I freakin’ love Chelsea, New York.  It’s hipster, it’s cool….everything about the area just feels organic, fresh, and lively.  Lively, in a different sense than let’s say, Times Square.  I especially am in love with Chelsea Market….if you go back to my first post about NY, you can get a better understanding of my love for this quaint and beautiful area.

Walking through the streets, seeing all the thriving businesses, fresh flowers, fresh produce outside…it’s everything I’ve wanted Detroit to be.  One day, Detroiters…one day.

My reason for wandering into Chelsea on my most recent trip, however, was for a sushi burrito!

As a foodie, I naturally watch a ton food shows on Travel Channel and Food Network.  Something I had always been curious about was the sushi burrito.  Now, obviously, every sushi vendor makes their sushi different, but the idea of a sushi burrito to me was mind blowing.  I figured, where better to search and find such a unique food than in NYC!?  So I searched, and found raving reviews on Uma Temakaria.

I ordered a spicy tuna handroll and an Uma-ritto.

Impression: this was not what I was thinking.  It was surely not as epic as I had hoped…not nearly as epic, in fact. Nothing ground breaking here, folks.  Just a large un-sliced sushi roll.

It tasted good, so they won on that.  The flavors were great, the rice and all the fillings stayed in tact, and their spicy mayo sauce was awesome.  Would I go back?  Probably not.  I guess it was worth the experience…one huge sushi burrito [which encompasses both halves seen above] was only $10.  I would undoubtedly list this under “Hit it & Quit it”.

After our 1.5 mile trek from the hotel to Uma, we decided to meander into Chelsea Market before heading back into Midtown.  Immediately upon stepping foot back into this dream of a market, we completely regretted dining at Uma’s.  Not because Uma’s was bad by any means, but the variety and appeal of all the small local vendors at Chelsea Market were so captivating.  We wished we had an appetite for more, but we were so completely overwhelmingly stuffed from all that sushi…

That is, until we stumbled upon this Nutella Crepe vendor.

YAAAASSSSSS.  The taste of vacationing in Europe, wrapped into a perfectly made crepe.  A wonderful end to our journey in Chelsea.

Moral of the story is, Uma was ok.  The sushi burrito wasn’t all it was cracked up to be (at that location, that is)….and Chelsea Market still is, and will forever be, the shit.  Save whatever hankerings you have, your wandering eyes, your thirst and temptation for everything else in the area….save it all for the market.  You won’t regret it.