The Order:
It was hot yesterday — an extreme 96 degree high (OMG) — and we didn’t want to order anything that would induce extra perspiration. Mexican was out of the question, as was anything spicy or cooked. The seemingly obvious choice was Japanese. It’s a light cuisine that fills you up while maintaining its healthiness. Another plus of Japanese restaurants? Amazing lunch specials and bento boxes.
On SeamlessWeb the variety can sometimes be overwhelming. We first sorted by cuisine and then rating to land upon Tanaka with a whopping 5-star rating from over 115 reviews. This popular restaurant caught our eye with it’s diverse options, multiple lunch specials and a delicious looking menu. For starters, we ordered a steamed shumai to judge as a baseline for any Japanese eatery. As a meal, we went for an order of the Two Roll Maki Lunch Special including miso soup and salad. The two rolls we chose were a classic spicy tuna roll and salmon avocado (with an addition of cucumber). For the second meal we ordered another classic — a Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box lunch special including soup, salad, dumplings and a California roll. WHAT A DEAL!
The Meal:
As there was no way we were going to venture into the heat and risk our own dehydration, we waited patiently for our deliveryman to come bearing our delicious gifts. He came quickly despite the 30-45 minute estimated delivery time, which pleased our stomachs greatly!
Part of a Complete Lunch
We set out all of the pieces of our feast and realized just how much we ordered!
Too much food on my plate
With all these delicious components, there was a lot that could have gone wrong. BUT, Tanaka executed beautifully. The two of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals and were completely satisfied at the end. All of our starters were terrific: the shumai were steamy, flavorful and not too soggy, the miso soup was salty and classic, and the salad had a wonderful dressing with a great ginger-kick. The sushi rolls were fresh (esp. considering the delivery distance) and the brown rice added a great nuttiness. They were a perfect healthy summer day lunch. The bento box was quite large and somewhat overwhelming, however still a real treat. The chicken teriyaki was flavorful and filling. The California roll was decent as were the two fried dumplings. I ate this entire meal over the course of two hours as it was a lot to get through.
Each of us were impressed with Tanaka’s fabulous menu and would definitely order from there again. YUM-O!
Check out Tanaka’s Menu and feel free to give us recommendations for future orders in the comments.