?> {"id":1766,"date":"2009-12-02T21:05:18","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T02:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.twofatbellies.com\/?p=1766"},"modified":"2009-12-02T21:05:18","modified_gmt":"2009-12-03T02:05:18","slug":"akai-lounge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twofatbellies.com\/2009\/12\/akai-lounge\/","title":{"rendered":"Akai Lounge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Akai Lounge is a Japanese restaurant in Englewood, NJ that has become one of our favorite places for sushi so we were really excited when they opened up a branch on the Upper West Side. The menu is pretty much identical to the one in NJ so when a sushi craving hits, we know exactly where we can go to get fresh fish and our favorite specialty rolls. While the restaurant is out of our delivery range, it makes a perfect destination for Sunday night dinners.<\/p>\n
The restaurant does have a lounge-like feel to it, with vibrant red d\u00e9cor and lots of specialty martinis available. The lychee martinis are always deliciously dangerous because you can barely taste the alcohol but you’ll definitely feel the effects. The food menu is also extensive, with lots of appetizers and hot entrees to choose from, in addition to the sushi, sashimi, and maki rolls.<\/p>\n
We always start our meals off with garden salads, which are just simple bowls of iceberg lettuce, shredded red cabbage and a few tomato slices. But what makes these salads so great are that the ingredients are always fresh and crispy, and they refrigerate the bowls until they’re ice cold, which keeps everything cool and refreshing until the very last bite. The ginger dressing is also really fresh and light, with a nice mellow ginger flavor and a slight tanginess that doesn’t overpower.<\/p>\n
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