St. Marks Roundup

Village Yokocho

8 Stuyvesant St 

(between 11th St & 12th St, close to St Mark's bookstore)

212.598.3041

Yelp Profile

//sake: katana (dry, lightly sweet, smooth)

I recommend their small plates (Japanese tapas?) for a variety of dishes that you may not get elsewhere in Japanese restaurants. While you can get yakitori off of St Marks, this place has some classy combos that you may want to check out. Plus it is more spacious than the Taisho Yaki place (which is literally a hallway and a small room in the back which is way too crammed)

//salmon riceball: warm. bigger than most places. probably enough to hold you over for the night.

//yakitori: ume (chicken, chicken meatball, pork, beef), quail egg: good. tasted like teriyaki. chicken with scallion: pretty much the only yaki item that I enjoy these days. 

//veggie (lotus root, baby taro, )

//ume riceball: still not the same as Go...and a bit too big.

//tuna bowl (tuna and yam over rice): the yam was smushy white so I didn't recognize it in the beginning. liked the taste of tuna and yam together. after mixing the wasabi I nearly died from how spicy it was. definitely goes well together with the veggie dish. personally i can't eat that much plain rice. (I also probably ate straight tuna in the beginning without much rice sigh)

//daikon salmon stew: warm and sweet. I got this after watching steam daikon fromt the show Osen 

Cha-An Teahouse

230 E.9th St.

212.228.8030

CASH ONLY

review from another site

I've been here a few times, although apparently have forgotten to blog it. Good tea but I'm usually here for sweets after getting yaki or other Japanese restaurant in the area

//chocolate souffle: J thinks this is better than Max Brenner's. 

//warm zenzai: sticky rice puff and chestnut inside warm red bean. black sesame chip. note that I usually get cold zenzai (because I come during warm months)