If you’ve ever had to handle heated restaurant negotiations (“I want sushi!” followed by “but we had Japanese last time — I want beef with broccoli”), East Gate, a new Chinese and Japanese restaurant in Verona offers a win-win for a car-ful of finicky diners.
Located at 144 Bloomfield Avenue (in the tiny strip mall just beyond the intersection of Bloomfield and Pompton/Mt.Prospect Aves.), East Gate is not fancy, but the spanking new restaurant has a mix of tables and booths as well as a sushi bar, where you can glance over to watch the chefs create beautifully fashioned platters of makis. Sure, you can order your favorite roll (spider, dragon, rainbow) or try East Gate’s Edison roll (shrimp tempura, with spicy tuna inside, spicy crab outside). Your dining partners can also go a different route — ordering everything from chicken teriyaki to udon to Kung Pao.
Feeling really hungry? There’s also an all-you-can-eat option. For $21.95 per person (or $19.95 weekdays; children under 10, $10.95), you can order as much as you can eat from both the kitchen and sushi bar, checking off what you want from a separate menu (that also includes soups, salads and desserts) with a mini golf pencil. Stick to one cuisine or go back and forth choosing your favorite makis along with tempura (try the pumpkin), udon, teriyaki and gyoza.
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East Gate, 144 Bloomfield Ave., Verona, 973-857-2780, BYO, Delivery