I discovered Bambootori a month and a half ago, trying to find a place that serves quick and cheap food around Union Square. Bambootori serves yakitori, or Japanese skewered food. I admit that I did not recall having tried yakitori before, although the concept of skewer is not unknown to me: the first time I tried one was in Singapore, beef skewers served with a peanut sauce.
It is a tiny place for sure with few seats. The decor is very zen with its light colors and fun with its mirror full of drawings made by its customers.
At the entrance is where they prepare the food and cook it, using a machine brought back from Asia and a grill.
I met with the owners, Hendy, Christophe and Jonathan who are featured in the video at the end of the post. Hendy explained to me the cooking process with the machine: the skewers are made to order. So, when you order one, they will put it on the machine and it will go around twice, cooking at high temperature and releasing the fat in the tray, making it healthier.
What I like about Bambootori is that they have a menu that can accommodate both the carnivores and the vegetarians, offering meat skewers as well as veggie ones. I tried both of course and they were delicious! So, let start with the vegetable skewers! The first time we went, we tried the eggplant (middle), zucchini (left) that were delicious.
If you wonder what the one on the right is, it is the pork belly...This is my favorite of them all! I got it as a skewer, but also in a bun. In fact, you can order any of the meats or veggies in a fantastic soft steamed bun.
Look at this piece of pork belly tempting you!
The last way of eating the skewers is on rice, with pickled onions and seaweed.
There, I tried the asparagus and bacon (a good way to bridge the carnivore and vegetarian in me...), the chicken thigh with scallions and the chicken breast with scallions. It was good and juicy and I love the combination of the chicken and the scallions that in fact enhanced the taste of the chicken pretty well.
Then are the meatballs! There are three types: pork, chicken and beef.
As explained by Christophe during the interview, the beef meatballs are made with some parts of the pork belly and beef tri-tips that are not served to the customers. If I had to recommend meatballs, it would be the pork ones.
I really like these meatballs: tasty and not dry. The main difficulty is to recognize what is what, but these guys can help you.
The tri-tips in a bun was also very good, tender, juicy and perfectly cooked.
So, as I explained at the beginning of the post, I met with the owners and started to ask them about the restaurant. They told me for instance that "one of the main reasons we opened BambooTori is because there was too many similar offerings for lunch crowds in NYC. The common grub like burgers/hotdogs/ salads / sandwiches. We want to bring something completely different and Unique". So I wanted to know from them what was so different and unique and proposed a video interview so they can explain the concept behind Bambootori themselves.
Below is the interview of Hendy, Christophe and Jonathan. I apologize in advance for the clicking sound that was due to the auto-focus of the camera.
Below is the interview of Hendy, Christophe and Jonathan. I apologize in advance for the clicking sound that was due to the auto-focus of the camera.
I hope you learnt a lot about that place. And if you are looking for an affordable food joint near Union Square, try Bambootori: you will not regret it!
BAMBOOTORI
JAPANESE YAKITORI
106 University Place
btwn 12th and 13th
New York, NY 10003
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
