Mama Yoshi Mini Mart

"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

"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

"When it comes to fried chicken, more surface area means more crunch. And no fried chicken sandwich has more surface area than the katsu-style one at Mama Yoshi Mini Mart. The chicken is about twice as wide as the potato bun it comes on, so it spills out the sides, like the white of a fried egg. Bring some Tums, and get the spicy version that burns while it goes down. This konbini-style Ridgewood takeout spot also does a great cauliflower katsu sandwich, in addition to katsu bowls, in case you’d like to swap your bread for rice." - Carlo Mantuano, Kenny Yang, Neha Talreja, Bryan Kim