11/21/08
Actually, I went to Mistuwa recently for the first time in years. I just moved back to Edgewater (my home town) after living elsewhere for a while. I was really disappointed. A big part of the problem was the lack of fresh sushi. It used to be there was not 1 but 2 sushi vendors. Now the only sushi is in the market part. WTF?
Also my Tempura was very very soggy. I don't remember which vendor we went to but ew. Thank god for taiyaki or else lunch would've been a total wash.
schwartz at 12:34PM on 11/21/08
Sorry to hear that schwartz.
I've never eaten from the Chinese food vendor, but the katsu and soba vendors never fail to be top notch.
Their deep fried items are crisp, non-greasy perfection and come with all the traditional accoutrement and condiments.
The sushi is all right. The rolls are fine if you pick and choose, their chirashi and tuna-don are great. You can get fresh sashimi in the fish market area. They have really great sets with a little of everything or you can just get small trays of amaebi or giant clam or even little cartons of uni.
So I dont think they lack in fresh fish selection at all, you just might be looking in the wrong place.
fuuchan at 3:30PM on 11/21/08
I agree with fuuchan -- I eat there all the time, and the tempura and such is always great. I mean, if you are busy doing something else while they're calling your number and it takes 10 minutes to find a seat (possible on the weekends), then maybe it would be soggy. I'd recommend going to Mitsuwa for tempura anytime...
justcook at 10:48PM on 11/21/08