raji

Hmmm... isn't that like saying i don't want BBQ in NC because I can get it here in NYC? While you may find singular examples of very exotic cuisines NYC, they may not be as outstanding as more specialized and better executed restaurants that fall into categories you already have in Missouri. I guarantee that NYC would offer a whole other dimension to those 3 ethnicities that you mentioned. Japanese alone, thanks to a huge population of nationals, supply and demand, will have styles and ingredients that you would be very hard pressed to find elsewhere outside of Japan. Here's a perfect example - NYC can support enough Japanese dining that one restaurant is devoted to pig's feet. Everything on the menu; pig's feet.. http://www.tontonnyc.com/ That in mind, most of the Japanese restaurants I listed for you have menus that would seem like something entirely new (might as well be a new country) to a Japanese food-eater from almost anywhere else... OK - How about Ethiopean at Queen of Sheba (best without going uptown) or Moroccan at Tagine Definitely read Sietsema's reviews on villagevoice.com, although he tends to focus on the outer boroughs - Eastern Europe... go to greenpoint... I've found it very hard to find SOUTH Indian vegetarian elsewhere - if you've never had dosai, iddli, bhel, upma, uttapam, .. if you've never heard of these, definitely go to Saravanaas or Madras Mahal - i'm biased but its honestly the only vegetarian cuisine I've ever eaten that is completely fulfilling -

Well someone out there is reading... Setagaya now offers gyouza for $4.50, set with a ramen $12

Yeah, my bad, the Grand Sichuan is on the corner of 24th on 9th between 24th and 25th I thought Red Hook was better for central and south american? And yes, Queens would definitely yield great Mexican; Sietsema did a tour down Roosevelt finding the best Taquerias alone - But, unless they're hardcore foodies, it's hard enough to coerce people who live here to make it out to Jackson Heights let alone P.I.T.A. Red Hook.. so I didn't think that someone here for a week wanted leave the confines of Manhattan...

They happen to be down the street from Pacha... 10 years ago that's where you'd go to dump a body - check out "Party Monster"!

Bruni just no-starred it "satisfactory" and Alan Richman liked their cold dishes, not their warm ones, but also puts forth a mostly negative review. Based on those reviews and this thread, while some dishes seem to fail on execution, I tend to believe that Wakiya will have a terribly difficult time succeeding in NYC. Perhaps if it was the early 90s when Japanese investors were buying Rockefeller Center and the NYC metro area bursting with "chuzai kaigai" and "tanshin fuunin", Japanese salarymen on 8-year rotation, with or without their families in tow, but that environment is long a thing of the past. While I have yet to see the word used in any of it's reviews and/or marketing, what Wakiya is serving is known in Japan as "wafu-chuuka", which is Chinese food as interpreted by Japanese chef's and their ingredients. There's not a lot of that happening at the high-priced gourmet end and that might explain their avoidance of that term. For me, Wafu-chuuka is the most divisive of Japanese cuisines, because it very much puts the spotlight on the fundamental difference between the Western and Japanese palettes. Whereas Chinese cooking tends to become more fried, oily, heavy, sweet, sticky and battery as they unfortunately "tailor" it to American tastes, wafu-chuuka's goal is to take some of the most treasured Chinese dishes and move them in the opposite direction, towards fresher and lighter ingredients, spicing, oiling, and saucing. Indeed, as I would be invited out for wafu-chuuka while living in Japan, it would only leave me craving the Cantonese cooking I had in HK and NYC. I felt like I had just eaten off the diet menu. Which may explain it's lack of a market, really, at this point. If the "Japanese influence" only seems to be a sky-high price and tiny portions, then the wrong angle of wafu-chuuka is being showcased. If I were running Wakiya I would re-open with a menu that focused on spectacular, unique ingredients and flawless execution, while offering several signature dishes that the restaurant can really define itself by.

I think the other posts have the others well covered... -Pastry shops - you might want to stop by Veneiro's on 12th in the east village for some canoli, and Little Pie Company's Sour Cream Apple Pie is definitely worth any transit -Bagel Bakery - I'm actually no longer fond of the H&H factory at 45th, they also price-gouge at $1 a bagel, if a bagelry you want, go to one of the hyphenated places i.e. ess-a-bagel, pick-a-bagel, they're all good -Cheese shop (fromagerie) - dine at Artistanal, I think they also do classes or something -Sub sandwiches (is that what they are called in NY?) - For a well-dressed hero, you can do really well with Garden of Eden's sandwiches.. Champignon in Chelsea also has really good ones, as well as Salumeria Belliese for Italian deli - but I think you want quintessential NY Deli, which is of the Jewish variety and you'll have at Katz's or Carnegie Deli -Any good ethnic food that I probably can't find in Missouri (i.e., not anything common like Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, etc.) Unless you have a specific ethnic enclave where you are coming from, i think you will find the ethnic food in NYC much more authentic, specialized and regionalized than anything you'll find in the midwest. NY is surprisingly poor for Mexican, but you'd do best in Hell's Kitchen (aka Clinton, Midtown West) where you'll find 2 authentic eateries next to eachother, Tehuitzingo and Tulcingo del Valle, as well as newly opened Toloache Chinese - a visit to Grand Sichuan International @ 25th would be well worth it, as well as dimsum at Golden Unicorn and/or Dim Suma-go-go, the former a Hong Kong-like experience that you should try at least once NY's Japanese is another level above what you'll find anywhere else in the US, and that includes Boston, LA, SF, and other jp enclaves... If I had 2 weeks, I would visit the following for a good tour through Japanese cuisine, which is much wider than any European cuisine - Yakitori Totto/Torys, Aburiya Kinnosuke, Katsuhama, Ramenya Setagaya, Soba/Udon @ Sobaya, Yakiniku @ Gyu-kaku, Okonomiyaki/Takoyaki @ Otafuku, Okinawan @ Uminoiie/Suibi, Nobu Next Door, Early bird prix fixe dinner @ Chanto, Sushi @ Esashi/Kanoyama (you asked nothing upscale) -Restaurant of any type that is a very good value for the quality of food. - Yikes, that's a pandora's box. Google "Village Voice Sietsema" -Butcher where I can find prime dry-aged steaks.- I think Luger's sells it's steaks boom - http://www.peterluger.com/ourmeats.cfm

I assume you're saying that Kurumazushi is top 3, Gari is top 20, and Jewel Bako top 40? So, you're saying there are 19 places better than Gari? I don't think so.I can't agree or disagree about Jewel Bako, as I've not tried it, but as noted above, Michelin doesn't claim that every restaurant with one star is equivalent in the absolute sense. ← well..."Gari is top 20" could just mean "there are 10 places better than Gari" (though I agree that a more accurate statement is probably "Gari is top 10 and JB top 20") ← Yeah, I was being intentionally nebulous, but you're both right, Gari deserves better and top 10 and top 20 is probably a more accurate statement... so, my bad. But if the 2008 guide includes openings of 2007, then Gari is probably pretty close to #10 and JB #20. That said, I doubt the Michelin reviewers actually visited numbers 1 through 20, and they seemed to have focused in on a few of the more popular places and the selection of those 3 sill seems completely arbitrary.

Well now we're splitting hairs, aren't we.... ? Apples and Oranges is Momofuku vs. Setagaya.. within the authentic Japanese category, though, you are right, and most Japanese towns worth their salt would have both a tonkotsu and seafood ramenya within walking distance of the train station. And if I didn't say it before; even in Japan I would pass over Setagaya ramen, even though it's a perfectly competent ramen, for a style I liked better. That said, I think we're a dozen ramen shops away from being able to have that luxury, and I'd still rather have a really good seafood-based ramen vs. a bad tonkotsu ramen... I just think Setagaya's is underwhelming, especially when held against the exotic ingredients claimed by their menus and marketing...

... but 3 years into it... The 3 sushi bars they list are a top 3, a top 20, and a top 40 sushi bar, and their selections seem completely arbitrary to me, from a food perspective. I'd say Jewel Bako was there because it had more elegant, western-style service, but there's Kurumazushi staring me in the face, which from my recollection, employs traditionally sparse service (sushi bars use very few people FOH but I still think Japanese restaurants offer some of the best an attentive service of all)

What EMP lacks in novelty vs. living in France, despite it's excellence, I'd argue it might make up in it's room and setting overlooking Madison Park - it just gets a lot of nice natural light and adds to the experience. But I guess you wouldn't get that at dinner... What about Gotham Bar & Grill vs. GT and USC?

2nd to last

I haven't been there in a year, but when I went to Tintol: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...84564&hl=Tintol http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/4186..._ny/tintol.html They had just opened and it was all very good, and the assortment of Portugese wines was a refreshing and successful change of pace. I suggest trying it out and reporting back! It's towards the southern end of Times Square, just east off the square.

Jackson Heights Curry Crawl Please update this map when you go out there! I put this together for friends, but it also helps me keep my own head on straight....

Oh I doubt they even take reservations. First-come first-serve, Japan-style. When you see the place, you'll understand why too.. Up front is a sushi takeout, then through a cloth door, a looong dining bar, and in the back a dining room, separate by an awkward staircase. The decor is pretty much no-frills.

I appreciate Peter Luger's as much for it's steaks as for it's flaws.... maybe someone can offer a better analogy, but it's like a fine piece of leather, it's flaws are visible and part of it's makeup.. I don't know to call them "flaws" anyway, but certainly, it's "unique" environment and service. It's no-nonsense in a way that screams; you're not paying for a fancy building or room or address... we're in Brooklyn. You're not paying for hot waitresses. Nor a fancy dessert tray or an entire reservations staff. What you're paying for is simply the best steak in New York.. and that's the food-forward attitude that should be appreciated on a board for foodies! Which is pretty much what LPS is saying. It's a slice of old New York which, if you haven't noticed, is very quickly dying out and being replaced by sanitized and/or too-cool-for-school, for better or for worse. I actually miss that "edge" about NYC the last 10 years. And it was always good for a laugh. It's the same attitude you'd find down 9th Avenue's markets (those too are dropping like flies)... I remember the first time I went to Central Fish, Louis, the son of the owner, when I asked what was fresh, started relating the different fish to female anatomy. Priceless. A better question might be - if PL's hired all 30something sharp and dandy waitrons, debuted a brand-new renovation, and played lounge music, would it be for the better or worse? I think we all know the answer to that...

I don't think lard or oil would be a complaint over here - I think you'll find Japanese with a much lower tolerance, and Westerners with a much higher tolerance, for the amount of fat, be it as oil, lard, butter, etc., in their food.. I know a richer vs. a "thinner" curry, but I didn't know it was lard. Certainly Indians are guilty of loading some curries with ghee and cream... Definitely true that in Japan, a lot of the chains have upped the fat content to garner more customers, which is why I've had the best katsu curries at small neighborhood shops that concentrate on a vegetable and spice blends. How do you like Go Go Curry? They opened one in Chelsea here. My favorite in Japan was Cocoichibanya, if that's the one from Nagoya. Anyway, the katsu curry I had at Katsuhama was quite good - it wasn't some S&B Curry block curry but their own blend, and the katsu there is very good as I've been discussing.

I'm there every few months. I mourn the loss of the chicken sashimi but very little drop in quality since their early days.

I third Nathan's second Esca is a bit of a haul - 53rd and 6th to 43rd and 9th.... but if willing to go over there, I still think an excellent meal can be had at Marseilles - most notably for their extensive and exemplary wine list, most put together by a friend of mine from Westchester who went on to open Mas.

You're not going to hear an argument from me - as at least part Indian, I used to really despise Japanese curry. It came to Japan via the British from India, and in the process lost it's layers of spice and flavor and became sweet. Living there, it eventually grew on me, but only as "KARE" and not "CURRY", I would just have to insist it is NOT curry. But Katsuhama's is good and Japanese curry can be pretty good, for what it is. As for the crispy in wet - think of it like a ramen that you want to consume in 5 minutes, lest the noodles fatten up - if you eat it quickly, you'll still get the crispiness...

Yeah good to see this - they'd waste a ton of cardboard packed with air. I personally believe local is a LOT better than the whole organic thing, which is a giant BS fraud.

Oh yeah, and while I pride myself on my Japanese, hopefully you'd understand the error, there were only 3 of us, one of them my mom, sharing "3 large-ish pitchers of draft Sapporo and a 500ml carafe of Iichiko shochu", so the drinking was prodigious and I got mixed up...

Thanks for the clarification on rosukatsu and hirekatsu. My bad. Maybe saying "it doesn't get all THAT much better" in Japan is not strong enough, because I agree with you, the ceiling is much higher in Japan. At the same time, this is the New York forum, and I want people to know that this is the best of it's breed they are likely to get in the tri-state area. That, and my waxing nostalgic about how good the food is in Japan gets real old here; if the members here aren't going to Japan, there's kind of no point to going there, but you just don't get excited about eating Japanese food if you think it merely pales in comparison to anything in the homeland.

While it has come up a number of times in this forum, Katsuhama on 47th between 5th and Madison up to this point did not have a dedicated thread. I feel it's definitely worth mentioning as a a very good, affordable, niche Japanese restaurant, that does not rest on it's culinary laurels because it is the ONLY restaurant of it's kind in the city. NYC is unique and gifted in that it can sustain a large number of Japanese niche restaurants - a sushi bar, a shabu-shabu place, a soba-ya, a ramen-ya, which is indeed how it is back in Japan. More commonly, across America, and in New York, across all price ranges, you will find generalist Japanese restaurants where you can order everything from sushi to sukiyaki to noodle dishes, which often makes them jacks-of-all-trades and masters of none. Katsuhama is first and foremost a katsu (meaning deep-fried) restaurant. In Japan you will find chicken, pork, shrimp katsu, variations on those, and then they often double as curry shops where you can get curry alone or most popularly a friend chicken or pork cutlet, pickles, and curry over a generous heap of white rice. It is owned by the group responsible for Onagashima and Menchanko-tei, and has been around for quite some time, although I can't tell you how long. You'll find a small dining room in the back after passing a long takeout sushi display and then an even longer bar for dining; they sustain a large throng of lunching Japanese salarymen. The dish to order at Katsuhama is tonkatsu, which, once you've had a good one, is something you will have to return again and again for. My favorite is their rosukatsu (tenderloin), but you can also find berkshire pork, minced meat, all sorts of tonkatsu, chicken, shrimp katsu. Theirs succeeds for a number of reasons - they blend their oils daily and whatever blend their using imparts perfect flavor on their katsu, and their technique is very refined. Your cutlet will not have shrunk in a thick panko crust; rather it's very expertly fused to the meat, tender, and the entire slice of katsu is perfectly crispy to soft through-and-through as it should be. They blend their own Tonkatsu sauce, another plus, as well as dressing for the mounds of cabbage, and their rice is damn good too. And there you have all the elements of a proper tonkatsu. In Japan, it doesn't get all THAT much better than theirs; but usually they can succeed on much higher quality cuts of the finest Japanese pork, and variations on the tonkatsu sauce and/or the a mortar and pestle to pulverize your own toasted sesame seeds for the sauce. While the entire group of restaurants is not known for using greenmarket-quality ingredients, what you will find is a very authentic and fresh renditions of all of their dishes. Last night, three of us split - 3 courses of Kushiage - deepfried skewers of shrimp and shiso, salmon, whitefish, yam and other vegatables. Hijiki Snow crab Salad Maguro Yukke Daikon oroshi rosukatsu and another tonkatsu with curry plus 3 large-ish pitchers of draft Sapporo and a 500ml carafe of Iichiko shochu Fat, drunk, and happy - there is a singular word for this in Japanese, "manzoku", and this is how we left for a mere $120 plus tip.

More from my friend... "[ichimura] was great. Very simple, all about the texture and flavor of the fish, not the sauce like at Seki. $300 for the 2 of us and we ate well..."

One of their waitresses insisted I go there a couple of years ago, but knowing the palette of a 20-year old Japanese lady, I skipped the chance... She insisted that their omakase course was one of the best in Manhattan. Indeed, some notable customers like Hideki Matsui agree. A trust-worthy (as far as sushi goes) tried it out last night and proclaimed it "up there with the best and reasonable. Best mackeral he's ever had". It's definitely back on my radar, I'm wondering has anyone been since and can shed a little light? I'm still mourning the loss of Ushiwaka Maru but would love to find a suitable replacement...