Mr. Jones - Review

Intro
Mr Jones - Recommended
243 E 14th St, New York 10003
Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave
Phone: 212-253-7670

Porthos has been hyping this new yakitori joint up for a while as a great place for dudes. He was definitely spot on as the atmosphere was great (almost funny) and the food was decent. Overall, I give the restaurant a 82/100.

My Menu
1) Yakitori
2) Karai Honey *
3) Tsukune Uzura
4) Hatsu *
5) Kara Yuzu **
6) Daikon Salad
7) Tori Tatsuta Age **
8) Kalbi *
9) Harami Wasabi
10) Bara Wasabi Shiso
11) Age Tofu Miso Tare *
12) Ika Tenpura *

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Dish Comments
We ordered a lot of food and the general feeling was you can taste the flavor of the Japanese charcoal they are using and you can definitely see they are using good quality chicken. Using a direct comparison, the meats and charcoal are definitely better than Yakitori Taisho (a favorite amongst NY'ers), but worse than Yakitori Totto. They also tend to lean towards a Western palate as the food is much sweeter or spicier - not a complaint, but you should not expect authentic Japanese food here. Winners for me were the Tatsuta Age (I think) - fun chicken lollipop that was very juicy and flavorful. Also, kara yuzu a lemony and spicy grilled skewered chicken. Losers were the pork (sadly) as it was too chewy and not that flavorful.

Overall Restaurant Experience (82/100)

• Food 8.0/10 – Better than Yakitori Taisho, worse than Yakitori Totto.
  
• Service 9.0/10 – As Porthos mentioned, the waitresses are quite stunning. I felt like I was in the latest Bond movie with Brazilian and Japanese waitresses "impossibly thin" (quoted by mr risotto) wearing something you would see only in the movies. Food comes out quick.
  
• Atmosphere 9.0/10 – This place is straight out of something from Austin Powers, but for some reason I dig it. Darkly lit place with very hip designs, but looks like a place right out of the 60s or 70s. The music they play is also very funny as well - kinda like 70s elevator music. Again, I don't know why but I like it. Porthos made the reservation for 10 peeps on a Tuesday at 7:30 and we were seated immediately. Place consisted of groups of ladies and one other large group of guys. Funny quote from the night from the other large group of guys. This guy pulled the "So, when we going out" line on the waitress randomly acting supremely confident. The whole table was hitting on the waitresses big time and the ladies wanted no part...good times! Definitely not a date place...
  
• Price 7.5/10 – For all that food we payed around 70 each which is pricey for OK food. Paying more for the scene and the waitresses.
  

Closing Comments
The food in general is decent, but without the scene and the waitresses I would find no reason to go. But with the scene and the waitresses, I'm assuming Porthos is setting up another dudes night there again.