NEW YORK WEEK: Ninja New York

My first visit to NYC occurred while I was in high school, when a group of friends and I stayed in Manhattan as the guests of the U.N. Foundation. It's a long story.

 Naturally, in the weeks leading up to the trip, planning our excursion into the city was a hot topic. We spent our time furiously Googling attractions, competing with each other to see who could come up with the coolest thing to do.

The award eventually went to Justin, who suggested a restaurant called Ninja New York.

To date, Ninja New York is still one of the most interesting and dynamically themed restaurants I've ever visited — for teenagers. Adults probably won't think it's quite so amusing. The food was not great, and to enjoy the gimmick, you have to be able to suspend your dignity for a bit. Pulling a samurai sword out of your duck isn't for everyone. 

Anyway, the premise is that the restaurant is staffed by ninjas. Sword-wielding, vaguely-threatening, black-clad ninjas. Tip well, kids. 

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons and its affiliates do not endorse Caroline the Adventurer. 

Located in TriBeCa, the restaurant's ambiance is great — I'd give it four stars for atmosphere, and our server was quite believable as a ninja. The smoky, dim interior really does make you feel like you've been transported to a time of shoguns and swords. And our waiter really was fantastic. He pulled his sword on us once. I was impressed. 

And yet, despite my amusement, I wasn't impressed with the food, which came to us cold — several in our party complained — and which I found very overpriced. In that regard, it's like any other theme restaurant.  

In the end: Ninja New York is fun, but expensive, and probably not great for those with no sense of humor. There are special effects a-plenty and the atmosphere is cool. Think Rainforest Cafe, but with more sharp, pointy things. 

Menu HERE.