Sarah’s Kitchen

Sarah’s Kitchen has changed hands and is now under new management for the second time in the past year. They are renaming it «Bocca Bliss» or something or another. Besides changing out the staff (and getting rid of the guy that made awesome Tofu Soup) they also put the buffet station in the middle of the floor. Now there’s literally nowhere to stand inside that place.
But this is about the Tofu Soup and nothing but the Tofu Soup. I must confess: I’m a sucker for the Soon Doo Boo. I search far, I search wide and anyplace that serves it I shall try.
When I finally found the combination of taste, seafood and authenticity from a tofu soup like the one served Sarah’s Kitchen I was relieved. It’s like finding a nice doctor, someone who’s there and you can go to visit when you’re in need.
I stepped into Sarah’s Kit… «Bocca Bliss» and noted that the new AZN station is now up front. I didn’t see any stoves for cooking/​heating up tofu soup. Not a good sign.
Me: So… what happened to the other guy who used to make the tofu soup here?
Chef: Oh… he’s not here anymore.
Me: Oh. Well do you guys still make the tofu soup the same way?
Chef (Looks to the left, slight pause): Yea we make it the same way.
So I said what the hey and I went for it. It was all bullshit. They did NOT make ti the same way at all.
— Soup was super watery and had no flavor or spiciness.
— As a result of the above, everything in the soup (including the tofu) tasted like it was just boiled in hot water.
— The seafood mix they use was cheap as crap with tiny ass shrimp. On top of it they didn’t even give me much. I had less than 10 pieces of seafood.
Needless to say this is one of the worst tofu soups I’ve ever had. Don’t come here. I hope Bocca’s Bliss meets a swift end. This place is definitely worse than Sarah’s Kitchen. (WHY DID YOU LEAVE?)

There are quite a few cafeteria-​style lunch options here. I was originally going to try the salmon teriyaki but was told it would take 15 minutes to make. I didn’t want to wait that long, so I tried the hot bar instead. It was pretty good and cost around $ 8 per lb. If you’re in the area, it’s a good lunch option, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

I came here to try the seafood soup. It was only ok. I will go back to getting my lunch soon do boo fix at everyday gourmet. The soup guy at Sarah’s kitchen is very nice but they can’t compete with Everyday Gourmet in the flavor and quality category.
Sarah’s Kitchen uses very good tofu, but their soup is basically lacking in flavor. The soup lacks heat and they use a tasteless rubbery frozen seafood mix, that note — must be parboiled before frozen, because it imparts ZERO seafood-​iness to the tofu soup. Its basically a scam and only a sucker would fall for it. Its the same seafood mix that you find on the frozen section of a supermarket for $ 6 a pound. Very nasty seafood bits with no flavor.
Everyday gourmet cooks 3 – 4 giant head on shrimp in their spicy soup and because of this you get tons of flavor from the shrimp heads and shells. If you are too lazy or squeamish you will probably not like Everyday Kitchen’s version. To make a seafood stock base though they use shrimp shells and fish bones in professional kitchens because that is where all the flavor comes from. Might try other stuff there at some point but for now I’m just rating their tofu soup. Not impressed.

They stopped doing free breakfast. Back to a mediocre «jack of all trades, master of none» deli.

I had a bowl of beef ramen here today, and it was acceptable.
The soup was cooked well, with the right amount of spiciness, per my request. It was the spiciest choice available, which to me is quite mild. (Habaneros are like sweet grapes for me).
However, everything else in the soup was overcooked — soggy noodles, soggy veggies. But the egg-​infused broth was a winner.
Overall, much better ramen than the white-​washed stuff they serve at nearby Gourmet 45 and Café Hestia.
Upstairs seating is quite outdated and not the cleanest.

Pretty big spot with lot of options for lunch. You can get burgers, Boers Head sandwiches, hot subs. They even have fresh Pastrami and Brisket. You can also get your usual salads.
The day I visited Sarah I had a Bulgogi sandwich which consist of Korean style beef with peppers and onion and a splash of chilli sauce. The seasoning was OK but the sandwich was dripping because of all the sauce. That made the bread very spongy.
The sandwich was not all that but I give Sarahs 3 stars for the service. When you order you get a receipt so that you can pay as your food is being cooked. Pretty smart idea.

Felt compelled to write a review because of some of the negative reviews I’ve seen about the place. I try to go later in the day when it’s not too crowded.
I almost always do the buffet, and can’t speak to their salads, the sandwich counter, or breakfast. But the buffet is good. They use actual spices and generally have a good variety of standard dishes as well as more adventurous stuff. I’ve tried at least a couple dishes where I think to myself, hmm, maybe I’ll try to recreate this at home.
Upstairs seating is nice. I can watch NY1 and use their free wi-​fi. Half off the buffet after 4pm makes it one of the best values in Midtown if you’re taking a late lunch.

The food is ok most of the time. However the people are rude and they ignore you. I used to come for the 50% off after 4 salad bar at 5:30pm… And I had to fight with the workers who were trying to throw out the food ASAP!!! A — it’s so wasteful and B — I do NOT want to fight with you to PAY you for your garbage! absolutely shocking…

Breakfast is good but lunch needs improvement. Their omlets are great and are a value.

I go there 98% of the time for Iced coffee and for the price it is great. They are always helpful and the line moves quickly. However when I go for lunch, the salad bar has much room for growth. It’s tough because I compare them to Pax which is the quintessential salad bar especially with the amazing salad chopper at their 50^th & 3^rd location. Back to Sarah’s. the eggs platters are great but ordering scrambled is a lost cause, its omelet, ONLY.
I will keep going back daily because I am done with Starbucks and they have a great cup of black iced coffee.

They always manage to screw up the order. How the hell can they get a bacon and egg on a roll wrong?

I wanted to update my review of Sarah’s kitchen. I’m still giving it two stars. Like some have said, I agree that the food itself is pretty tasty, the quality is good… when they get it right and charge you the correct price. It’s practically right next to my office so it was convenient but I’m pretty sure I’m officially done with this place simply because of the service.
I really don’t know what it is with the people they have on register in the mornings. These girls are still completely clueless. They posted some prices on their front window and they still don’t ring up orders correctly. I strongly advise anyone who goes there to make sure they’re charging you the right price for things. I order the same things and every time I pay something different… still.
I also agree with the other reviewers that say they can’t take orders correctly. I ordered egg whites on a whole wheat roll one day. The guy at the counter asked if I wanted cheese, I said «no…just the egg whites.» A few minutes later he asked a second time what kind of cheese I wanted. I said I didn’t want any cheese. Lo and behold I get to the office and there is cheese on my eggs. I’m not really sure what was so hard about that.

This place is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. They make a great breakfeast. They also have sandwiches, hot and cold buffet, salads, korean food, etc. The place is clean and the guys behind the counter are friendly.

Wanted to update my initial review. I end up going here a decent amount because it’s directly next to my office and the food quality is excellent. There are two massive problems, however.
1) They rarely, if ever, get an order right. I’ve actually had to go back to them and ask for a new sandwich. Just today, I ordered the V3 (fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes with pesto sauce). I asked for some balsamic vinegar in addition to the pesto sauce it already comes with. I get back to my office and I have a sandwich with no pesto and balsamic vinagrette dressing on it. Seriously?
I can’t tell you how many times this happens (they never remember to put ketchup on my egg sandwiches, either). They’ve been open long enough to take orders properly, and still they keep messing up simple things. I’ve seen other people come back and have to ask for a new sandwich as well. Not rocket science guys– sandwiches.
2) The older Asian guy who is probably an owner who walks around overseeing all the employees and creeping every customer out. Dude, stop staring at everyone like they’re going to steal something. Also, learn how to smile, for god’s sake. (He almost took me out with a huge basket of used coffee grounds this morning and didn’t so much as even apologize.) And by the way, if you’re always on the floor overseeing everything, how does every other sandwich order get messed up? Lastly, when it’s busy and you want customers to know that the completely hidden register is open, usher them there NICELY. Don’t just point and grunt. Seriously, treat people willing to pay your outrageous prices a little better. Learn some social skills fast, buddy.
Again, if not for the high quality of food or the necessity to not waste a lot of time searching for lunch, I would never step foot in here again.

This place is great for breakfast and lunch. It gets super packed during the lunch hour, but that’s what you want to see because obviously they’re doing a good job and word is spreading, right?
I think the food quality is pretty good here. They do salads, have a Korean food station, hot/​cold buffet bar, soup area, and of course the daily specials and sandwiches section. In the morning they have a breakfast bar, griddle station, and an oatmeal/​grits/​cream of wheat station.
They’re doing good stuff here and I hope they stick around!

Sarah’s Kitchen
It’s the new place in the neighborhood, so far seems to be a good place for quick lunch from work but it’s too soon to say.
I’ll re do my review soon with more details so far like I said before is good.

Yet another mega deli. And it was both awesome and horrible. So, I got the Skirt Steak Bahn Mi. Now I get that it’s not a real bahn mi, and I have no problem with that. I bit into what has to be the most delicious fake bahn mi sandwich I have ever eaten. Spicy and cilantroey and crunchy and just plain fabulous. I was actually saying“oh my god, I can’t believe how good this is” between bites. This lasted about a third of the way down the sandwich. Sigh. The rest of the meat on the sandwich was hunks of brisket fat with little teeny bits of actual brisket. Hunks. Of fat. In my sandwich. I threw it out, went to Pret and got their spicy shrimp wrap, valienty trying to remove my sense memory of my mouth full of freakin’ fat.
I need another moment.

I just paid $ 9.20 for a turkey and provolone sandwich on a very stale wheat hero… and waited about 10 minutes to get my disappointment of a sandwich… while everyone was very nice, I still can’t help but feel robbed, as I literally had to take the meat and cheese off of my sandwich and just eat it by itself. What a sad, sad lunch day. I wish I could say I would go back, but I can’t stomach paying $ 9.20 for potentially the same outcome. Let’s face it — in my world, lunch can pretty much make or break my work day.

Two stars for now. They’re new, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they have a lot of kinks to work out, but first impressions are always crucial, and I’m sorry this place tanked in my books the first time I went. I have gone twice now, the second time to give it another shot. I haven’t been impressed at all.
First, I went for a simple bagel in the morning. I got a cinnamon raisin with butter. The guy barely put any butter. I got back to my office and was eating a dry bagel.
Second day I went for a bagel again, this time with scallion cream cheese, and picked up a coffee and some fruit from their salad bar area. Bagel was stale and hard. Again, the guy barely put cream cheese. I wound up taking off half the bagel and just eating one side since the other was dry. Coffee, was coffee. Fruit was good, although the papaya I picked out tasted seriously rotten and I had to spit it out.
What I find atrocious here is the staff. The guy working the grill in the AM appears to have been raised by wolves. He was SHOUTING at the customers, going «GIRL! HEY GIRL!» in a nasty voice and thrusting the food at people. He was not curteous and it was as if he was doing us all a favor by working the grill.
Nothing special to see here. I really love Café Hestia which is on 43^rd.

This took over the old Pinnacle Deli.
They have a sushi and salad section, soups, hot food buffet and sandwiches.
The soup guy is friendly and wants everyone to sample their soups. They were just ok.
I went for the hot foods. They have a good selection, everything was fresh and I appreciated that they have a lot of yummy veggies on their cold food side. Was $ 7.99 per pound.
My coworker went for a small salad, you get to pick 5 toppings. The salad was HUGE, super heavy. She wasn’t able to finish it. There’s an option for a large salad with 7 toppings too.
My other coworker went for the cheeseburger deluxe. We had to wait about 20 minutes for him for that. They definitely need to speed up their process for that. They wound up overcharging him 50 cents so they gave him back a dollar. That was nice of them at least. He liked the burger, was a decently sized patty. I tried the fries — yum, skinny and crispy just the way I like ‘em. He was complaining about the packaging though. It was literally stuffed into a little container and the top didn’t close so his bread got all smushed.
I want to try their Vietnamese sandwiches next. or the Bulgogi (Korean BBQ) one next time.
It was packed when I went but then again it’s opening day. The line for the checkout was long and awkward. Overall, it’s an upgrade for sure from Pinnacle and super close to the office with lots of options to choose from. I’ll def. come back!
Edit: Came back the next day — Get the Charcoal Sandwich on a hero! SOO good. The guy even asked if you want roast beef or filet mignon. Get the filet mignon, duh.