Category Archives: Japanese

Italian, Japanese, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Aqua

March 2, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video, HERE:

My wife and I came here with another foodie and social media influencer couple to try out some of this new restaurant’s menu. Aqua has both Italian and Japanese menus, so you can have a full-on omakase here, or you can dine a la carte and dig into some pasta or veal Milanese.

We selected eight items from this menu, and then had two versions of their tiramisu (one classic Italian, and one Japanese):

First off, they make some really nice cocktails, which is clutch since they have a gigantic bar (the whole space is pretty massive, actually).

We started with the mushroom and truffle arancini. These were delicious bites.

The lobster bisque pizzette was really unique. I’ve never had something like that. It makes for great table bread to share as a snack.

This red prawn carpaccio was absolutely incredible. This is a must order when you go here.

These little nuggets of fried rock shrimp were really tasty. They don’t look like much, but I was hooked. I could not stop popping them.

The oxtail and truffle mafalde was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the oxtail was super tender and savory.

Here’s a shot of their 12-piece sashimi omakase, which has all of your favorites, salmon belly being my favorite.

This eight-piece roll had salmon and scallop, which was nice.

And finally, the yuzu shiso marinated lamb chops. These were awesome. After the red prawn carpaccio, this was probably my favorite item.

For dessert, we tried the classic tiramisu and the matcha/green team tiramisu. I think we all agreed that the classic version was better. I didn’t snap any photos of that, so you’ll just have to watch the video to see them!

AQUA
902 Broadway
New York, NY 10010

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Wabi Nori

January 16, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Wabi Nori is a new sushi hand roll place that just opened near us on the Lower East Side. They have a nice $10 cocktail happy hour, which also offers some reduced price snacks as well. We tried the karaage chicken, the fried calamari, and the soft shell crab. All of these were nice, but I think we liked the chicken and crab the best.

They have pre-set menus for the hand rolls (3, 4, 5 and 6 count). We did the 6-count, and my wife was able to swap the scallop out for a second crab roll since she is allergic. It would have been cool if they let her pick a different protein of equal or lesser value for the swap, rather than making her double up on a roll. For example, the eel roll is $8 a la carte, and so is the scallop. Why not let her replace the scallop with eel instead of making her choose a second crab or tuna? Seemed weird.

Anyway, the tuna and scallop were my favorites, with the lobster close behind.

The salmon, yellowtail and crab were also nice, but nothing was on par with that final piece / hand roll that you get at the end of a nice omakase. Not bad, though, for $38.

WABI NORI
115 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Shhh

October 5, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This secretive omakase joint in the back of an ice cream shop serves up 14 or 18 course omakase meals with unlimited sake for just $96 or $126, respectively.

My favorite pieces were the snappers, scallop and tuna. But the real stars of the show were the appetizers: cod sperm sack and chawanmushi with uni and crab meat!

Snappers:

Scallop:

Tuna:

I can’t believe I ate cum. And I’ll definitely be back for more, especially the soft serve ice cream (not made from cum).

Here are some of the other items:

The cum was torched:

SHHH
113 Division St.
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Flash Deals, Japanese, Restaurant Reviews

Shiso

September 2, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

My wife picked up a Pulsd deal for this joint, which was $99 for two 18-course omakase dinners, including two shots of sake each. That’s not a bad deal!

My favorite pieces were the various jack fish (amberjack, strip jack), the ebi shrimp with tobiko, and the uni. The squid was nice too.

The most unique piece (and really delicious too) was the eel with banana! So different. I really liked that.

Service was a bit wonky, because we got started at a different time than others who were late for their reservations, and one couple was doing a different coursing than the rest of us. As a result there was a little mix up where we received our dessert before the final piece of sushi (uni), and our sushi plate and chopsticks were already cleared. But everyone was really nice, and I think the Pulsd deal was worth it. I might not go otherwise, since the regular price is a bit steep for what you get. Also… there was no shiso served at this restaurant named Shiso.

SHISO
214 E 9th St.
New York, NY 10003

Japanese, Nolita/Soho, Restaurant Week

Kintsugi

August 14, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Kintsugi was offering a nice discounted, pre-paid omakase for restaurant week, so my wife jumped on the deal.

We really enjoyed this spot, but I think the best item of the meal was the add-on uni hand roll that we did at the end of the tasting. It was loaded with really nice uni, but expensive at $30 each. The regular uni piece was pretty good too.

Other than that, I think my favorite pieces were the chopped fatty tuna, the soy marinated tuna, the Alaskan sablefish, and the Faroe Island salmon.

KINTSUGI
28 Grand St.
New York, NY 10013

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Ushiwakamaru

July 13, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review, HERE:

This pop up from Michelin starred chef Hideo offers a range of delicious sushi in omakase or a la carte format ranging from $130-$250pp, and it is 100% worth it.

My favorite bites were the ocean trout, giant clam, uni, and Montauk shrimp.

I can’t wait to go back and try more. The pop up is around until November, but it may renew every six months afterward.

USHIWAKAMARU
177 Ludlow St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Omakase Sushi by No Name

July 10, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review show HERE:

My wife and I made a last minute reservation to Omakase Sushi by No Name yesterday, and I am so glad we did. This is easily one of my favorites in the city. We did their “tare” omakase, which consists of 17 courses for $129, prepared with upgraded higher end ingredients than what they offer in the 13 course omakase (that one is just $89).

The chef and waiter were both awesome, very knowledgeable and friendly. It’s really hard to choose favorite pieces among so many really nicely prepared courses, but I’ll try.

Everything with uni was great. There were three pieces: The raw oyster was beautifully dressed and topped with Hokkaido uni and ikura.

The uni by itself on top of a fried shiso leaf was absolutely awesome. I love shiso, and the combination was wild!

Lastly, the uni atop raw scallop with caviaar was delicious.

Some other favorites: hamachi, three layer chutoro (medium fatty), and smoked sea trout (first time trying a sea trout, as opposed to fresh water).

Probably my favorite of the night was the torched wagyu topped with the chef’s secret ingredient, powdered wagyu fat! It tasted dry-aged too. It was amazing!

As you can tell, there were lots of unique items that I have never seen before. Some others were the sea ell (as opposed to fresh water). It had a really sticky fat texture and tons of favor – way better than traditional barbecued style fresh eel. There was also a fried oyster topped with squid ink foam!

There was even a tasty coconut matcha flan/custard for dessert.

The best part, after 17 courses I was stuffed! I wanted to add a Dungeness crab and uni piece, but the crab wasn’t in season, and so it wasn’t available. But usually after omakase, I am still hungry! Not this time! I will definitely be back for sure.

I will definitely be back here again – I am 100% certain of that!

OMAKASE SUSHI BY NO NAME
114 Eldridge St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Zensushi Omakase

June 29, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife found this place, Zensushi Omakase, which offers a 14-course omakase for just $89. Excellent deal, and excellent quality pieces!

Jeff, our chef, was an incredible host, and he was funny, informative and super nice. Ask for him!

My favorite pieces were probably the chutoro with caviar, which we added on extra at the end, and the wagyu strip with uni and caviar. I was shocked that one was included!

I highly recommend this pplace. We will definitely be back for more!

ZENSUSHI OMAKASE
235 Eldridge St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Toriya

June 17, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

My wife and I just realized that a yakitori joint opened up by us late last year. we went this past weekend to try it out.

Check out the Ride & Review HERE first, then read below.

First, great beer selection! Hitachino Nest beer is one of my favorites.

On Sundays, edamame is just a buck.

We tried a bunch of skewers, obviously. I think the yuzu thighs and chicken skins were my favorite, but we also had some gizzards, cartilage, tenderloin, mushrooms, and shrimp.

This raw octopus dish with wasabi was really nice too.

The fried squid legs were our least favorite, but they were still great. I really liked that they came with a pair of scissors!

Not only will we be back here soon, but we will be regulars. I’m so happy this is in our neighborhood!

TORIYA
178 Stanton St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Kin Gin

May 23, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This joint, while definitely not a traditional Izakaya in appearance, still serves up some outstanding food and cocktails. Their martini is pretty much absolute perfection.