Summary

In this pandemic, restaurants are trying all sorts of ways to do outdoor dining. What was interesting about Sapps was that they set up dining tables next door in the front of a mechanic shop but with plenty of distance between tables. They also put out propane powered heat warmers. When you arrive, you can basically choose your own seat, and the waiters will bring the water to you.

This is teriyaki chicken. It’s served with white rice, chicken, and broccoli drenched in teriyaki sauce. This is pretty decent Americanized Japanese food. The chicken was tender and lightly grilled, and the teriyaki was watery and not too salted.

The spicy miso ramen came with ramen noodles, bamboo, an egg, and came with a spicy miso tonkatsu broth. This was actually pretty decent. It probably was not as good as a ramen shop’s, but much better than normal average mill Japanese restaurants. The broth was actually pretty flavorful and came with a piece of pork. The pork was slightly overcooked, but it had a nice char to it.

The top was the flash, which is spicy tuna and cream cheese on the inside, rolled and flash fried then topped with a chef sauce. The spicy tuna actually came out cooked instead of raw, so it’s not quite flash fried. However, the roll was pretty decent.

The bottom was the blast, which is spicy crunchy tuna and yellowtail on the inside, topped with spicy crunchy crab meat on top. In reality, it’s just imitation crab meat with tempura flakes on top. This was actually pretty good, and I think we preferred this one over the flash.

Service was prompt and attentive. Price wasn’t too bad either. Just a fair note that fall is slowly rolling by, and the weather is getting colder. Make sure to be prepared for closer to winter elements.

Final Verdict

This was a surprisingly decent Japanese restaurant in the heart of Long Island City along Jackson Ave.

Yelp Jabs

The only negative that made them lose a point. For the price and the portions (for food, not drinks), I left a little hungry. There is also a weird paint smell coming from the auto shop next door I think, but it was only there for a few minutes.

The garage next door was closed, and there was no smell. I think food and portion wise is better than Manhattan, so take it for what it’s worth.

However, it felt like the waiter was really rushing us. It just made the ending of the meal feel very stressful even though the restaurant wasn’t even full at the time.

Some might dock this a negative, but I think the fast service is a positive. Understandably, I know a lot of people don’t want to feel rushed. But at the same time, I’d probably go to a different type of restaurant if I wanted to take my time to eat.