The Absolute Best Izakayas in New YorkSpending an evening at one of the city’s izakayas — a.k.a. Japanese gastropubs — is one of the most transportive things you can do in this city.
Car Plows Into Hop Kee; Neroni Keeps SpinningA car plows into the venerable Hop Kee restaurant in Chinatown. The restaurant is damaged, and one person is hurt. [Downtown Express]
Izakaya invasion! The city now boasts everything from simple sake joints with food to full-blown small-plate restaurants. [NYDN]
The official Times take on the Neroni Affair includes this classic quote, in defense of the Desperate Chef: “If Marco didn’t want anyone signing checks, including Jason, he should have put the checkbook in the safe.” [NYT]
Back of the House
Eating Out With Tim Zagat; the Littlest FeinschmeckersWhat’s it like to eat dinner with Tim Zagat? Something akin to eating with royalty. [Slate]
As Texas and New Haven fight it out for the title of who invented the hamburger, Grub Street’s editor weighs in. [LAT]
How did eating and diet get so complicated? Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and one of the guys who helped make it so complicated, sorts it all out. [NYT]
Openings
Another ‘Izakaya,’ to Our Chicken Heart’s Delight
Following the lead of newcomers Izakaya Ten and Zenkichi, the once-formal Takayama has reinvented itself as Ariyoshi, an izakaya with a sushi bar boasting a lengthy menu of tempura, yakitori, noodles, and assorted plates like veal-liver sashimi. Though sake barrels and light boxes decorated with bamboo give the narrow, high-ceilinged space a serene vibe a world away from the noisy Japanese St. Marks dives (there’s also a small private room in the back), the prices are reasonable: $2 for two gelatinous hunks of beef tendon in a stock of octopus, egg, radish, and tofu (there are ten other varieties of oden stew, too), and $2 for a skewer of salted chicken hearts. The toro tartar, one of the priciest dishes at $13, is a tuna portion large enough to feed two, topped by a quail egg sitting in a nest of flying-fish eggs. They’re not serving cod sperm yet, but the manager says he’s considering it. —Daniel MaurerAriyoshi, 806 Broadway, nr. 12th St., 212-388-1884.
In the Magazine
Increase Your Virility, Foodie CredIn this week’s magazine, Rob and Robin sing the praises of cod milt, also known as shirako, also known as kiku, also known as — okay, no getting around it — cod sperm. If this gets your mouth watering, you might also be interested to know that Kenka, home to the most coveted 8 p.m. tables among Japanese hipsters, lists bull’s penis on its manga-inspired specials menu (turkey testicles are sometimes also available). We’ve never seen grilled chicken ovaries (or “balls on a string” as Japanese children call the skewered treats) at American yakitori vendors, but let’s hope that changes now that izakayas (and cod sperm) are having their moment. — Daniel Maurer
Shirako Season [NYM]
