raji

I consider Wakiya "wafuuchuuka" because it's Chinese food prepared by a Japanese chef so I would expect a certain amount of Japanese sensibility and lighter palette flavors, and better ingredients for that matter, applied to traditional Chinese dishes. I see a lot of similarities in the menus between Wakiya and my favorite (not just becauase it's the only one) wafuuchuuka restaurant, Saburi... I'd advise you guys to go do a chef's selection at Saburi - it won't break the wallet and according to your reviews might be as good as Wakiya at 1/4 the price... www.saburiny.com

Nathan's right, most "Vegetarian" restaurants in NY suck, the exception being South Indian Vegetarian - Along those lines, I second the Devi recommendation - the meat-eaters will love the tandoor and curries, the breads are outstanding, and the vegetarian will have the best of biryani, pilaf, okra, masala, etc. etc. For something different, may I suggest the restaurant "Aburiya Kinnosuke". You could do a private room or tatami room and the sake, shochu and cocktails available are wonderful. It is Japanese, so while there is great seafood, sashimi, chicken and beef, there are also a fair number of vegetarian items, from rice dishes with grated yam, to noodles, to vegetables to grill at the table, etc. etc., it's very interactive and a lot of fun - just make sure to tell them who the vegetarian is so nothing is ordered that has fish broth etc.

OK I may have eaten every kind of ramen you could while living in Japan; I'd still put up the big bat signal for Hiroyuki or other Japanese nationals who grew up with it... But IMHO.... I think greasiness for greasiness sake is a big no-no but happens all too often. The reason I love tonkotsuramen and other meat-brothed ramens vs shiyo, miso, shio ramen is because while they can be greasy, it is all incredibly great flavor in there, similar to a great Pho or Soluntang... I think the tsukeman was probably greasier simply because it is more concentrated and more along the lines of a dipping sauce vs. the amount of broth you get with a regular ramen

I'm glad you were finally able to get to Shimizu. ← Been back several times, love it.

Wow. WOW. I've had Magnolia cupcakes. At an office I worked at, they'd have cupcakes instead of bday cakes. We'd cut them in half the way you'd cut a stick of butter in half before eating them whole. I certainly don't think they were bad, I mean I'm sure they're good in moderation, but too much would be undesirable, just like hard drugs. But I seriously doubt they tasted like vomit. I think what we're seeing here is a serious reverse-hype/backlash response. As much as I hate the idolization despite the fact that there's better cupcakes to be had in the city unless you're a buttercreme addict, before AND after Lazy Sundays, that doesn't restrict my ability to enjoy the stupid cupcake if some jerkoff wants to go wait on line for me. blech

Big Apple Meat is open on Sundays....

Come on, Raji, spill it, We're not nOObs! ← Truth be told, I don't go out for sushi anywhere as often as I should... but it's more like going out for a steak for me, as with most Japanese. I'm in Japan twice a year and I eat it voraciously over there for obvious reasons. WHEN I do go out, my haunts are Shimizu in Midtown West, Esashi in the East Village, Seki on the UES, Yasuda, Sushiden, or Hatsuhana in Midtown East, and a big ups to Ushiwakamaru west of EV. Any of those are good for a stellar $20ish sushi lunch, a laidback sushi, sashimi and kitchen order table dinner, and when the budget allows, the full-on omakase blowout. On the odd occasion of a lukewarm date, a decent tempura order will preceded said omakase so I don't feel completely prostituted. There you go. That's the list. Follow it!!! ← Looks good. Thanks for sharing it! ← Anytime. Or as they say in Japanese. MAIDO MAIDO!

What's a non-alcoholic drinker? If you're living on Wall STreet, yes,, mostly deliveries, because it's still kind of desolate down there... For a taste of old New York, I would HIGHLY recommend strolling up 9th Avenue to hit the individual markets. You'll literally save 50% over the gourmet markets for the same quality. http://nymag.com/realestate/map/19143/ Lastly, I lived in Japan several years and came back to NY with certain cravings. And besides Japanese, Korean and certain Chinese foods, Asian food is very poorly represented, or rather, "Japonified", in Japan. The flavors here you will find much stronger, authentic, and disagreeable to the Japanese palette. I could list my favorites ad nauseum here but you should just browse through these forums and you'll find extensive reviews of Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, etc. etc. foods, and you can even find great ones without having to go to the outer boroughs. Pan's the resident expert for Malay and Indonesian!

My experience on three or four visits has been of very tasty pork, well cooked and moist. I ordered seconds of it last time I was there. ← Was there this past Wednesday. It was a good experience overall but nothing worth standing in line for. The pork was dry and overcooked. If you had good pork the last three or four times you were there, than you were lucky. I'd go again next time I'm in the 'hood. ← Turns out a friend of a friend works there. Brought her home chyasuu from the kitchen! Anyway, that doesn't mean I'll be getting any sort of "hookup", but that DOES mean I'll be trying real soon and will report back. And I am a self-confessed ramen gourmet. Just too damn hot out these days to really be craving a greasy salty, or even fishy bowl of any hot broth...

Come on, Raji, spill it, We're not nOObs! ← Truth be told, I don't go out for sushi anywhere as often as I should... but it's more like going out for a steak for me, as with most Japanese. I'm in Japan twice a year and I eat it voraciously over there for obvious reasons. WHEN I do go out, my haunts are Shimizu in Midtown West, Esashi in the East Village, Seki on the UES, Yasuda, Sushiden, or Hatsuhana in Midtown East, and a big ups to Ushiwakamaru west of EV. Any of those are good for a stellar $20ish sushi lunch, a laidback sushi, sashimi and kitchen order table dinner, and when the budget allows, the full-on omakase blowout. On the odd occasion of a lukewarm date, a decent tempura order will preceded said omakase so I don't feel completely prostituted. There you go. That's the list. Follow it!!!

Come on, Raji, spill it, We're not nOObs! ← nono....... HELL no.... I think you've all seen that I post the serious STRAIGHT dope on eGullet. not on Chowhound fer god's sake But I mean the type of sushi spreadsheet that would be frontpage news on Gothamist... Send them all to Yama!

Yea, I don't recommend them for fish unless you live in the 'hood and don't want to go to Citarella (of course, if you're really serious about fish, you'll go to Sea Breeze on 9th Avenue). Their fish is from Wild Edibles, and good quality. But it's more or less an add-on. Meat is the reason to go to Oppenheimer. Honestly, I'm not sure I approve of the whole "butcher/fishmonger combination" thing. I'd rather have a good butcher and a good fishmonger separately. The considerations, skills, suppliers and connections for these two different types of purveyor are very different. ← [mex]Agreeeeed...[/mex] Do you think See Breeze has been as good since they reconfigured and Central went out of biz? I guess they are best for fillets and whole fish, not necc. shellfish? I'm also partial to Esposito's as a butcher, but that's probably because I don't buy the fancy schmancy stuff, actually I've aged in my fridge before, works great...

Sugiyama is a kaiseki but I've always sat at the bar to be served by Sugiyama-san. Their sashimi course should be described as a stellar example of a sashimi platter that you might find at most Japanese restaurants or izakaya. It's uncommon to find a restaurant in Japan without a bar to serve lone diners, quick lunches and/or couples. From ramen to soba to tonkatsu to robatayaki to yakiniku to yakitori, the open kitchen and chef presenting himself to his customers seems to be both an important remnant of their ancient culture as well as a welcome modern import.

I don't expect anybody to spell a foreign language correctly, although you definitely have a block when it comes to "sashimi" which has certainly entered our vernacular... On this topic, read this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=104539 Isn't that what they do when you make a reservation? I usually hear my name when I'm walking OUT of the restaurant... Read the thread I cite and get back to me about the above... I will give you this - the hype of Yasuda was very deserved when it was a much more barren field 5 years ago. Since then, there are several more sushiya in the same league with head sushi chef who are doing their own particular thing exceptionally well. Sometimes it's their personality as much as their fish that keeps the customers coming back. Don't forget the amount of salesmanship involved with sushi. You may have had what you tasted as an ordinary whitefish, but at the sushi bar is described as having just swum in from the Aleutian islands and caught by spear. The mind dazzles as much as the eyes. I know some Japanese who don't go to Yasuda because they say he was too full of himself (and his fish). Go figure.

Would any chef who's appeared on Iron Chef count? Or only the iron chefs? By any account, as NYers we are pretty incredibly lucky, or rather we deserve it given the crap and cost we put up with to live here... if you've ever talked to an out-of-towner as they are all giddy to go to Batali's or Flay's or Nobu, and realize that we have so MANY star chefs resident in NYC, and better than that, can go to all the restaurants that THEY go to...

Ah I missed that - I have an _extensive_ mental checklist, but it's more situational... i'm paying, they're paying, by neighborhood, sushi only, or more of a full dining experience, etc. etc. But, and I'm not referring to yourself, but why would we want to flood all the good places with a bunch of n00bs???

Err no I was just being an a-hole about your spelling, I don't think I've seen "Ushiwakamaru" butchered quite that badly before, but surely your Waseda friend has corrected your "sashami" by now.... Likewise, I don't care if she was born at Tsukiji fish market, how can she possibly call herself Japanese and judge a sushi bar by a table order? Why hasn't she dragged you to the counter yet? An "omakase" on the menu is just a chef's "catch of the day" selection. Ordering omakase in front of a sushi chef adds a whole additional dimension to eating sushi that you haven't even tried at Yasuda.

Doc wouldn't we call where Setagaya is the East Village rather than LES? Unless it's their specialty I usually opt out of the tsukemen, rather I'll get a hiyasiichuuka or somen when I'm in the mood for it. tsukemen usually has fatter noodles and a simpler broth, it's more of a dipping sauce in some cases.... for me, I like thinner noodles like kyuushu style and hakatamen, and I rather do like the artistry of the entire bowl of ramen put together, as well as having to devour it over the course of 5-10 minutes...

Does it have to be $6???? That doesn't even get you a corner deii sandwich anymore....... especially in Midtown.....

I think that's irrelevent because the stupid thing hasn't been updated in a few years and Ushiwakamaru and Shimizu only opened in the past couple years. Had I the time, budget, and desire to eat sushi that often, I think I could do a much better spreadsheet myself

Whoah maybe lay off the large sake selection before posting I don't think you'd be able to figure out the hype unless you had a similarly unremarkable omakase... the hype is mostly over at-the-sushi-bar, omakase experiences with Yasuda or one of his cohorts. If there is such a serious dropoff at the tables at Yasuda, that would be another subject of conversation, but that hasn't been my experience From what I recall one of the Sushiden has a very nice room, you could also include Nobu; the hype is not over the decor... Japanese zen minimalism is not going to leave a lot to comment about in that category, unless you are really into that sort of thing.... Rating Yasuda and Ebisu the same will certainly turn a lot of heads, I can't imagine them on the same level. The Japanese customer came back from fishing and had them prepare it for him? Or what he had was better than the sushi bar? wow I would only worry about Yasuda's authenticity as over the past few years they've gone from a mostly Japanese to a mostly non-Japanese clientele, but I haven't seen any dropoff because of this... he's seemed to keep it incredibly consistent over the past several years... It seems like you are craving more variety?

yer welcome! phew!! I CAN speak about foods other than Japanese!

I saw some recommendations of Jane in a recent Chowhound thread. How big is the place? ← OK, well despite those recommendations, it's actually quite good! It's a pretty big room, by village standards, from what I recall. I tend to agree with Nathan, but with such a large party I would always make a reservation.

no tsukemono? dame! Well it IS shiyoramen, after all. SHIO = SALT Don't other varieties have a lot less salt, say miso or tonkotsu? I didn't read the Japanese review yet, but yes, technically the only other ramenya at this level is Santouka @ the Mitsuwa, and they've only had to deal with Japanese customers for the most part. Can't wait to see what a few weeks of EV-types is going to do to the Setagaya crew

I really really liked the Sunday brunch I had at Jane, but that was 4 years ago. I think it's still very highly recommended.