This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WPUNJ chapter.
It’s Common Hour, your next class isn’t until 3:30, and you’re starving. The Student Center is, of course, packed — the lines wrap around and around the food court! And while you don’t mind Speert Hall, it’s honestly not your favorite. What’s a hungry collegiette to do?
Well, lucky you! Her Campus WPUNJ is looking at some of the various eateries near campus in a monthly feature called Campus Eats. Alexis, one of our staff writers, will be trying some of the food places around town, reviewing them here, and rating them on a scale of 1 to 10.
This month, she checked out TAKA Japanese Restaurant just off of Hamburg Turnpike.
It’s 12:15 on Monday, class is over, and I am hungry. Campus Eats heads to TAKA Japanese Restaurant in Wayne, NJ, located off Hamburg Turnpike in the Ramapo Plaza.
My lunch partner, Kevin, joins me for a bite before a big seminar at 2 o’clock. We’re dressed to the nines and want something simple but filling and close by! Then the light bulb goes off: I want sushi!
We head down Hamburg and see a place, TAKA Japanese Restaurant, which has a sushi sign in the window. I recognize this place. The last time I went, I didn’t have a great experience, but I decide to give it the”old college try.” I could not have been more excited.
When we get in, we are seated very quickly. There is small lunchtime crowd but the place is not filled by any means. The décor is dark, the lighting very dim, and the windows are covered. It seems too dark for lunchtime. We look at the menus, and they seem a little out-of-date and stingy, but we are still hungry and excited. We get a waitress right away, and she comes to take our drink order and then wants our food order right away! We say we need a couple of minutes. Unfortunately we are ignored for over 10 minutes, looking for our waitress and waiting to order! Finally she comes out of the back, and we flag her down.
I order their two sushi roll deal, which includes a salad and Miso soup. Kevin orders the Chicken Teriyaki lunch special (since he’s not a fan of sushi).
First up, soup and salad; they come out together. The salad is decent. There is a minimal amount of lettuce, a couple of cherry tomatoes, and two slices of cucumber. The dressing is tasty but heavy, a peanut flavored base (possibly peanut oil). The Miso soup is just nice, staying warm as I eat it and containing a decent amount of tofu.
Our food arrives, Kevin starts eating his chicken and immediately makes a face.
“NOT TASTY AT ALL.”
I get spicy mayo, which is decent but too dark for my full enjoyment. I taste my spider roll and spicy crab roll, which were both total disappointments. The sushi is not colorful like advertised, and there is no “WOW” factor. It’s mediocre at best!
Kevin eats about six pieces of chicken and stops altogether. He can’t endure the rest of it, so he chows down on the jasmine rice instead.
Our waitress disappears and doesn’t check up on us while we’re there, but at least we can finally get our check. The total is $25 excluding tip. Mine is the more expensive at $13.
Service: 3
Price: 5
Food: 4
Location: 7
Appearance: 5
Portion: 5
Convenience for Students: 6.5
TOTAL: 5
My advice? Try for dinner, not for lunch; maybe your experience will be different. However, this is not a place to spend your hard earn cash if you looking to be fully satisfied with your meal!
Have a place you love near campus? Tell us! Send your questions/comments/recommendations! Don’t forget, if you go to one of our spots to take a picture or check in using #HCEatsWPUNJ and tweet at @HERCAMPUSWPUNJ.