Ramro — Restaurant in New York

Tasting menu ("Chef's Counter") review:

TL;DR: Good ideas, small portions, not worth the money.

Aperitif: A nice touch but a bit strong, depending on your alcohol tolerance.

Sisig Hopia: Probably the most creative dish of the bunch. Cute canapes with distinctly Filipino ingredients and Himalayan influences. The rice puff on the far right was standout.

Hamachi: I guess this was their attempt at kinilaw, but it just felt like any other crudo/ceviche dish that every restaurant has on their summer menu. Delicious, sure, but not remarkable

Lumpiang Seriwa: A total miss. The cabbage wrap was undercooked, making it too hard and chewy to enjoy. There wasn't enough sauce to accompany the completely bland and unseasoned vegetables, and what sauce there was shouldn't have been sweet.

Skate: The most generously portioned of the courses. A large, perfectly fried slab of skate that was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and peppery throughout. The accompanying coconut amarillo sauce was nice, but common.

Long Island Duck: Tiny, tiny slabs of generically seared duck accompanied by a miniscule stalk of fermented greens that were way too salty, and fried rice that was under-seasoned. This was such a disappointing finish, both in terms of flavor and creativity, to say nothing of portion size.

Digestif: Another nice thought, but way too strong for most people. If port and turpentine had an illegitimate love child, it might've tasted like this.

Calamansi Ice Cream: A refreshing dessert, yes, but I couldn't really taste any calamansi flavor, sadly. The accompanying Filipino donut sticks were nice though.

For drinky drinks, get the Golden Leaf if you want sober pandan or the Orange Cream if you want sober creamsicle. If you're craving ethanol, try the beautiful Origami for fruity and bold, or the Negroni for a more citrusy take on the classic.

While the service was friendly, and the space was cute (if tiny), I just can't see myself coming back for this $100 tasting menu unless they seriously up their portions or design a menu that more consistently showcases creative Filipino/Nepalese flavors. Right now, it feels like Ramro is still in its...

Welcome back to the neighborhood FoodStruck! After a couple of years, they’ve finally found a new home on 38th Street and 31st Avenue in Astoria. The new space is small but a big step up from their old location which was just a takeout counter. The front of the restaurant is really non-descript with just a neon sign (which was unlit) and looked like the front of regular apartment building. I actually had trouble finding their new location and walked right past the entrance before I realized where it was. FoodStuck is a fast casual joint, so you order at the counter and then wait at one of the tables for them to deliver your food.

The menu isn’t large with just 6 entrée options (which you can choose as a sandwich or rice bowl) and 5 sides. I’m guessing they are still working on finalizing the menu as they are still in their soft opening stage. I ordered The Big Will rice bowl ($15), The Loco Moco rice bowl ($15) and a side of Fries ($5).

The Big Will consisted of fried chicken thighs with scallions, fried garlic, rosemary, topped with spicy mayo and tamarind glaze on a bed of white rice. This was excellent. Loved that they used chicken thighs as it has so much more flavor. The glaze and fired garlic worked well to highlight the chicken which was soft but crunchy.

The Loco Moco consisted of two beef patties, onions, scallions, crispy garlic, gravy, runny fried egg on a bed of white rice. Very hearty dish and quite satisfying to eat. The beef patties were smothered in the gravy which is great with the white rice.

The Fries had fried rosemary and garlic pieces which gave it a really nice aroma. I really wish I had gotten the spicy mayo on the side for dipping but alas forgot to order it.

Like I said, they are still in their soft opening stage and thus have limited hours. I recommend checking their IG account as their hours are still changing. I’m definitely coming back and planning on working my way through their menu. I’m crossing my fingers they bring back of their tater tots and...

I'll say I really had high hopes for this place. This style of cuisine is quickly becoming one of my favorites and to have it in an elevated/intimate spot is a dream. But ultimately the food was somewhat of a letdown.

The menu itself is fine, there wasn't a TON I was interested in for the price-point. There was no world we didn't get the momos, which I actually quite enjoyed. Certainly not traditional in their shape. The cauliflower sauce added nothing to them, but the other sauce was nice. Do wish the portion had been bigger (a comment I would make about all of the dishes). I thought I would going to love the shimeji mushroom, but I found these to be so disappointing. A little cold? And some charred. Flavoring a bit meh. The sukuti was not something I would have normally ordered but was fine to try. I'm not sure if I'm just missing the point of this dish and it was done correctly, but it was not only cold but a bit gritty and tough, which I didn't care so much for.

Entrees: I had some difficulty as they were a bit pricy and none of them really jumped out. We grabbed the duck and the noodles. The duck meat itself was good. I didn't so much enjoy the vegetables it was served on top of or the sauce, but the fried rice it came with was the best part of the meal. The ramro noodles I don't feel I understand to this day. The flavoring was sort of strange in a smoky/burnt? kind of way (maybe burnt is saying too much but that's how I felt), they were lukewarm, and the vegetables were saturated in flavoring so difficult to eat by themselves.

That being said, I think this place has a ton of potential. The open kitchen concept makes you feel so close to the action. And the service is so so kind. They're also on inKind, so be sure to get a discount through that. While I didn't enjoy any of the dishes enough to come back, I certainly could see this place being a lovely option after refining the taste in...