231 W. 40th St., between Eighth & Broadway.
(212) 354-2130
Dinner, Mon.-Sun., 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; lunch, Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
CUISINE: Traditional Japanese robatayaki.
VIBE: Dinner theater.
DON'T-MISS DISH: Chicken thigh skewers, Kaku Ni simmered Berkshire pork belly, Kinki deep-sea snapper, ginkgo nuts.
AVERAGE PRICES: ­Appetizers, $10; entrees, $20; desserts, $5.
RESERVATIONS: ­Recommended for the ­robata counter.

About four years ago, I ate at Inakaya in Tokyo. The locals said I shouldn't miss it.

They warned me it's touristy. Guess what? It is. And the food's excellent.

Now New York's got its own ­Inakaya, and the food is just as good. This one's scaled to New York, so it's triple the size of the Tokyo flagship, and so is the menu.

It's right across from the Port Authority at the edge of Times Square, in the Olive Garden-Red Lobster-Applebee's district.

From the sidewalk, Inakaya looks like just another tourist trap — people clustered together, snapping photos. Inside, you see what they're so excited about. They're watching the mochitsuki, a mochi-pounding ceremony that celebrates the Japanese New Year.

Every night is New Year's at Inakaya. And that means every diner gets to slam a giant mallet into a giant pestle, turning steamed rice into sticky sweet rice cakes.

Mochi this good makes other ­mochi seem like edible playdough. In a way, what you're seeing through the window is Tokyo, and it's no wonder most of the clientele is Japanese.

The only thing that's different is all the tourists snapping photos. But if you're looking for peace and quiet, eat somewhere else.

There's a lot of shouting and ­clapping at Inakaya. Order a beer or a sake or even a glass of water, and the entire staff shouts your order.

Inakaya's not your average restaurant. In fact, it's the first genuine robatayaki — a farmhouse-style grill — in New York. So reserve a spot at the 30-seat robata counter, where the real ceremony between you and the grill chef takes place.

Order a Sapporo and your kimono-clad chef serves it to you with a long ­wooden paddle. Order the chicken thighs and the chef will ask whether you prefer them with salt or tare sauce.

The best items on the menu come from Japan. The kinki, a deep-sea snapper, is shipped from Tsukiji Market, but that's not why it's wonderful. What makes it wonderful is that it's crusted in Japanese salt and served whole — fins and all.

Fish this fresh and flavorful isn't cheap. It's $45, but worth it, and so is the $45 Japanese Wagyu.

The menu  looks more like a list of ingredients than dishes — 16 vegetables, three kinds of seafood, dried fish and meat. This is simple food, which means you can truly taste the subtleties of each ingredient.Most think ginkgo nuts are some exotic, foul-smelling variety, but they're not. They're actually a fruit that falls from ginkgo trees all over the city.

Order the skewered ginkgo nuts brightened by lemon and you'll discover their rich nuttiness and soft flesh.

You can order four types of mushrooms from the robata and do your own side-by-side comparison.

Hot dishes from the kitchen worthy of attention are the Kaku Ni (Berkshire pork belly in a sweet soy broth) and the Chawan Mushi.

The Chawan Mushi — a teacup of steamed egg custard layered with chicken, scallions and shrimp — is one of the most complicated items on the menu.

The lowest points of the menu were ­flavorless tsukune (chicken meatballs) and both the tuna and ika natto (marinated squid with fermented soybeans).

Inakaya is fine for pre-theater dining, or you might just skip the theater and go to Inakaya for a great food show.

Mr. Jones: A little swank with your yakitori.
243 E. 14th St., (212) 253-7670.
Sun.-Wed., 5:30 p.m.-midnight; Thur.-Sat., 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m.;  CUISINE: Traditional Japanese
VIBE: Stealthy yakitori den; 
OCCASION: Night out, casual date;
DON’T MISS DISH: Chicken wings, wagyu with wasabi, escolar with citrus sauce; 
PRICE: Appetizers $6; entrees $15; desserts, none; RESERVATIONS: Recommended

Some people like to invent imaginary friends. Lesley Bernard likes to invent imaginary friends who design restaurants.

He created Tillman’s, a Harlem soul lounge in Chelsea, named after its fictional proprietor, Mr. Tillman. Mr. Jones is the name of Bernard’s new restaurant on E. 14th St.

The question is — who does Mr. Jones think he is? And more importantly, do you really want to eat in the mind of a fictional character? Especially a mind that resembles James Coburn’s in “In Like Flint”?

But there are other theories. Everybody has one.

Mr. Jones could be a furniture store specializing in Danish Modern. It could be George Jetson’s bachelor pad, fireplace and all. It could be the first-class lounge at Dubai International. Most restaurants look like they could only be restaurants.

But Mr. Jones is more club than restaurant, more sex than food. And Mr. Jones seems to have a question too. Who are you? Perhaps it’s best to plan on coming in costume.

The waitresses are dressed like ’60s stewardesses. The hostess almost offered to reclothe me at the door. And all this for yakitori, which, after all, is food on sticks. Not that I mind some swank with my yakitori. But perhaps not so much music. And perhaps not so much darkness.

And perhaps chairs that don’t force you to recline and use your chest as a plate.

Is this dinner or a seduction? The trouble is that all this gets in the way of the man in the kitchen — Bryan Emperor, a highly trained chef who has worked at Nobu, Megu, Bouley and at one of the most famous kaiseki restaurants in Japan. The point is, the persona that matters in a restaurant should be the chef’s, not some imaginary dude’s.

Now, let’s talk food. The problem here, too, is persona. What is a humble iron pot filled with kimchee, tofu and Korean pepper paste doing in a spy movie? Or

Berkshire black hog belly with lemon and Mongolian sea salt, for that matter? Both were good, and yet it felt strange to be eating them in that setting. There is some excellent traditional Japanese food here — though no sushi — but it deserves a more appropriate room. Remember, this is yakitori: small, small portions and lots of choices.

Here’s what I’d order: Karai honey — chicken with spiced honey. Harami wasabi — wagyu beef with wasabi paste. Tsukune zura — minced chicken and a raw quail egg with sichimi, a Chinese blend of seven spices. Most of these are $8, even the wagyu.

One of the best dishes on the menu is the tori tatsuta age — Japanese for tempura-battered chicken wings with daikon sauce. I also liked the slow-cooked escolar with a goma ponzu sauce.

Here’s what I’d skip: The chicken with mikado teriyaki sauce — too much sauce. The sakura smoked duck — too much smoke and too much pepper. And the shiitake mushrooms skewers — too cold and slimy.

At the moment, Mr. Jones is too cool for dessert. But as an alternative, there is a wide array of sakes, including the kikusui funaguchi, an unpasteurized sake that comes in a can. And there’s a perfect palate-cleansing cocktail. It’s made with wasabi-infused vodka, sake and cucumber.

Guess what it’s called? Mr. Jones, of course.

Paradise found in a bowl of soba noodles.

241 Church St., at Leonard St.
(212) 925-0202
Tues.-Sun., 5:30 p.m.-midnight; Fri. & Sat., 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m; closed Mondays.
CUISINE: Taste of Tokyo
VIBE Hip, tranquil Tribeca haunt.
OCCASION Intimate date; business dinner; serious noodle endeavors.
DON’T-MISS DISH Homemade tofu; Matsugen special soba; inaka soba with goma dare sauce; grapefruit jelly.
PRICE Appetizers, $9-$65; entrées, from $12; desserts, $9-$14.
RESERVATIONS Recommended

The last time I ate food cooked by the Matsushita brothers, the chefs at Matsugen, was in the Ginza District of Tokyo. I went to both of their restaurants. It was my first serious introduction to the simple, intense flavors and ingredients of Tokyo cooking - astonishingly fresh soba noodles, grilled pork belly, homemade tofu, even my first taste of uni. And I can tell you that Jean-Georges Vongerichten has done New York an enormous favor.

He's brought the Matsushita brothers - Taka, Yoshi and Masa - to Church St. And they have brought their buckwheat grinding machine.

Leave your carbon footprint at the door. Because the list of what they've brought from Japan goes on and on - most of the sushi menu (from Tsukiji Market), the pork belly, the wagyu beef, the Mount Fuji lava rock on which it's served, and who knows what else? But the quality of these ingredients would make no difference without the most skillful preparation, which is what you get at Matsugen.

In a way, it all comes down to noodles - smooth, medium, coarse, some hot, some cold, bathing in a dozen different broths, each one a world in itself. Imagine you're peering down into the dish called Matsugen soba. It look likes a glossy spool of yarn unraveling in a ceramic bowl. In its midst, an uncooked egg, a sprinkling of scallion ringlets, cucumber, nori, sesame okra, smoky bonito - an utterly unarchitectural compilation. And when you stir it with your chopsticks - piercing the egg yolk - suddenly you find yourself staring into a swirling galaxy of soba. It looks like a warm dish, and yet it's surprisingly cold, which is all the stranger because you knew it was cold when you ordered it.

There are so many flavors, and the cold keeps each one distinct. Try the coarse, cold inaka soba, a perfect match for the goma dare, a thick sesame sauce. The servers explain that the goma dare is Jean-Georges' favorite soba dish. Twirl a few strands around a chopstick, dip them into the nutty sesame paste, and you'll understand why. Don't overlook the warm soba, some served with sweet, tempura-battered shrimp, others with raw, grated yam. This is an expensive restaurant that serves exquisite food for peasants, and while we're eating here we all get to enjoy being peasants.

"This is the best rice I've ever eaten," said a South Asian friend one evening. He was talking about the kamameshi - peekytoe crab and Japanese mushrooms cooked in an earthenware pot. I was transfixed by a bowl of slippery, soft tofu, served with a wooden spoon and sweet dipping sauce.

This is a menu made for exploration - pork loin shabu shabu, halfbeak sushi, sea urchin kamameshi and grilled wagyu rib eye.

If cattle lived in the sea, beef would taste like the rib eye - an incredibly rich filet topped with thin slivers of garlic and a thick nub of asparagus.

For dessert, there is a deceptive grapefruit jelly. It looks like four simple grapefruit sections, but it tastes like grapefruit fireworks, with a surprisingly un-citruslike texture.

Unlike his other New York restaurants, Vongerichten remains mostly behind the scenes at Matsugen, with the exception of his signature chocolate molten cake, served here with green tea ice cream. As I walked back out onto Church St., I could picture him sitting contentedly slurping noodles in the restaurant after hours, after the customers have all gone home.

A hidden gem in Brooklyn
ADDRESS: 77 N. Sixth St.,at Wythe Ave., Brooklyn
PHONE: (718) 388-8985
DINNER: Tues.-Sat.,6-11:30 p.m.; Sun., 5:30-11 p.m.
CUISINE: Japanese brasserie
VIBE: Clandestine speakeasy
OCCASION: Romantic date; under-the-radar dining
DON'T-MISS DISH: Grilled miso oysters; scallops tempura
PRICES: Small plates $5-$14; desserts $6-$6.50
RESERVATIONS: Highly recommended

If James Bond were craving Japanese in Brooklyn, I imagine it would look a lot like Zenkichi.

An air of mystery and glamour begins at an unmarked wood door on a lonely street corner at the edge of Williamsburg. As you descend a flight of stairs into this three-story labyrinth of corridors, you'll feel like you've stumbled upon some hidden "otherworld" decorated with Japanese lanterns, bamboo and pebble-strewn floors.

Diners are escorted to dimly lit wooden booths and secluded from other guests by bamboo shades. There are tabletop call buttons to summon servers, who smoothly duck in and out of dining nooks to take orders or deliver dishes. It is no wonder Zenkichi is so romantic: Husband-and-wife team Shaul Margulies and Motoko Watanabe designed and run this 70-seat restaurant.

This Japanese brasserie could easily get by on its looks. Yet the small-plates menu is as beguiling as the intimate surroundings. Luscious oysters - grilled in a red miso sauce and presented in an oyster shell - taste as opulent as they look. So do glistening beads of ikura (salmon roe) mingled with salmon sashimi and tucked into a vibrant lime.

And rarely does tempura reach as luxurious heights as it does here. Delicate scallops are wrapped in a shiso plum leaf and coated in a marvelously crunchy batter. As for the shrimp tempura, a salty dab of Camembert cheese keeps the sweetness of tiger shrimp in perfect check. Both variations are coupled with green tea salt - a simple accessory that kicks the flavors up an intense notch.

The ingredients are as fresh and distinguished as much of the cooking, a collaborative effort by chefs Mikio Sano (Inagiku) and Tetsuya Akikawa (Jewel Bako). While the menu is a balancing act of traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine, there is subtle invention at every turn. A gratin of Japanese mushrooms gets an aggressively rich béchamel sauce and a panko breadcrumb finish. It's the kind of dish you might find in Tokyo and is as exciting a discovery in Williamsburg. Instead of the typical skewering route, moist chicken meatballs are stuffed into a hollowed-out bamboo stalk and glazed in a sweet soy sauce.

There are weaker stretches of the menu, including a lifeless duck salad and the inevitable appearance of miso cod, touted by waitstaff as a signature dish. After a two-day marinade, the black cod had resurfaced a mealy disaster. And sometimes the kitchen embraced ingredients to a fault: A chewy salmon belly in a green tea dashi broth and a crème brulée were both wildly overpowered by green tea measures. Other than a frozen black sesame mousse, dessert is not their strong suit.

But there's a magnificent sake list, with more than 40 offerings by the glass, not to be missed. Sake is such a centerpiece of the restaurant that an entire selection of small plates is labeled "sake accompaniments." Another draw is the omakase tasting menu ($88 per couple) with seasonal delicacies, such as winter yellowtail with silky sea urchin. Zenkichi attracts a slew of couples and word-of-mouth clientele who want to keep this gem to themselves. I can't say I blame them.

Address: 357 Sixth Ave., at Washington Place
Phone: 212.414.3088
Cuisine: Japanese/sushi
Vibe: Unadorned serenity
Scene: Serious sushi endeavors
Hours: Dinner, Mon - Sat, 5:45pm - 11:45pm.  Closed Sundays.
First Bite Impressions:  Transcendent tryst
Inside Scoop: Omakase service begins later this month
Note to Self: BYOB (If you forget, Waverly Liquors is nearby)
Don't Miss Dish: Steamed lobster with uni mousse
Price: Appetizers, $10-20; Entrees, $20-30.
Reservations: Reservations recommended.

After eleven years of sushi service in an Atlanta strip mall, chef Sotohiro Kosugi has shut his doors and set off for the big city.  The notoriously temperamental, "sushi nazi" wrangled a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 1997 for his masterful way with creatures of the sea.  But after one too many tantrums, the chef wanted to start with a clean slate.  And that's exactly what designer Hiro Tsuruta (Chickalicious & Momofuku Noodle Bar) created for him - a naked studio to experience the artist's work.  Cleanly accented with slate tile floors, a maple sushi bar & cloth banquettes, the serene space appears blatantly out of place amidst the tattoo parlors, head shops & raucous bustle of Greenwich Village's 6th Avenue.   

But Soto seems completely unconcerned with his surroundings as well as the patrons.  Isolated behind the sushi counter, he remains distant, far off his own world - just him and his glass case of gleaming raw fish.  Don't disturb him and definitely don't touch the glass.  As if acting as an aquatic medium, he mysteriously summons the most enchanting subtleties from all his fish. 

Take glossy strands of nearly translucent stripe jack - while delicate to the eye - it boldly unravels in a truffle-perfumed cloak of ginger & soy, rendering its blissfully savory essence.  Or the most enchanting of all, a barely steamed lobster layered with uni mousse in a lotus wrap.  The culinary equivalent of an orgasm - this dish was a miracle of sweet, delicate bits of lobster brilliantly played against the lush, briny sea flavors of a custardy uni, all gloriously complicated by smoky uni & salmon caviar garnish. 

I'll concede to snobbery when in the face of puffy inside-out concoctions (that often muddle or even mask mediocre fish), so it was nearly shocking to discover one on Soto's daily-changing menu of the fresh fish from around the world.  But my companions insisted on sampling this spicy tartare tuna roll.  Encased in perfectly cooked rice, luscious toro bewitchingly mingled with diced cucumber, crunchy pine nuts & honeyed pears.  Soto's take raises the inside out roll to a refined plane.  I'm aroused just thinking about a beyond fresh sea bass that renders even the most well-traveled palate weak in the knees.   

He leaves the cooked dishes & the kitchen to his wife, Soho, whose delicate hands evoke the feminine undercurrents of a gently braised black cod.  Bathing in an earthy & faintly sweet dashi broth, tender sable embraces earthy accompaniments, highlights being a barely bitter turnip and vibrant fuki (a green rendition of rhubarb). 

But Soto does have an occassional flaw: an overly chewy flounder from Long Island; a dried-out sea eel topped with a mucky puree of uni & shitake.  And then there was a chutoro tartare (tuna belly), which while artichecturally exceptional, seemed unremarkable and all too common for such a gifted chef.

There's no dessert.  That would be sacriligeous in this holy fish grail.  While there are rumors of fits & ejections from the mere mention of a coke, Soto seems curiosly content in his new home.  So did Barry Wine & Paul Liebrandt, who were also in the house Friday evening as well as a couple of long-time Soto devotees.  And me, don't think I didn't toy with the notion of getting Soto tattooed on my stomach as I headed back out onto 6th Avenue, past the neighboring tattoo parlor. 

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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Address: 226 W. 50th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Aves.
Phone: 212.258.2988
Cuisine: Japanese-Italian fusion
Vibe: Typical modern Asian
Scene: Times Square escapees
Hours: Sun - Mon, 11:30am - 11pm, Tue - Fri, 11:30am-11:30pm. Sat, 12pm-12am.
Scoop: Separate bar & lounge with sushi-slanted lounge menu.
Price: Appetizers, $2.50-$15.  Entrees, $16-38.
Reservations: Reservations accepted.
www.natsuminyc.com

Times Square's a tricky stretch to open an ambitious restaurant.  The late 7Square, a modern chophouse with Lespinasse-trained chef Shane McBride, quickly comes to mind.  With Ruby Foo's, Carmine's & the relentless bowl of pasta at the Olive Garden, tourists & theater-goers are pretty much covered.  But with numerous successes under their belt, restaurateurs Barbara Matsumura & Haru Konagaya seem to know how to please the public at large.  Inspired by a recent trip to Italy, their newest gig is a bold move: a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant in the Theater District. 

Separated by the lobby of Amsterdam Court Hotel, Natsumi doubles as a lounge & restaurant, both modernly furbished with the usual Asian accoutrements: natural woods, creamy leather chairs and rice paper light fixtures.  While it looks like your run of the mill sushi haunt with your typical sushi offerings, it isn't.   Instead of the token cheap glass of nondescript Chardonnay or Merlot (don't ask, don't tell), Natsumi actually has a decent wine list and homemade infused sakes to boot.  Even more interesting, Natsumi will soon be serving their own brand of red & white wines as well as well balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  (The plot thickens.) 

And then there's the menu, mostly traditional Japanese fusion - tempura, sushi rolls, seafood toban yaki & miso black cod - with a sparse, but curiously notable sprinkling of Italian ingredients and flavors.  For example, you'll be scrolling down the list of appetizers and stumble on a random chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette, tuna tartar martini with basil pesto or beef asparagus maki with mozzarella cheese.  Even more unexpected is the pizza nuova, a selection that includes tuna with spicy mayo atop baked thin-crust bread or seared salmon with cream cheese.

Seeing as I adore good Japanese and Italian food, I was more than game.  Why wouldn't this marriage work?  Afterall, Japanese & French techniques seem to blend wonderfully, especially in the hands of talented chefs like Bouley and Josh DeChellis.  Like chocolate & peanut butter.  But while eggplant & mozzarella tastes delicious, as does eggplant & miso sauce, eggplant with miso & mozzarella doesn't: they cancel each other out and you end up with muddled flavors and a mushy texture.  Neither does pesto in the doppio toro roll (salmon, yellowtail, avocado, asparagus & pesto).  As I bit into the puffed-up fusion roll, I was suddenly experiencing an unpleasant deja vu: Standing in my kitchen, I'd sprinkled what I thought was cinammon on an apple, realizing only post-swallow it was paprika.   Not a good combination to say the least.

The traditional Japanese offerings are a better bet.  They're also beautifully presented as evident in a salmon tartar: two stacked layers of varying tartar - the first a chopped shiso & salmon atop salmon & crunchy tobiko - separated by slices of creamy avocado and delightfully punched up by a zippy wasabi tobiko dressing.  I'd also invest in a meaty miso black cod perched on nicely charred asparagus and sauced with a thick sake miso.  It's not Nobu, but then again it is Times Square, and a lounge that serves decent sushi post-theater, isn't easy to come by in these parts.  I would've finished with dessert, but they were out of the first three offerings as well as both tartufos.

I haven't given up on the potential for successful Italian-Japanese fusion.  Rumor has it (by way of Food Talk's Mike Colameco) that Basta Pasta's mastered this union.  I'm off to tempt spaghetti with flying fish roe and shiso...

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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1193 1st Ave., btwn. 64th & 65th Aves.
(212)988-8408

TYPE: Japanese yakitori
VIBE: Cozy hideaway
OCCASION: Journey to a Tokyo eating counter on the UES
DON'T MISS DISH: Miso-marinated chicken skewers
DON'T BOTHER DISH: Chicken hearts
DRINK SPECIALTY: BYOB (liquor license pending)...
PRICE: $45 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Monday, Wed. - Sun., 5:30 PM - 11 PM.  Closed on Tuesdays.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations accepted, recommended for large groups.
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES: 7 (very good)
FINAL WORD: An unlikely dining destination, Tori Shin makes its mark with a celebration of yakitori, elevating organic chicken to a simple, but inspired plane.

After a disappointing visit to Ariyoshi for less than mediocre izakaya fare, I was hell-bent on uncovering a newcomer worthy of an authentic Japanese badge of honor.  While searching for a sushi joint on the Upper East Side, I accidentally stumbled into Tori Shin, a yakitori haven for all things barbecued and skewered.  Obscured by closed blinds and a sliding black door, I felt like I was entering some secret Asian supper club.  A traditional eating counter takes centerstage at this sleek space where twenty, gray ultrasuede chairs wrap around a generous, maplewood eating counter with glass classes, displaying yet uncooked, bamboo-skewered chicken parts. 

What is yakitori you might be wondering?

A popular after-work cuisine in Japan, yakitori translates to bamboo-skewered chicken barbecued over charcoals.  While many cuisines dress up their food with countless ingredients, yakitori uses simple seasonings: salt, lemon juice, yakitori sauce or dipping sauce.  While yakitori refers specifically to barbecued chicken and vegetables, the term has lent itself to beef, pork and many other meats.  And now back to our regularly scheduled programming - Tori Shin...

While New York admittedly offers a boundless array of flavors and regional cuisines, I still find myself pining for the earnest passion and unaffected cooking style that I'd discovered in Tokyo.  Tori Shin manages to transplant the authentic experience of a traditional Japanese procession of small plates, all simple in execution and yet precisely prepared, evoking pleasing and pure flavors in everything from a breast of chicken to vegetable soup.  In the company of Japanese diners (always a very good sign), guests watch yakitori chefs man the barbecue, fanning the meat with paper fans, using only the simplest of seasonings, if any at all.  Perhaps, the absence of such a place in New York, was precisely the reason that co-owner and manager, Keiji Suzuki, partnered up wtih chef Koichi Inoue, who formerly cooked at Toriyoshi (a popular yakitori spot in Tokyo), to open Tori Shin, focusing all of their efforts on chicken - organic chicken to be exact. Diners can choose from either a chef's omakase course ($60) or a "dinner set" ($45), which includes salad, soup, appetizers and six skewers, four chicken and two vegetable. 

But the meal begins with a bowl of mildly pickled vegetables, which wasn't particularly revelatory, though I am a sucker for warm hand towels, which Tori Shin seems doles out between every course, and there are many.  This was quickly followed by minced soy-spiked daikon, a Japanese palate cleanser, preparing you for the Japanese version of an amuse bouche.   Not the traditional amuse bouche that's become practically obligatory "compliments of the chef" at the city's most elegant restaurants, Tori Shin presents a melange of four cold bites: a chicken terrine, carrot gelee, burdock root wrapped in tofu and springy Japanese mushrooms.  While each was gently seductive and simultaneously simple in its own right, the chicken terrine, a dish that evoked flavors of chicken liver & the texture of gefilte fish (in a good way), was a savory, and yet pure pleasantry that I could've happily committed more time to, but there was still yakitori to be had.

Tori Shin offers a generous selection of organic chicken skewers, some de-skinned, others with skin on, a celebration of every imaginable part of the chicken, from wings to gizzards.  As is often the case in traditional Japanese haunts, the chef strongly suggests how to eat the plate presented before you; whether you should invoke soy sauce or whether it's best eaten undressed.  Such was the case at Tori Shin, with the exception of the underseasoned skewer of three parts of chicken.  For this dish, I added a little soy, which indeed did the trick.  While I didn't take much to a skewer of chicken hearts, I took pause over the miso-marinated chicken, often overplayed in seafood dishes, a la Nobu's miso cod or staple miso sea bass at many a Japanese spinoff of late, most of which are good, but predictable.  Miso-laced bits of chicken were so intensely moist and flavorful that I demanded seconds.  Not quite as astounding but nevertheless tasty, the pounded chicken wrapped around a fresh, crisp leek, was skewered with a blistery Japanese pepper, the perfect combination of crisp vegetables and silky chicken meat.  Perfectly crispy on the outside, supremely tender within, the chicken meatballs (tsukune) were simply seasoned with a bright yakitori sauce.  The parade of chicken was quickly followed by two vegetable skewers; ginko beans, nutty and crunchy, and gentle Japanese mushrooms. 

If that wasn't enough, which it was, there was another course to be had, that even if you're nearing full, is worth risking the aftereffects of eating too much.  With a choice of oyaka don and dashi chazuke, I tried both.  While the dashi chazuke, a simple bonito broth with rice, was soothing, I was more enchanted by the oyaka don, a traditional bowl of rice topped off with a rich chicken meatball and a gooey, half-boiled egg.  If you don't have room, I highly recommend bringing it home and eating it for breakfast - well-worth the shame of asking for a doggie bag.  For dessert, I took part in a subtly sweet mound of crushed ice with specks of oba leaf.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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810 Broadway, nr. 12th St.
(212)388-1884

TYPE: Japanese izakaya
VIBE: Lackluster neighborhood spot
OCCASION: A "something for everyone" Japanese outing
DON'T MISS DISH: Cooked taro with baby shrimp & special sauce
DON'T BOTHER DISH: Toro tartar with quail egg
DRINK SPECIALTY: Sake and Japanese beers
PRICE: $35 & up
HOURS: Dinner, 7 days a week, 6 PM - 4 AM; Lunch, Mon - Fri, 12 - 2 PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations accepted, but not necessary.
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES: 5.5
FINAL WORD: With a menu that reads like a culinary encyclopedia of all things Japanese, Ariyoshi overextends itself, resulting in a flurry of well-priced, but unmemorable dishes. 

Seeing at it was the night after Christmas, I was in the mood for something other than peking duck and moo shu shrimp.  First, I squired a reservation at Dennis Foy's new Tribeca haunt only to later receive a voicemail, informing me they had decided to close for a private party.  So I went to Plan B and made a reservation at 15 East, a new sushi spot in the old Tocqueville space, suffering further disappointment which came in the form of another voicemail, which went something like, "We regret to inform me that the restaurant will be closed because the fish at the fish market didn't meet the chef's standards."  Though I appreciated their integrity and insistence to serve Christmas fish that could've been some three days old, I was now left with the duty of finding a reservation for five at somewhere new with only three hours to spare.  With dashed hopes and dreams, I reached into my bag of tricks and pulled out Ariyoshi, a new spot that rides the current wave of izakayas opening around town.

What is an izakaya you might be wondering? (If not, just humor me):

I'm glad you asked.  It's a traditional Japanese bar or restaurant that serves both food and alcohol.  In America, we call those restaurants with liquor licenses (which are quite hard to come by these days).  Izakaya, comes from the word, sakaya - a sake shop - but most izakayas also serve small plates.  Back in the day, you could pay a fixed price for an "all you can eat & drink" meal.  Tragically lost in translation, most Americanized izakayas involve ordering a la carte off the menu.  And now, back to our regular scheduled programming - Ariyoshi...

Once Takayama, an upscale sushi bar, this Union Square restaurant has been renamed and transformed into an izakaya.  The modern space is sparsely garnished with sake barrels, bamboo-dressed light boxes, a flat screen tv playing a DVD of a Japanese music show, and a scattering of tree branches.    On the way to our table, my aggressive friend made a b-line for the sushi bar (with seating for 15) to interrogate a poor unsuspecting sushi chef.  "Let me ask you a question.  How can the fish be fresh if no one was fishing on Christmas day," he demanded.  He was hastily rescued by Roman, the manager, who insisted the fish was just purchased that morning.  Instead of menus, we were enthusiastically presented with evidence - the receipts from the morning's purchase at the fish market.

We ordered a bottle of Masumi sake and settled into the menu, which read more like a weighty Japanese food bible: yakitori, udon, teriyaki, rice bowls, rice balls, tofu and dumplings to name a few.  With sushi as well as countless other miscellaneous appetizers and cooked entrees, there was a lot of ground to cover.  Perhaps, too much.  But we tried our damndest, beginning with the toro tartar.  Topped with a quail egg, a heaping mound of toro was surrounded by miso wasabi sauce.  After one bite, my "aggressive friend" leaned over and whispered, "Taste this."  So I did. It wasn't so much fishy as it was gooey with metallic undercurrents, not to mention the thick miso sauce swallowed the fish whole.  While the shrimp shumai were surprisingly flavorful, the salmon roe on a bed of grated radish was bland, ditto on the seaweed salad as well as an overly gummy beef negimaki.  The cooked taro with fresh baby shrimp and "special sauce", which was more of a soothing, soy sauce-laced vegetable broth, was the only standout as far as appetizers go.   

But I wanted to venture deeper into izakaya territory, so I sampled a traditional pot, spilling over with frizzy udon noodles and beef muscle.  The beef muscle was chewy and rich, but the rest of the dish fizzled; a mess of dull broth, overcooked tofu and root vegetables.  Moving right along to the yakitori section: I sampled the tsukune (chicken meatballs), a standard I like to use to compare yakitori spots.  While the meatballs were plump puffs of white meat, they were also in desparate need of seasoning.  As far as sushi goes, I sampled yellowtail and tuna sashimi, and a smattering of rolls, all of which were mediocre at best.  But the onigiri (rice balls) are worth exploring: tucked into the middle of a well-vinegared ball of rice, the plum flake and sea eel, were both simple, but tasty endeavors.  The best dish on the entire menu happens to be the garlic chili kinoko, a melange of five types of steamed mushrooms.  Wrapped in tin foil, springy mushrooms arrived perfectly cooked and expertly seasoned with garlic oil and red pepper.

We wrapped up the evening with partially thawed mochi and a green tea ice cream, which was better than it had to be.  Ariyoshi covers all of its bases, perhaps to a fault: they fail to master any Japanese cooking technique, particularly sushi.  While this izakaya spreads itself way too thin, you can't accuse Ariyoshi of having a limited menu.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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Sasabune
401 East 73rd St., nr. 1st Ave.
(212)249-8583

TYPE: Sushi
VIBE: No nonsense UES sushi joint
OCCASION: Serious sushi endeavors
DON'T MISS DISH: Albacore sashimi, amberjack with ponzu sauce, crab hand roll - basically, the entire omakase menu. 
DRINK SPECIALTY: Sake & Japanese beer
PRICE: $60 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Mon - Sat, 5:30 PM - 10:30 PM; Lunch, Mon - Fri, 12 PM - 2 PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations accepted, recommended for the sushi bar.
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES: 8.5
FINAL WORD: The best sushi this side of Tokyo, Sasabune is a sushi trek definitely worth taking.

At the risk of waging a culinary cook-off between Los Angeles & New York, I contend  that LA's only got one thing on NYC as far as food goes - sushi.  But that's all changed now that Sasabune has graced Manhattan with its sacred, signature omakase.  After spending years as the protégé to Nobi, the sushi master behind Sushi Sasabune, a top-rated LA sushi spot, Kenji has made good on his promise, quietly opening a sushi sanctuary of his own on the Upper East Side.  While Sushi of Gari paved the way for destination dining in the name of avant-garde sushi, Sasabune will undoubtedly prove fierce competition for Gari, who's busy opening up spinoffs around the city.  While both chefs seem equally as vigilant about perfectly-cooked sushi rice as they are about their "top-secret" homemade sauces, Sasabune goes to greater and perhaps, more traditional measures, to top off warm nibbles of rice with extraordinarily fresh fish.  A one-man show, sushi chef Kenji starts his day at 4:30 AM, scouring the fish market for the highest grade fish money can buy.

Tucked into a non-descript storefront on 73rd Street, it's clear from the moment you walk in the door that Sasabune isn't about the atmosphere or the social scene.  The modest, minimally accented space – white-washed walls, a wood sushi bar, and a few orchids – has seating for 12 in the front room, 6 seats at the sushi bar, and 15 more in an adjoining back room.  The only notable furbishings are two signs that read: "Today's Special - Trust Me" and "No Spicy Tuna & No California Roll".  Trust me refers to Sasabune’s omakase, which translates to chef’s choice.  Thus, as far as special requests or non-sushi offerings, don’t bother to request any; miso soup, salad, edamame, or any Americanized fusion roll of sorts isn't available on the menu.  I still remember the first time I reluctantly ate “Trust Me” style in LA as my friend urgently whispered, ”Just eat what they put in front of you and don’t say anything.”  Sure, you’ll feel like Elaine in the infamous Soup Nazi episode, but just keep your head down and you’ll quickly get the hang of it.

After you take your first glorious bite of albacore sashimi, divinely washed in a sweet puddle of homemade sauce - a secret concoction of ponzu, soy, wasabi and sake - you'll never see sushi the same again.  A heavenly procession of well-choreographed plates, Sasabune's omakase, is diligantly repeated every evening in LA, Honololu and happily now, on NYC’s UES.  Settle in for the next plate, a piece of supremely fresh piece of naked tuna sushi, toro when it's up to Kenji's standards, and another dressed in the same ponzu sauce that blessed the albacore sashimi.  The rest of the meal becomes a blur of exquisitely prepared pieces of kampachi, snapper, butterfish, and fluke, all served atop warm sushi rice.  Your server will indicate which pieces are meant to dunked in soy sauce and slathered with wasabi, and which ones aren't - these serve more as gentle rules than suggestions.  But truth be told, this delicate sushi needs no soy sauce at all, seeing as the fish itself, and even the rice itself are so bright and flavorful, they need no help at all.

Then there are those that come dressed already: a buttery salmon with pickled kelp and toasted sesame seeds; a snapper brightened up with a touch of lemon, lime pepper and salt; a silky amberjack with ponzu sauce and scallions. 

There’s no dessert, but the baked crab hand roll gives new meaning to a happy ending.  Besides, you’ll probably be too full to even consider sweets, that is, if you’re lucky enough to make it to the end of this symphony.  Put yourself in Kenji's hands for sushi so fantastical, words can't possibly do it justice.  Just trust me.   

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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111 East 18th Street btwn. Park Avenue South & Irving Place
(212)260-2020
Savory NY video

TYPE: Contemporary Japanese & sushi
VIBE: Feng shui sleek
OCCASION: Entertaining
GO WITH: A date, birthday party, or power lunch - the possibilities are endless
DON'T MISS DISH: Wagyu brisket ravioli
DON'T BOTHER DISH: Tuna tuna salmon roll
PRICE: $50 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Sunday-Thursday, 5 PM-11:00 PM, Friday & Saturday, 5 PM-11:30 PM. The lounge (no food served after 11) stays open Sunday-Wednesday until 1 AM, Thursday, 1:30 AM, & Friday & Saturday until 3 AM.   Lunch will begin come September.
RESERVATIONS: Two weeks in advance for prime hours.
INSIDE SCOOP: No reservations necessary in the "walk-ins only" upstairs & downstairs lounge (100 seats & with an abbreviated food menu).
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES (1-10): 6
FINAL WORD: A big addition to the neighborhood...

QUICK CHEAT SHEET:
Drink - Wine by the bottle (the best bang for your buck)
Start with - Baked king crab nigiri
Eat - Wagyu brisket ravioli
Finish with - Chocolate indulgence

In a city being systematically swallowed by gargantuan Japanese eateries, the newest attack, this one mostly by sea, has set its sights on Gramercy Park's restaurant row.  Having already succeeded in becoming a prominent fixture on Chicago's culinary map, Japonais takes an 11,000 square foot stab at NYC and refreshingly manages not to make a scene about it.  The stylish space is divided into numerous intimate nooks, including an outdoor veranda, main dining room, upstairs & downstairs lounge (equipped with a DJ) - all outfitted with walnut, red & golden hues. 

While I was tempted to linger in a sexy banquette-filled lounge, already brimming with a trendy crowd, I chose to dine centerstage, sinking into a cushy candy red vinyl chair beneath a ceiling of undulating walnut wood waves in the dining room.  But there's no bad seat in this house - even the sushi bar's surprisingly roomy and civilized.  I eased into Japonais with the signature "Floating Orchid" cocktail - a fruity blend of vodka, cointreau, fresh pear & lemon juices, & an edible floating orchid - an Asian-inflected cosmopolitan of sorts, saccharine sweet, except for the orchid, which tasted exactly as a flower should (I don't recommend eating it).

Though the menu seems somewhat intimidating and lengthy, it's simple to navigate if you start with sushi, but focus your efforts (and money) on the cooked "Hot Kitchen Specialties".  I began with an inside-out spicy octopus roll, topped with a tuna tartare so fiery even the sweet eel sauce couldn't offset the heat, practically rendering my tastebuds useless for the rest of the meal.  Luckily, my tongue recovered just in time for a fantastic Kani Nigiri, a tangy tangle of spicy baked king crab wrapped in seaweed.   My last stop in the sushi section was a Tuna Tuna Salmon roll: generous slabs of silky and fresh ahi tuna arrived draped over a dried-out baked salmon roll (I would've preferred the ahi tuna solo).

But it was smooth sailing once I hit the cooked dishes.  Wagyu brisket raviolis were nearly perfect: tender and sumptuous pillows of wagyu simmering in a sweet sea of mirin & beer broth so delicious that I had to be physically restrained from picking up the bowl and lapping up the rest of the addictive broth.  Then came "The Rock", a kitschy & tasty do-it-yourself signature steak dish, that should be required eating by every table.  Marinated in a sweet soy sauce, slivers of paper-thin New York strip are cooked any way you like it - just throw a sliver on your personal hot rock (but don't touch the rock).

Come dessert, I spent time with the Chocolate Indulgence, an unmemorable trio of decadent sweets.  I tried not to pick favorites, but the chocolate truffle beignets - warm and fluffy bite-sized donuts - stashed an unusually rich, dark chocolate ooze that gloriously spilled out when bitten. 

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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