Back in the spring, Luncher ‘Steve” spotted the opening of Tokyo 11 just out of ML bounds (sort of in Flatiron Lunch bounds) on 31st and Lexington. We haven’t checked it out yet, but passing by this week, I noticed that they’re offering 15% off of the whole menu through the end of the month.
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Posted by ultraclay at 3:30 pm, September 13th, 2010 under Flatiron Lunch, Japanese, Tokyo 11.
Since my initial write-up of Totto Ramen, I’ve become somewhat of a regular customer. Customer may be too light of a word – ‘devotee’ is more like it. At the ever so slightly out-of-ML price range, this ever so slightly out-of-bounds restaurant has enraptured me, besting my former #2 ranked ramen shop, Minca in the East Village (Ippudo remains steadfast at #1… for now).
While I was previously constrained to the plain bowl of chicken paitan ramen ($9.25), in keeping with ML cost guidelines, I found true love in the spicy chicken ramen ($10.25), made even more tasty with the added crunch of kikurage mushrooms (+$1), and the opulence of a seasoned hardboiled egg (+$1). Impossibly decadent and deliriously spicy, this nearly perfect bowl of chicken noodle soup is worth the >$10 splurge. They say that perfection has a price, but for $12 and change, I’ll buck the trend of being a lunchtime cheapass and indulge.
Related:
Totto Ramen Is the Closest Thing We’ve Got to the East Village
Posted by Chris H. at 9:30 am, August 11th, 2010 under Japanese, Soups, Totto Ramen.
I’ve been meaning to stop in for after work drinks at Sake Bar Kirakuya ever since I saw the shimmering curtain sign in the window months ago. By the end of the workday, though, my instinct is usually to get as far from the office as possible and I just keep forgetting to try it.
So, I was excited to find a good excuse to check it out during the day now that they are open for lunch. The other day a friend and I stopped in to see what these new Japanese options are all about.
Posted by ultraclay at 10:30 am, July 26th, 2010 under 32nd btw. B'way+5th, Japanese, Kirakuya.
Lunch’er “Chris” is on fire! Yesterday he gave us a rundown of all the decent options at Taste of Summer in Rock Center (today is the last day, btw.) Today he files this pretty amazing report on Ramen Totto, which is now open for lunch. I think it might be time to make this guy official. Please welcome the newest contributor to the fold… Chris H.
Few would consider ramen to be good hot weather food. Even fewer would consider a restaurant located on 52nd btw. 8+9th to be within midtown lunch bounds. However, with Totto Ramen’s recent announcement that they would start serving lunch I felt compelled to schlep (schvitzing all the way) to the outer regions of Midtown to check out Ryuichi “Bobby” Munekata’s latest offering. Was the journey worth it? We noodle over the answer after the jump…
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, July 22nd, 2010 under Japanese, Review, Soups, Totto Ramen.
Variety has always been the greatest strength of Cafe Zaiya, the popular Japanese lunch spot and bakery on 41st (btw. 5th and Madison). On a recent trip, I noticed their offerings have gotten even more varied with the introduction of some new Summer lunch items, including cold noodles. See their new menu and get a look at one of the new dishes after the jump.
Posted by Jeremiah White at 10:00 am, July 15th, 2010 under 41st btw. 5+Mad, Cafe Zaiya, Japanese.
Well before Haru Hana, Izakaya Moku and now Sake Bar Kirakuya started ‘Japanifying’ Koreatown, Arang was offering up a hybrid Japanese/Korean menu. It’s changed a lot since Zach first wrote about its buffet way back in 2006. For a while they closed up the buffet and went lunch-less, but as Zach reported after I wrote about it on my blog, they reopened with full table service and an interesting mix of Korean and Japanese dishes.
Some of my favorite dishes require a slight splurge out of the ML Price range, but there are plenty of great options under $10. Check them out after the jump.
Posted by ultraclay at 10:00 am, July 8th, 2010 under 32nd btw. B'way+5th, Arang, Japanese, Korean.
Newish Koreatown sake bar Kirakuya (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th, 2nd Floor) is now open for lunch and serving special sets. Options under $10 include udon and soba noodle bowls served hot or cold and rice bowls with tempura or unagi. Check out a close up of the menu after the jump…
Posted by ultraclay at 8:30 am, July 1st, 2010 under 32nd btw. B'way+5th, Japanese, Kirakuya.
It’s been awhile since we’ve mentioned Washoku Cafe, the Japanese quick lunch spot on 37th btw Mad+5th. They’ve actually made some adjustments to their menu recently. In addition to the selection of bento boxes, sushi and rice bowls, they are now serving ramen as well. I’ll definitely be stopping by soon to give it a try. With the weather bouncing from warm and sunny to damp and dreary, it’s just a matter of time before a nice bowl of soup is in order.
If any early adopters have checked out the ramen at Washoku, let us know how it is in the comments.
Posted by ultraclay at 8:30 am, April 28th, 2010 under 37th btw. Mad+5th, Japanese, Washoku Cafe.
Ah El Mar: that great big blue that brings us such delicacies as the spicy tuna roll, salmon sashimi and shrimp tempura. Can there be a better piscatorial lunch then a plate of the finest of the sea? Freshly hooked, gutted, sliced and then served raw begging to take a little dunk into a shallow pool of salty soy sauce and nasal watering wasabi. I think not!
ML has always had an ideal vision of what an affordable sushi lunch should cost: 3 rolls for under $10. Any sushi lover out there knows that’s a tough one. Getting 2 rolls tends to be doable in most cheap Japanese eateries, especially if you include those refrigerated cases at delis and markets. However, ML is not about imitation crab and massed produced bento boxes. 2 rolls are for suckahs! Eaters like us need the magic number 3 to satisfy our gastronomic needs. For a while Aoki filled that craving, but their fishy trinity has increased to $11 and they are dead to us hardcore lunchers. Enter Hiroshi (on 3rd Ave btw. 38+39th) and things start to look up for us sushi loving lunchers on the eastside.
Before we dared to stuff two fried chicken fillets between biscuits and before we knew of Franken pie, there was a time when I got excited over good deals from places I walk by everyday. The other week, I passed East Japanese (on W 55th btw 8th+Bway) which had a banner advertising its awesome $5 Hiru-Bento AKA an “un-ignorable and unforgettable restaurant quality to-go lunch with restaurant price!” I’m a sucker for hype (Momo. What? Where!), but love cheap and satisfying grub even more. (Unintentionally funny translations are just a bonus.) So, of course, I had to find out what’s inside the box…
Posted by Amy Cao at 10:15 am, April 13th, 2010 under East Japanese, Japanese.
