Estihana

***This rating is only for the Estihana branch in Brooklyn and doesn't reflect the food in the Manhattan branch

On a typical night on which I'm too tired to cook and yet not at all too tired to eat my husband and I have our usual conversation "where should we go/get take out from?" And after about an hour of debate we unanimously decided to order from Estihana- AGAIN!

In my opinion, everyone has "their place", its not necessarily the restaurant where the food is the best, or where the service is most stellar, but its the place that for one reason or another becomes yours. You know what to order without a menu, you know what the food will look like and taste like without any surprises. And you can rely on this place to be consist ant with their food and service no matter the time of day. In our house Estihana has always been that place.

On Ave J, in the heart of Brooklyn lies a little taste of Japan. Estihana markets itself as a fusion restaurant- then again so does every other kosher restaurant that decided to put sushi on its menu. I personally consider Estihana to be Asian Cuisine.

Walking in, you immediately notice that though the restaurant is popular there isn't enough room to properly seat the patrons. Tables are so close together you almost feel like 1 big happy family (a bit awkward if you are on a date). The decor has perplexed me since the first day I entered, there are random posters in various languages including Italian and French, yet none it Japanese.(If any of you figure it out please let me know!)Once seated I usually order without even looking at my menu, like I said this is my place.

We started out with a Sushi, I ordered the Tropical roll,named for the fact that it has mango on top of a roll with imitation crab meat, avocado and salmon tempura inside. My husband, who likes raw fish more than I do ordered the Dragon roll which is spicy tuna with cucumber & avocado wrapped with fish outside. The sushi tasted very fresh and was delicious. It also didn't take 45 minutes to arrive like in other places.

we followed up our sushi with appetizers we ordered the shredded crispy beef which is shredded slices of beef coated with a sweet & spicy sauce mixed with crisped rice noodles.the crispy beef is a house specialty which can be ordered either as a appetizer or as a larger portion for the main course. Though I usually enjoy the crispy beef this time I found the beef to be dry and tasteless. It almost seemed like they took the scraps of meat that were left over from previous dishes, covered it in some sauce and served it to us. We also ordered the Pan Fried Won tons which is Fried dumplings stuffed with beef severed with a sesame teriyaki sauce on the side. The meat was again a bit dried out, but they were overall tasty.

For the main course I ordered (as I often do) the Garlic Steak, a Mongolian style steak floured in a crispy texture w/garlic brown sauce and served w/broccoli and white rice. Now if you were expecting a high quality cut of meat such as prime rib or Fillet Mignon you would be sorely disappointed. the garlic steak is a piece of overly pounded chuck meat. However, the batter and sauce are quite delicious and almost make you forget that you are eating a cut of meat best designed for hamburgers.
My husband ordered the Kung Pao Chicken-Chunks of Chicken thigh served w/mixed vegetables and Kung Pao sauce and topped w/roasted peanuts. Though my husband claimed that his dish was tasty, the mere smell of it made me nauseous and therefore I didnt even try it.

Overall, Estihana is a decent place with decent food. If you want luxury or gourmet cuisine- look elsewhere. If you are looking for a place to call your own; Estihana is the perfect place!

RATING: 2 1/2 stars