(Un)Lucky Mojos? Tex-Mex and er… Chinese?
Ok so on 51st Ave btwn Vernon & 5th st, there’s what I like to call “The Cursed BBQ Place”. It’s no longer a BBQ place, and every restaurant I’ve seen in that spot has failed miserably (including the BBQ place). I will say I was not sad to see the neon lights of Smokey’s BBQ go dim… and was actually excited at the prospect of a new restaurant that’s not BBQ pop up in its place. As we all were. Hunters Point needs all the restaurants it can get until that glorious day when we get a full-fledged grocery store.
Turns out the new restaurant, Lucky Mojos is sort of a BBQ place in disguise: Tex-Mex and Sushi. Yeah, sounds like a strange combo, and from the word on the street (the ACTUAL street), the union is not necessarily a marriage made in heaven. Lucky Mojos, I truly had high hopes for you…but that damn curse is a force to be reckoned with. (Aren’t they all?) Smokey’s BBQ brought a carnivorous, drunken crew to the hood, but Lucky’s touts itself as a family oriented place - which is GREAT. I’ll give them that much. 1 point for LM.
But that’s all they get. I walked by the new digs last week and came upon the wait-crew waiting to get in the building. Upon inquiring about the new restaurant, I was told it was Tex-Mex and Sushi (as already noted). After seeing the surprise on my face, the waitress informed me that chefs from Nobu prepared the Sushi, and that Tex-Mex and Chinese food was not as weird a combination as one might think. Hmm… Tex-Mex and Chinese huh? Chefs from Nobu huh?
Enuf said.
Actually, wait. There’s more. A friendly neighbor on the street dined in the sushi section of the restaurant and reported back. The verdict? They got sick. Lucky Mojos, I really wish you well - but I gotta tell it like it is. Maybe you need to educate the wait-staff a bit more, and RE-educate the Nobu (really?) chefs on safe preparation of raw fish.
I have yet to eat there, and I was going to brave the curse and give the new combo of Tex-Mex and (ahem) Japanese a shot… but I’m thinking twice until I hear a better word on the street. Maybe I should ask one of the kids. Maybe they should just stick to Tex-Mex. Maybe they should take down the old Smokey’s BBQ sign. Maybe it’ll get rid of the curse.
If anyone else eats there, please hit us up with the scoop.
Intersting, I really enjoyed Lucky Mojos, had a great experience there and will be back. I even wrote about them on my blog.. http://www.realityimpaired.net
To be fair, I ate the sushi there and was not sick.
As a blogger and of one restaurants I really feel you have to check out Lucky Mojos and then revisit your review.
I don’t know how long you’ve been in LIC, but I’ve lived here my whole life, and before it was Smokeys BBQ, it was a pretty prosperous hole in the wall BBQ place (my sister used to work there when she was in high schoollate ’80’s) that was always written up in NewYork magazine as the best barbeque in NYC.
Too bad it went away. Smokey’s was terrible. I think I saw a few incarnations of Smokey’s coming and going. Mostly going.
And in response to the second comment, I will go and eat there. I’m not so sure about the sushi, but Tex-Mex is pretty safe.
I’ve eaten at Lucky Mojos several times. The BBQ is pretty good (Fried chicken pulled pork and brisket were quite good). However the sushi was mediocre at best. I ordered 10 pieces of ala carte sushi to go. They did not have Toro (fatty tuna) or Uni (sea urchin) which is fine, but when I asked for them to add two pieces of whatever the chef recommended, I was looked at as if I had two heads. I selected two other pieces myself. When I returned home with my order, I noticed they had included ***ONE*** packet of soy sauce. (not quite enough for ten pieces). Aside from that the quality was poor across the board (far from fresh…although not quite “make you sick” bad). Many years ago I decided to only patronize a few sushi joints that I thought were particularly good. What’s the point of eating “average” raw fish. I don’t know in what capacity the chefs worked at Nobu, but I doubt it was preparing Sushi/Sashimi. Lucky Mojos falls into the category of Sushi restaurants that I would definitely take a pass on.
I love Lucky mojos… i have sushi there at least 3 times a week, its really good sushi… all my friends from the east coast buildings, city lights and around the block love the place, we go there a lot.
so… go eat there… you wont regret it. its absolutely amazing-
My sweetie and I went there a couple of weeks after it opened … we were not impressed. They gave her a Gardenburger instead of a turkeyburger, and my sandwich was blandly adequate. We aren’t planning to go back.
ive had awesome sushi there, dont understand the negativity of a few
Chinese food does not consist of sushi, it’s Japanese by origin. If you can’t understand the difference between what’s Chinese versus Japanese, how would one possibly understand what’s good or bad sushi? Secondly, Lucky Mojo’s is NOT a TEX MEX place. It’s Cajun/Louisana style BBQ, last I checked Texas and Louisana are two very different states with very different styles of BBQ. I wouldn’t take the author’s review too seriously they obviously don’t understand food.
Fried chicken…is seriously the real deal 25 min wait for them to cook fresh, it’s light and crispy outside that offers that all too familar TV commercial crunch with a beautifully cooked moist and tender insides. Worth the wait, best fried chicken since moving to the NY. Only other thing noteworthy was their Ribs, fall of the bone, smokey deliciousness. Yes SMOKED…for hours! The collard greens, finally it’s not a disguisting congealed mixed of unknown blend of vegetables, consistency is right (tender not mushy), extra peppers adds a kick, but it’s missing the ham hocks!
If you’ve been to RUB in Chelsea, you haven’t had real BBQ try Lucky Mojos. Not as good as home, but it’s as good as it gets.
Lucky Mojo’s is great. Have tried many items on the menu and enjoyed them all.
I’ve never been more disappointed in a meal. Five ribs for $16.95, which are dry and cold, hardly hits the spot in my mind. The cheese on our burger was welded onto the burger which was also over cooked and dry. I have to say, my first time experience was horrible and I will never eat there again. I’ve never seen such a poor display of food in my life.
I’ve had very good sushi three times over the past few weeks…and thought I’d try the ribs last night. Didn’t love them. Kind of dry. The cole slaw was swimming in watery mayo and the red beans and rice was also dry. The waitstaff remains friendly and upbeat…