The Archives
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East Village, Restaurants
Dinner & a Show at Robataya – NYC
05.08.13 | Permalink | 2 Comments
Dinner at Robataya, a restaurant in the East Village specializing in robatayaki (a method of cooking food over hot coals in front of customers), often means a meal and a show. All the ingredients are on display before you, and upon placing your order, the robata chefs grab the ingredients (at times comically crawling on their hands and knees on the counter), grills up the food, and then presents it to you from behind the cornucopia of proteins and vegetables atop a paddle resembling a pizza peel. It’s immense fun, and highly recommendable if dining out with out-of-town guests (as long as they aren’t from Japan), but is the food on par with the entertainment value? MORE »
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Downtown, Restaurants
Broth Variety at Ganso – NYC
I love thick, creamy tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen broth, but sometimes you want to spread your love to the rest of the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, in New York, this is a pork-dominated town. Chicken ramen can be found in a few Japanese restaurants, but beef? It’s pretty rare. However, not so at Ganso. At this oddly-situated ramen joint not too far from a Jimmy Jazz, the NYC Food Stamp Office, and Papa John’s, chicken, beef, and even vegetarian broth can all be found under one roof. MORE »
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Flatiron, Restaurants
Dinner at Ootoya but Sadly No Pork Belly – NYC
12.07.12 | Permalink | 2 Comments
The first Ootoya, a chain from Tokyo specializing in Japanese comfort food, opened in Flatiron early this summer. I went for the first time this weekend, and it was a slight disappointment. The problem? Because of Hurricane Sandy, Ootoya hasn’t been able to get their shipment of “Ootoya pork belly” from Japan. (Many items at Ootoya are sourced from their own factory and farms.) I’d had my hopes set on Buta Cinnamon, grilled pork belly with cinnamon and sugar, but it wasn’t meant to be. DAMN YOU SANDY! But in any case, I made do… MORE »
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Edgewater, Food Courts
Ramen at Santouka – Edgewater
07.12.12 | Permalink | 5 Comments
Years ago, when I used to go to Mitsuwa before they renovated, the ramen wasn’t very good. It was decent enough to stave off hunger before diving into the Japaense snack aisle, and later perusing the extensive sake section, but nothing comparable to Ippudo in Manhattan. In recent years, however, things have changed across the river. The ramen at Santouka, the ramen stall in the food court at Mitsuwa, is actually good, excellent even, and I’d say rivaling some of the better ramen shops in New York City. MORE »
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East Village, Fast Food, Small Shops
I Heart Japadog – NYC
01.12.12 | Permalink | 5 Comments
Japadog, the wildly popular Japanese-style hot dog chain from Canada finally opened a location in New York last week, and I have to say I’m hooked. In the past week, I’ve been twice already. A lot of people find the toppings weird, but I don’t get it. We’re not talking jellied moose nose or maggot cheese here, just good ol’ Japanese toppings like miso, nori, and mayonnaise. Pretty benign stuff that’s also freakin’ tasty. MORE »
