New York: Japanese Restaurants — The Hungry Turban

My favorite cuisine in my home city…trust me on this one.

Village Yokocho ($$)

Kaisendon with some heavy-hitters: sake (salmon), ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin), and kani (crab)

Reasons to go to Village Yokocho: you’re going to Japan and need an intro lesson on all things Japanese cuisine, you’re waiting for a drink at speakeasy Angel’s Share which is hidden inside the restaurant, or you want to ball out on a budget and pound some drinks at New York’s top izakaya. Either way, you’re in luck, cause this restaurant is quite the experience. Village Yokocho literally has everything: yakitori, gyoza, okonomiyaki, yaki udon, soba, sashimi, onigiri, mochi, and more hot and cold appetizers than you can imagine. For those of you that have no idea what any of those dishes are, in English they read: really, freaking, delicious, food. Jokes, but actually check this place out. If you want recommendations on what to order there, feel free to reach out, I can talk about Village Yokocho for days. Also get there before 7 to take advantage of their happy hour. Did someone say discounted pitchers of Sapporo & Asahi??

Maison Yaki ($$)

What do you do when you find a restaurant in New York City where everything on the menu is less than $10. You hop on the train, transfer, transfer again if you need to, until you’ve reached Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, outside the beautiful Maison Yaki. Chef Greg Baxtrom opened this French-Japanese yakitori eatery after people couldn’t get enough of his first restaurant, Olmsted, which is right across the street. I want to re-emphasize, everything here is less than $10, including the cocktails. If you’re anything like me, and get off on trying a bite of 21 different things throughout the course of a dinner, this is for you. These skewers cover all your bases: chicken, vegetables, seafood, duck, beef, each grilled and brushed with a different Japanese or French sauce. Arrive saying bonjour, depart with an arigato gozaimasu, and enjoy a phenomenal meal in between.

Kazunori ($$)

A salmon handroll, ready for a light dip in soy-sauce

You’ve heard it from Mr. Krabs, and then probably a pushy boss of yours: “Time is money.” If it weren’t, I’d be at Kazunori once a week, devouring 6 handrolls, stuffed with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, scallops, crab, and lobster. Each, not all of those fish together, although what a handroll that would be too. All for $33, and that includes hospitality. Unfortunately, the prerequisite to those handrolls is what can range from a 30-90 minute line, and sometimes you just can’t do it. If you ever find yourself walking by this NoMad temaki bar and the line isn’t curling around like a fruit roll-up, put your name down, hungry or not, and enjoy the simplicity that is seaweed, fish, and rice.

Dokodemo ($)

A casual counter-service East Village restaurant that’ll bring you back to Osaka! Street food galore (okay, not really galore, their menu is pretty limited), but okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancakes), yakisoba (grilled noodles), takoyaki (fried octopus balls), and different variations of rice. That’s it. Everything here is around $10, and it’s a nice Japanese alternative if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous than ramen or sushi.

Sushi Noz ($$$$)

Rarely do I end up in the Upper East Side for food. The 86th St. Shake Shack used to be the spot, before 20 others opened up all around the city. Sushi Noz is the exception. You kinda have to love it, otherwise, you’ll resent yourself for dropping $300 on “fish and rice.” But from the moment you walk into this Michelin-starred sushi-ya, you’ll realize how minimalistic and perfect the decor around you is, from the sushi bar, to the knives, and everything in between. This isn’t just a dinner, it’s a show - think Medieval Times. In both cases, you’re eating with your hands and watching swords (knives) twirl around with force, yet grace. One will just cost you 5x more. The experience culminates with the now insta-famous pose of Chef Noz holding out a stone platter with assorted sashimi that he had spent the last few minutes slicing. You’ll wish the 7 other people in the Hinoki Room would magically disappear, so you can spend all the quality time you need with the different cuts of tuna, squid, mackerel, scallop, and whatever else Chef had imported from Japan earlier that day. If you love sushi and have reason to celebrate, Sushi Noz is the place to go.

Raku ($)

Craving a comforting noodle soup but don’t want something as heavy as ramen? Well you should be seeking out udon, and Raku is your one-stop-shop. With over 20 different types of udon, it’s easy to get overwhelmed looking at your menu, until you remember all of them are delicious. I most recently tried the chikara - chicken, scallions, and mochi, just so I could try a savory approach to mochi. If you’re a fan of the mochi texture, this bowl is for you. If not, the gyunan with washugyu beef is just as good. From their interior design (pre-Covid obviously) to their appetizers, everything about Raku feels authentically Japanese so go check it out!

Shabu Shabu Macaron ($$$)

The main course! Thin slices of meat, each that need not more than a few seconds in the boiling water

In case you’re not familiar with shabu-shabu, it’s a Japanese hot pot dish where you dunk thin slices of meat and vegetables into boiling water and then dip them into different sauces. What differentiates Shabu Shabu Macaron from the rest of the shabu-shabu restaurants out there is that it’s the “only shabu-shabu omakase restaurant in the world,” meaning 1. it’s a fixed menu, filled with different cuts of wagyu beef, mushrooms, mochi dumplings, and so on, and 2. you don’t do the dipping yourself, Chef Mako does it for you. My meal here was delicious, but at $128, I can’t say I care about either of those two aspects of this meal enough to pay a 3x premium. However, if you’re looking for a rather unique yet simple meal and don’t want to lift a finger, this one’s for you.

NoNoNo ($$)

If you’re in the mood for different meats and vegetables on a skewer, hit this casual yakitori hub in NoMad, especially if you love chicken. They literally serve 17 different parts of the chicken. This includes neck meat to the tail to the skin, to some organs I’ll avoid mentioning for the less adventurous. They also serve some great small plates, which include scallop uni carpaccio, grilled squid with a lemon butter sauce that is oh so rich, and a soft shell crab roll that is pretty, pretty, pretty good. Along with all that, you can get your Japanese classics here, like ramen, oden, udon, and kaarage. And a yuzu sorbet that is to die for (if you’re a yuzu freak like I am).

Zuma ($$$)

green tea banana cake with coconut ice cream

Zuma is not a restaurant I frequent. But if you’re deciding between one of the “trendy” Asian, high-ceiling restaurants in the city to celebrate a special occasion or impress some guests from out of town, go to Zuma. You know the ones I’m talking about: the Taos, Buddakans, Nobus of the world. Restaurants you can find in NYC, Miami, and Vegas. But unlike the rest of them where you’re really just paying for the name, at Zuma, that’s only partly true, cause the food is actually pretty good, as is the hospitality. Just be prepared to be surrounded by a bunch of businessmen swiping their corporate cards. And make sure you save room for dessert! I’ll soon make a trip just for this green tea banana cake, and embody my inner Joey.