Mama Yoshi Mini Mart
Restaurant · Ridgewood
17-11 Grove St, Queens, NY 11385
Highlights
Giant chicken katsu sandwiches, fresh onigiri, Spam grilled cheese
Giant chicken katsu sandwiches, fresh onigiri, Spam grilled cheese
"What started as a pop-up has since blossomed into a counter-service restaurant serving Japanese American food in Ridgewood. Mama Yoshi Mini Mart has a few stools if you want to dine in, but the restaurant was built for takeout service, with both handheld katsu chicken or cauliflower sandwiches and a variety of konbini-style snacks to take home. The restaurant offers pick-up and local delivery." - Eater Staff
"The many specialty grocery stores of Ridgewood range from Ukrainian to halal. Mama Yoshi Mini Mart, a Japanese-inspired konbini, is a newer entry in the field, and it makes an incredible fried chicken katsu sandwich. Get the spicy version, which comes with an enormous cutlet that crunches and burns as it goes down. They also do a version with cauliflower, in addition to a few different bowls and a Spam grilled cheese on charred milk bread. On your way out, pick up some Pocky and a tub of mac salad." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman
"Mama Yoshi Mini Mart serves up playful fast food out of a corner storefront in Ridgewood, that emulates the feeling of a Japanese 7-Eleven. The move here is the made-to-order spicy chicken katsu sandwich served on a potato bun (there’s a vegetarian version with cauliflower), but for those days when you have to run to a meeting, they also have a premade selection of hot items, including rice bowls and breakfast burritos. Don’t sleep on their selection of housemade onigiri in the fridge, for latter. Note: there are just a couple of stools for seating, so it’s a better experience as a solo diner." - Eater Staff
"What started as a pop-up has grown into a permanent counter-service operation with cauliflower and katsu sandwiches (some of the biggest cutlets around town) and Spam grilled cheeses. Mama Yoshi Mini Mart also doubles as a convenience store selling drinks, Japanese snacks, and pantry staples." - Eater Staff
"If you’re looking for the best ratio of katsu size to restaurant square footage, go to Mama Yoshi Mini Mart. The Ridgewood konbini is the size of a shipping container, and serves chicken katsu the exact dimensions of a barbecue paper plate. The little shop also does a few other Japanese American dishes really well, like a spam grilled cheese, cauliflower katsu, and a more reasonably sized katsu curry bowl." - will hartman, neha talreja, bryan kim, willa moore
