According to psychologist Barry McCarthy, “”Fetishes usually develop in childhood or adolescence and are controlled by this combination of high secrecy, high eroticism and high shame.” Some people have shoe fetishes, feet fetishes, sneeze fetishes, but David Burke has an egg fetish. Not just any egg either. Ostrich eggs. See the photo above. Ostrich eggs are literally hanging everywhere from the door plaque to the walls to even on the plates. Yeesh. At least they’re cute. Sorta.

You know how there’s that common interview question, if you could ask [insert famous chef's name: David Burke] any question, what would you ask? Well, I wouldn’t ask a question. Instead, I’d tell him a joke.

What did the egg say to the boiling pot of water?

It may take me awhile to get hard. I just got laid.

Sooo, anyway! This past Saturday, Sabrina guilt-tripped me into seeing The King’s Speech. Colin Firth was amazing. But prior to, we dined at David Burke Townhouse for brunch. They offer a prix-fixe brunch for $39. Three courses an all. That’s whopping expensive, but you have to see just how beautifully the food is presented!

Parfait of Big Eye Tuna & Salmon Tartares: soy glaze, spicy mayonnaise, and crème fraîche ($16)

For the pre-meal bread, they serve this over-sized puffy bread next to a slab, on top which swirl of butter sits. Someone seriously shaped the butter into a piece of art. The bread was the type you get at BLT steak. It was good but not mind blowing.

Enter appetizer one: Sabrina once again hogged the decision making. I wanted to get this, but somehow it ended up on her side of the table. So beyond the artsy presentation, this dish is ridiculously amazing. The crème fraîche adds this depth of richness to the raw tuna. The sauces are equally amazing. They would have done better to give a few more crusty bread pieces. In one word, it was just simply awesome.

David Burke’s Pastrami Salmon: buckwheat blinis, horseradish crème fraîche, endive, and orange mustarda ($15)

Enter appetizer two: I resorted to the salmon because quite frankly, I wanted to see how David could pull off a “pastrami salmon.” Honestly, I have no idea why its named the way it is, but this dish was also delicious. The salmon is smoked and while you can taste a hint of that fishiness as you often do in smoked salmon, the crème fraîche was a good move to mellow out the strength of the salmon. I appreciated the few pinenuts, but more importantly, the orange mustarda. Is that the same thing as wasabi? Because that’s what it reminded me of. And the endives. Man, that was just divine.

But overall, Tuna Parfait > Pastrami Salmon.

Steak & Egg: filet mignon, seared egg, potato hash and béarnaise sauce & Handmade Cavatelli: wild mushrooms, mushroom chips, and truffle mousse ($25)

Enter the mains: Once again, Sabrina stole my first choice. We couldn’t have both of us ordering the same dish. As with all things in our oddly successful relationship, I ceded to Sabs and ordered something else. I originally had my heart set on the Tuna Burger, but upon a runner’s recommendation, I went with the Cavetelli. Looking back, I should have gone with the burger. That’s what you get when you try to chase after a higher priced item.

But in all seriousness, the Cavatelli is one hearty dish. They give you a bit more than a normal serving of pasta. While I wasn’t so keen on the pasta (it was a bit too dense), the mushroom blew me away. First, you have the mushroom chips which taste just like potato chips. Then you have the truffle mousse. Holy bejesus. That whisked me away to a world filled with shrooms and the likes. I thought of Pandora.

The Steak & Egg? It was cooked perfectly to Sabrina’s request of medium. The perfectly fried egg earned extra brownie points. I mean, have you ever seen such a beautifully fried egg? It deserves to be in the MoMa.

The sauce is creamy and loaded with like 50 million different types of cheeses. It was so rich that I actually had to “drain” it from the Cavatelli.

David Burke’s Cheesecake Lollipop Tree: bubblegum whipped cream and raspberries ($18 / prix-fixe: $8 supplement or in lieu of two desserts)

Last but not least, enter dessert:

M A J O R  F A I L

This over-touted dessert was really disappointing. Think about sub-par soft cheesecake, rolled into a ball on a stick, and then rolled in fruity flavors. That’s about it. The bubblegum whip was really odd. I tasted more bubblegum in that whip than I do in the first 10 seconds of chewing bubblegum. I don’t think bubblegum and whipping are a good pair. And the amount that they charge for the whole thing?! Ridiculousness, I tell you. You’d be better off trying one of their other desserts.

Despite the fail on the dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the culinary experience. However, the whole place was straight out of Gossip Girl. Completely Upper East Side. I actually felt uncomfortable whipping out my camera like (yes, you read it right, I was uncomfortable). I felt like a little 12 year old. Seriously, you couldn’t hear anything because everyone seemed so uptight like they all had wedgies and couldn’t speak.

Besides that, the food was awesome!

MENU
133 E. 61st St.
New York, NY 10021
nr. Lexington Ave. 
See Map | Subway Directions
212-813-2121

You should also check out:

• Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
• Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
• Bobo in the West Village
• Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
• Five Napkin Burger

Who would have thought- a quality nigiri tasting menu for $32. in New York City.

At Sushi Azabu, which has long been heralded as a gem amidst a city chockful of cheap sushi joints to way over the top sushi bars, you can find a balance (somewhat). Their new Koi Menu ($32) consists of 10 pieces of nigiri with a Stater and ending with Miso Soup. The bar is tucked under a multi-ethnic restaurant (Greenwich Grill), sort of like the PDT bar in the East Village. I guess New Yorkers are just suckers for those hole-in-the-wall joints connected by secret passageways.

Stick and I walked in on a Monday night to a virtually empty Greenwich Grill. We asked for two seats at the bar at Sushi Azabu and within minutes they led us through the restaurant and down a narrow stairwell to the sushi bar. There are roughly three tables, seating five people, and a bar that sits, oh maybe eight people or so. The place was packed. If you go, you want to make sure that you reserve seats at the bar, which makes for a much better experience. Here, the sushi chefs speak minimal English, somewhat setting back the experience, but I think it makes it just that much more authentic.

You’re allowed a little over 24 inches by 16 inches of space at the bar. After delicately placing the menu in front of us, the server gave us these hot towels. They came again after the starter course and right before the nigiri.

Before we commence further, for anyone who’s confused about the difference between nigiri and sushi, let me explain. Sushi is sushi- what you traditionally think of: Cali Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls, Dragon Rolls, etc… Nigiri, however, is a ball of rice with a slice of raw fish placed on top. Omit the rice, and you’ll have sashimi.

In higher end sushi restaurants, you’ll find that the menu stars either sashimi or nigiri. After all, the value of the dish lies within the fish- not the rice, not the avocado, not the spicy mayo. Truly good sushi does not need any companion (except for perhaps rice) because you want to be able to taste the fullness and richness of the fish.

You’ll also find that at such restaurants, the nigiri/sashimi is not served with wasabi and soy sauce/ponzu (ponzu is a like soy sauce but with citrus). Instead, the chef will prepare the soy sauce and wasabi mixture, and then rub a bit of that mixture on the fish before serving. They’ll serve you a side of ginger.  And also, white ginger is considered the “real” deal as compared to those pink ones that you see at the grab-and-go sushi spots.

Hot Sake (unnamed, $15) & Citrus Sake ($9)

We ordered sake right off the bat. There’s an extensive list and I’d have to say it’s quite reasonably priced. The favorite was the Citrus Sake that comes on a “giant rock” (aka ice).  It’s sweet but it packs the dryness from the sake.

Remember that if you order the hot sake, it serves two.

Marinated Lotus Root

We started off the night with thin slices of marinated lotus root. There’s a strong sesame flavor to it as it’s not only decked with sesame seeds but I assume also marinated in a sauce that involves sesame oil? Either way, lotus is by nature relatively flavorless and instead packs a nice crunch.

Ginger! (don’t worry, they refill it if that’s not enough for you)

For those of you out there who have never been to a high end sushi bar, please refer to these eating directions. It’s also quite helpful for those of you who aren’t as adept at using chopsticks (ahem, Stick!) Although not applicable here, remember- dip the fish into the soy sauce (not the rice!). I mean, do you put ketchup on the bun of a hot dog?!

Maguro / Toro (Tuna)

Maguro is actually Japanese for the word “fish.” In this case, its the bluefin tuna, which is the best known and most commonly eaten tuna in sushi. This is “toro,” which is fatty belly meat. I expected the tuna to be a bit more fatty so it was a bit disappointing, but still, it was quite delicious. The Toro is served twice during the Koi course (after the salmon).

King Salmon

Gosh, by far the BEST salmon I’ve ever had. Holy crap. It was fatty, it was tender and it was just oh so flavorful. Stick and I both couldn’t get over just how delicious this was!

Tai (Red Snapper)

This was… interesting. We couldn’t understand what the chef was saying (I thought he said Tilapia?!). But I’m pretty sure it’s a Red snapper. It’s tender, but a bit chewier than the rest of the other fishes. Probably among the least favorite of the bunch.

Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp)

Amazingly, this was phenomenal. I generally stay away from shell fish, including shrimp and prawns. I’m usually grossed out by that rubbery and chewy texture, which is not at all what I experienced here. And like its name suggests, it’s sweet!

Salmon Aburi (Seared Salmon)

Perhaps the coolest part of the night was watching the chef whip out his blowtorch and torching the living daylights out of this piece of salmon. What did it taste like? Oh, as you’d expect- pure heaven. The texture is a mix of the flaky bits of layered/cooked salmon on top and raw meat on the bottom. The sweetness from the rice really seals the deal.

Hotate (Seared Scallop)

Oh look! Out comes the blowtorch again! Scallop is definitely not in my common culinary vocabulary. I try to stay away from it. So seeing as I have such an aversion to it already, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this was definitely on the bottom of the list. The seared part was a bit burnt and the texture of the scallop totally freaked me out. But I do have to give points for presentation here.

Yep, definitely good presentation.

Compare- the Red Snapper to the Kanpachi (Amberjack)

This was really confusing since at first I thought the chef served us the Red Snapper again. Of course, when you’re sampling half a dozen fish in between, you totally lose track of what three fishes before the one you’re thinking about tasted like. So looking back at my photos, I realized that these were two completely different fish. This is the amberjack or “kampachi” in  Japanese, which usually refers to the “Greater Amberjack,” found in subtropical zones all over the world. This is a less popular fish especially in sushi restaurants in North America. You may see Kampachi on some menus, which refers to Hawaiian yellowtail.

As for the texture, it’s quite delicate and tender. The Amberjack is one of the few fishes that taste good throughout its whole life. I remember thinking that this tasted better than the first, so I assume it meant I preferred the Amberjack to the Red Snapper from earlier in the course?

Tomago (Sweet Egg Omelette)

When Stick and I first sat down, we were both wondering what the chunk of solid yellowness was. “Oh, I know! Is it that turnip cake?!” Fail, Stick. It turned out to be this sweet egg omelette which was surprisingly delicious wrapped with rice in seaweed. They serve you two pieces of this, but I totally forgot to take a picture before I gobbled up the first one!

Even though that was the end of the nigiri course, the chef gave each of us an extra piece! Others on Yelp have shared that they’ve received this freebie too. We got to choose any of the fish and of course, both of us chose that salmon!

Miso Soup

At the very end of the meal, they serve you miso soup. It had tiny mushrooms bopping around. I hate soup, but Stick liked it enough to drink mine too!

Overall, we both enjoyed the experience. I was satiated after the meal, but Stick was still hungry. I’d say that only a couple of the nigiri were “eh” but most of them were truly quality sushi that’s worth the $32. Be sure to make reservations unless if you’re going to trek there on a Monday night. And, if you’re really willing to splurge, I suggest going for the full out Omakase menu for $100 (like the guy next to us did. He got the royal treatment).

MENU
428 Greenwich St.
Downstairs level
New York, NY 10013 4
nr. Vestry St.  See Map | Subway Directions
212-274-0428

You should also check out:

• Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
• Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
• Bobo in the West Village
• Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
• Five Napkin Burger

In the past year, I’ve visited enough ramen joints to be confident enough to say that Ippudo has the best ramen. Ever.

Well, in New York City, at least.

Ippudo, established in 1985, opened its first U.S. branch here in the East Village back in 08′. There are 43 branches in Japan where the founder, Shigemi Kawahara, is dubbed as the “King of Ramen.” Just like how we have hot dog eating champions and a TV show dedicated to pitting a man vs. food (literally), there are televised ramen cooking competitions back in Japan. Kawahara won it in 2006.  + Shiny star for Ippudo’s resume.

Ippudo is no joke. Downstairs, ramen noodles are laboriously made by hand. The place is famous for their ‘Hakata Ramen’ (originates from Hakata, Japan). Hakata Ramen is characterized by its white, thick soup that is made from Tonkotsu, or pork bones. This is where the best ramen are differentiated from their inferior peers. It’s the broth that makes the true difference. Yes, noodles are very important, but part of the ramen experience is drinking the broth at the very end. Of course, this is ironic for me to say as I never drink mine since I hate soup.

This is the spoon that you eat the ramen with. Duh.

Ippudo defines ramen as “a cosmos created in a bowl.”  The basic broth consists of prok, chicken, beef, or seafood. It’s then seasoned with soy sauce, salt, or miso. The noodles are made of flour, eggs, kansui (an alkaline water). See their website for more details.

So enough about ramen basics. On a Monday afternoon around 1:30pm, Stick and I walked into a 10-15 minute wait at Ippudo. Who would have thought there was a recession! We were seated within the 15 minutes somewhere in the way back where mirrors align one side of the wall and a sequined framed piece of art aligned the other. The server came immediately and brought us water. It took Stick awhile to decide what he wanted but eventually he settled for a lunch set.

Most of the ramen is priced at $13, but for an extra $3, you can get a lunch set which includes a small salad and a) Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) over rice; b) Roast pork over rice; c) Fried chicken (spicy) over rice; or d) grilled eel over rice.  Guess what Stick picked!!

Just an important side word. That side salad may look like your average salad but it’s not. The wasabi dressing on that is phenomenal [widens eyes].

Karaka Men ‘the original tonkotsu’ soup noodle with special blended hot spice, served with pork belly chashu, kikurage, cabbage, onion, minced pork & scallions ($13/16)

The ramen came soon after. I ended up going with the spicier version. Have you ever had Shin Ramen? It’s that Korean DIY ramen. The flavor reminds me of Shin Ramen, but it’s much more intricate. The broth looks orange, but when you’re fishing for the noodles with your chopsticks, the broth swirls into a murky pale yellow/brown color. It’s spicy but so flavorful at the same time. In other words, the broth isn’t flavored by the spiciness. That just merely enhances the true flavor of the broth.

What I love most about Ippudo is their noodles (despite me talking about how important authentic broth is). It’s cooked al dente, and despite sitting in that sweltering hot broth, it never gets soft or soggy. There’s enough in there to fill you up, but you end up asking yourself whether you should order extra. The chashu, or pork belly, is tender and slightly salty. I’ve read that it’s worth splurging on the side chashu for an extra $3 as it’s different from the one that they serve in the broth.

Tori Ramen salt flavored ramen noodle in ‘ippudo chintan’ chicken and pork soup, with pork loin chashu, 1/2 boiled egg, menma, spinach, shiso & daikon ($13/16)

Stick went with a more traditional broth, though he thought he was trying something exotic and crazy. I guess if you use the Japanese name of any ingredient on your menu, you can sound exotic. This is a much more mellow broth. It’s what I’d crave for if I were sick. Sort of like your Japanese version of chicken noodle soup.

At the end of your meal, if you’re still hungry and still have some broth left, you can say “Kae-dama, please” to your server, which translates to “a ball of noodles please.” That will set you back $2, but worth every penny if you ask me.

Oh look! A rare moment. Stick actually used chopsticks?!

I almost forgot. At the end of the meal, they serve you a nice, hot mug of steamy green tea. What a nice gesture.

Minus the wait (this place is always teeming with long lines, especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights), this place is definitely worth coming back to. I wouldn’t exactly call it cheap, but $13 is still pretty cheap for a quality meal in NYC. Oh and I heard from Angela that the appetizers are amazing, especially the Hirata buns. Guess I have to make another trip back to try them!

MENU
65 Fourth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
Near 10th St.
See Map | Subway Directions
212-388-0088

You should also check out:

• Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
• Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
• Bobo in the West Village
• Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
• Five Napkin Burger

At what point in a friendship is it okay to steal food out of your friends’ chopsticks in the midst of a free for all scramble?

When you find yourself lucky enough to have friends who are willing to engage in a hostile battle for food, bring them to Hagi. It’ll take you forever to find a seat, but it’ll be worth it. And that’s what we did a couple of Saturdays ago. Seven of us waited 40 minutes for a corner table. It was hot, humid, and sticky, but it was all worth it for those four pitchers of beer and intense moments where we scrambled for sustenance.

For a Japanese joint located right next to Times Square, I’d say Hagi is very fairly priced. Everything is generally around $10 or under and granted the portion sizes aren’t huge or anything, but the ambiance is great if you’re looking for a chill hangout spot. This place is like a Kenkas on St. Marks but in Midtown with a pricier tag and an older crowd. Still, I can imagine a night of drinking games or just pure good conversation with old friends at Hagi. The servers are super nice and they don’t mind if you hog the booth for hours. We realized at the very end that it’s because of people like us that we had to wait 40 minutes for a table.

WHERE ARE YOU SETH?!

That’s them, sans Seth and his cousin. We sat at Hagi for three hours where I was appointed the designated food orderer. We took care of business first by ordering not one, not two, and not even three, but FOUR pitchers of beer. I was told that within those three hours, I just kept on ordering and ordering so the food just kept coming out. But when the food hit the table, all became quiet and everyone impatiently waited for me to take a shot. As soon as I gave the okay, chopsticks went flying left and right, hands were getting stabbed, and food was getting stolen right beneath our noses. Food lasted for approximately 20 seconds.

Kirin Pitcher ($12- eh for the price, but totally refreshing on a hot day)

And when you do continuously order plate after plate without regards to the check, you start racking up the final price tag. We had intended to go somewhere cheap, so it was a bit hefty that we all ended up shelling out $20+ at the end. I realized the next morning that I had ordered from so many different and random people – servers/runners/etc… that they didn’t count at least three dishes!

Deep Fried “takoyaki” 5 pieces ($6.50)

Also known as octopus. It’s a popular Japanese “dumpling” where they dice up octopus, tempura, ginger, onion and so forth. They only gave five pieces and as the self acclaimed non-seafood eater, I forewent my piece. It’s okay, really. No apologies necessary there, friends.

Neopolitan: Pork belly, ketchup, onions, soba noodles ($9)

Don’t you dare judge that dish before you try it. I think my friends were a bit hesitant when I was like, “Hey, yo, imma order the ‘neopolitan.’” Someone gave me this stare like, really?! Ketchup?!

Well what do you know. IT WAS A SMASHING HIT! The pork belly (ahem, a privileged sounding name for bacon) was ridiculously delicious. Everyone loved this so much that we ordered another one! Let me tell you. Ketchup tastes good on everything!

Okonomiyaki: Japanese pancake with okonomiyaki sauce with bonito flakes  ($9.75)

This was fairly small and it came cut in four slices so I did the honors by slicing them into eight. Of course, then we ran into the problem of who’d get the extra piece. This was in the beginning of the meal when we were all civilized and well mannered people (and had only drank like 1/4th of a pint of Kirin).

I love how the bonito flakes move back and forth, as if they were dancing. It freaks alot of people out but I get mesmerized just watching the steam cause that effect. This okonomiyaki is just downright greasy but in a good way. It’s what you crave for when you don’t care about your health. Come to think of it, it’s what you crave for when you’re drunk.

Thumbs up (bigger would be nicer though).

Seafood Yakisoba: Octopus and all, cabbage, scallions, beansprouts ($9.50)

Probably one of my lesser favorites of the night because of the octopus, but truthfully, by then, all the food started tasting the same. Actually, you were lucky if you could actually get some food in that mad dash…

Pan Fried noodles: ($9.00)

At this point, everyone was like, JUST TAKE THE PICTURE GODDAMMIT!

Dang it, this hit the spot. I usually love udon, but with so many people, a thinner noodle is the way to go. This was so thin and fragile that it almost tasted like ramen. It may have been ramen… Anyway, I’m sure they cranked up the MSG in this dish because it was just so flavorful. Pan fried though? I don’t think so…

Yakiudon, regular ($9.50)

Hands down, always my favorite dish at any Japanese joint. I’m a sucker for udon, but unfortunately, because of how thick udon is, they don’t give you much here. And no, those aren’t shredded carrots- it’s ginger! I definitely prefer Hagi’s yakiudon to Kenka’s because there’s less sauce on this one. If you’ve never had yakiudon, you’re missing out… big time.

I forgot the name: bean sprouts, cabbage string beans, miso sauce, pork (8.50)

Funny how I can remember everything that was in it and the price, but not the name of the dish. Well I only remember what went in it because Saumya specifically requested that it have the miso sauce . While it was mighty delicious, there were no carbs so it felt just a tad bit too healthy for the occasion.

Someone is in the process of stealing food via chopsticks!

I only caught two hands in the battle. What a rare moment.

My plate, and I believe this was after I did a victory lap after successfully taking some noodles as P.O.W. from Jlee’s chopsticks… SORRY JOONBUG!

Congratulations you two, for being the most photogenic of the night and keeping still. Every other picture turned out blurry…

The table next to us was filled with these white guys in their late 20′s/early 30′s. They got a kick out of us. When the Yakisoba landed on our table, one of them immediately sought out the server and requested, “YOU SEE THAT? WE WANT THAT!”

There was definitely alot more food than that check showed. I mean, three hours?! I can’t believe we ate for three hours! How is that even humanely possible?!

And to end off this post, I wanted to show you Jlee in all of his glory- with my aviators. He was cool for a moment- but only for a moment.

MENU
152 W. 49th St.
New York, NY 10019
Near Seventh Ave.  See Map | Subway Directions
212-764-8549 Send to Phone

You should also check out:

• Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
• Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
• Bobo in the West Village
• Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
• Five Napkin Burger

Oh, the memories this Japanese joint brings back… A classic favorite of NYU students during my freshman year (partially because of the cheap, cheap food but mostly because of their blind eye towards underage drinking), I remember coming here every Thursday and Friday night while pledging in between exams. And then there were times when we came back twice within a night to a confused waitress that asked us, “Really?! Again?!”

Kenka still stands in the same spot on St. Marks, but the days of non-carding and underage drinking are over. Nowadays, for those of us that can drink legally, they’ve made drinking even cheaper. Where else in New York City can you get a 32 oz Sapporo on draft for only $5?! Heck, we couldn’t even buy a 40 for that price anywhere.

Amy is super excited. (And no, I did not photoshop that $5.00!! red sign into that menu leaflet!)

Actually, Amy agreed to pose since I was the designated photographer. At first, I didn’t realize that 32 oz was that big. The waitress came by and smacked the glass onto the wooden tabletop and our eyes widened. “You’re going to drink all of that?!” Amy inquired. “Um yeah, I hope so,” I responded. Thou shall not waste food beer.

We arrived around 9:15pm on a Saturday night to a long waiting list. Luckily it was just Amy and me because it looked like groups of three or more had to wait alot longer. Staring into Kenkas along the busy nightlife of St. Marks, Kenka epitomized that popular restaurant that you see in a Time Out Japan guidebook. Despite clearly having a heavy Japanese vibe, guests of all races aligned the wooden stools along the bar. It was refreshing to see non-Asians at a restaurant where the menu was the paper version of an anime comic, predominantly in Japanese with few words of English for description purposes.

So we waited for about 10 minutes before we got our seat. And then only a minute before the server came by to take our drink orders.

32 oz Sapporo Draft ($F-to the-I-to the-V-to the-E!!!)

I wish I had taken the shot upon arrival, in all its glory with its 1.5 inch thick foaming head but… It was so difficult to decide what to get. The menu has an extensive list of ramen, udon, and soba, but it was way too hot to get anything with a soup base. Sushi was out of the question (I’m not sure I trust eating raw fish here although I’m sure the turnover rate for the fish must be high), and we sure as heck didn’t want rice, so… we were left with their pancakes.

Oh, and did I mention? They serve turkey testicles and bull penises. Definitely out of the question.

Okonomiyaki: japanese pancake w/ pork, squid and vegetables ($6.00)

Instead, we got the okonomiyaki, the popular Japanese pancake and our favorite of the night. Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) actually means “what you want” (okonomi) “grilled” (yaki). The base is usually flour + yam + water + eggs and then your meats, vegetables, and seafood. Man, if I ever go to Japan, heck, I’m not going to Tokyo- I’m going to go to Osaka first to get myself some authentic Osaka style okonomiyaki.

The okonomiyaki is topped with tokatsu sauce and mayo with some bonito flakes sprinkled on top. Bonito flakes are essentially fish flakes and if dropped on top of a steaming plate of okonomiyaki, they start waving back and forth, as if dancing. It’s trippy at first, but it’s really just the steam. I think Amy got a bit scared when I told her it was just fish (omitting telling her flakes).

Yakiudon: fried udon noodle with pork, squid and vegetables ($6.00)

We also ordered the Yakiudon (焼きそば), which should be no stranger to any Japanese food lovers. Udon are thick noodles (my personal favorite) and yakiudon stirfries the udon with vegetables and pork. The traditional version is Yakisoba (made from soba noodles) but the concept is the same. Usually it’s topped with “aonori” or seaweed, but ours wasn’t. Either way, the yakiudon while good, wasn’t terribly delicious. However, with that 32 oz Sapporo, it was good company for my taste buds. The flaw with all yakiudon that I’ve noticed is that THEY GIVE YOU TOO LITTLE!

Modanyaki: japanese pancake w/ noodles, pork, squid and vegetables ($8.50)

Initially, we only ordered two dishes. By the time we finished the food, it was around 10:30pm and my beer still had a third of it left. We were at the mercy of Clare, who was attending a wedding and so Amy and I wanted to sit at Kenka longer. Taking all that into consideration, we ordered another dish. Don’t ask us why now because by the time it came, we were about to burst and couldn’t only manage to eat less than half of it.

Modanyaki (モダン焼き) is okonomiyaki but with thin fried noodles in it. It tasted good, but that’s as much as I can tell you because by that time, food was the last thing on my mind… I do have to say that alot of the flavor from many of their dishes come from the heavy usage of their sauces, but what can you expect for a $6 entree?!

By 11pm, things were starting to get quiet. The table to our right, full of college-age kids, were winding down their drinking games and the long line outside began to dwindle. I can tell you from past experience that this is just a blip, as around midnight, there’s usually another wave of hungry (more like drunk) New Yorkers seeking for cheap grub.

Our whole bill came out to…

$28!

Holy shiz. $28! For that beer large enough to fill my three-person family on a normal night and three entrees?! $28! I still can’t get over it.

Anddd, as if that wasn’t enough, they have a COTTON CANDY MACHINE outside. When they present the bill, they give you a tiny plastic cup of pink sugar. You pay the bill, make your way outside, and flip a switch. The motor starts humming and you spill the sugar into the center of the hole. Then… you start twirling and twirling.

And twirling and twirling…

Too mad neither of us like cotton candy. I just like the concept of me being able to make it.

And Amy does a good job posing as a cotton candy lover.

MENU (although clearly incomplete)
25 St. Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10003
nr. Second Ave.  See Map | Subway Directions
212-254-6363 Send to Phone

You should also check out:

• Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
• Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
• Bobo in the West Village
• Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
• Five Napkin Burger