Adventures In Menu Collecting: Masaru & New Venus

Score! Double menu night, which doesn't happen too often. Initially, I wanted to have drinks and eat at D Bar, which is a few buildings down on my block, but it was closed for a private party from 5-7:30 PM. Phooey! Our intention was to go to another restaurant and we chose Masaru to have a drink and wait for the private party to end then go back to D Bar, but we ended up eating at Masaru. I mean, we kept on ordering food and eating at Masaru.

The space where Masaru is has changed so many times. Before Masaru, it was Alpha Fusion and before Alpha Fusion it was Ate Ave. At one point it was a fun gay bar lounge, which we used to go all the time. I don't expect Masaru to be around for very long and judging from our not-so-great dining experience, it will probably be a new restaurant by the end of this year.

There were some items on the menu that were not available. The service was slow and the dishes were average. A few interesting events were going on in the back room that is usually a large dining area, but we couldn't quite see what was going on. One of the events turned out to be a gallery viewing of some sort with local artists. A group of attendees were at the bar and one of the artists dropped his card, so I told my friend to go pick it up so we can figure out who they were. The gallery sponsoring the event was Ethan Cohen and the business card belonged to George A. Schwab.

It was happy hour so drinks were 2 for 1, and the spare ribs, which we initially ordered 5, were $1 each, and they were quite tasty. We also ordered fried calamari and chicken skewers. And then if that wasn't enough, we ordered more: Philadelphia roll, 2 more spare ribs, chicken dumplings and phad thai. But, wait! We had room for more. We ordered the signature Masaru roll (named after the restaurant) and it was the best dish of the evening. Crunchy spicy salmon topped with tuna salmon yellowtail and avocado with spicy mayo-what is not to love? The crunchiness of the sushi was outstanding and I ate it without soy sauce. It was good to eat just the way it was.

Masaru roll

Because we were ordering so much, I kept the menu with me. However, after the Masaru roll order, the waiter quickly grabbed the menus and it felt like he did so to stop us from ordering any more food. I think he just wanted us out! I waited a while then I asked him if I could see the menu again, and this time I put it directly into my bag. My brother-in-law, Bill, thought maybe the waiter would notice so Bill took a menu from the bar to replace the one I put in my bag so it looked like we left it on the table-smart move, Bill!

Before heading to The Monster, we made a few pit stops, one of them to House of Cupcakes, which has delicious cookies and cupcakes, and they heat the cookies up for you before serving them. When we got to the front door we noticed everything was taken apart and it looked like it was closing. This was sad news. We were looking forward to it, but instead we decided to finally try Big Gay Ice Cream since it was across the street. So we made it in before 10 minutes of closing and all we could order was the most popular treat on the menu, salty pimp: vanilla, dulce de leche, and sea salt all dipped in chocolate. OMG it was delicious!

After watching the spectacle at The Monster, and believe me, it's always a spectacle here, we decided to get some very late night eats at a diner near my apartment. I have an allegiance to my favorite diner, Chelsea Square Diner, but I didn't feel like walking an extra block, so we went to New Venus Diner instead on the corner of 23rd and 8th Ave.

I hate eating so late at night, but I was starving even after eating all that food at Masaru earlier. I ordered the challah french toast with a side of bacon and I even managed to order a slice of chocolate cake. The challah french toast was average. The pieces of bread were pretty thin and the bacon was a bit overdone and too crispy, but I didn't care because again, I was starving. I didn't finish all of the chocolate cake because it was a bit dry.

The menu at New Venus is pretty extensive for a diner. I was pleased to find braised short ribs, paninis, and many healthy options on the menu. I was impressed with 'The Twelve Burgers of New Venus' section and I really liked the handwritten specials.