Category Archives: Japanese

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Wabi Nori

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Our favorite items were the crispy pigs ears and the clams.

But really everything was awesome. The egg trio was pricey at $185.

Very nice tartare made with bluefin tuna.

The miso butterscotch Brussels were extremely unique!

The pork jowl could have used a bit more texture on the outside, but otherwise super tender and very flavorful.

And more unique goodies for dessert: soy sauce tiramisu and basil shiso sorbet.

This place is definitely a keeper.

KIN GIN
107 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Yokox

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First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This joint serves up a 15-course omakase for just $89! It’s really close by, so we had to give it a try.

My favorite items were the crab handroll, the stripekack, and the scallop with uni.

Great spot! No liquor license yet, and they don’t let you BYOB, but they said the license is in the works and they should have beer and wine soon.

I can’t wait to go back to try it again. The chef said the fish can change on a daily basis, and he likes to use a lot of unique and different fish than you normally see.

YOKOX
41 Avenue B
New York, NY