Archive for 'Japanese'

Seek Out Cafe Duke’s “Asian Foodteria” And You’ll Be Rewarded With A Meaty Feast

Anyone who’s worked in the central part of Soho long enough probably knows about Cafe Duke on Broadway (btw. Spring & Prince). I’d never been inside before but braved the hordes of shoppers to check it out and found it to be a massive space stretching from the front of the building to the back, with another entrance on Mercer St. Up front you’ll find sandwiches, some hot items, then a by-the-pound buffet that had such delights as fried chicken and some Chinese food, but you may want to head to the back to a counter merely marked “grill.” That’s where you’ll find bibimbap, a by-the-pound noodle saute station, ramen and what I was after – donburi.  Read more »

When It’s Hot Outside, Zaru Soba At Niko Niko Hits The Spot

It’s easy to forget about Niko Niko on Wall (at Pearl) which has been a mainstay of cheap Japanese comfort food for years in the Financial District and is the closest thing we have to something like a Sunrise Mart. When Yushi opened a couple of blocks up Pearl St. I wondered how the two would compare, but I think Niko Niko has the edge on most things in the price department although I did really like Yushi’s rice bowls that have perhaps more inventive vegetable and protein options. Still, sometimes when the weather is super hot as it has been lately the thought of eating a big hot bowl of rice and meat sounds about as appealing as doing my taxes so that’s when either sushi or zaru soba comes in and I stopped by Niko Niko to check out their version of the latter.

Read more »

The FiDi’s Yushi Has A “Build Your Own Bowl” Bar, And It’s Delicious

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when walking into the freshly opened Yushi on Pearl St. (btw. Cedar & Maiden Lane), but I certainly didn’t think I’d find a Chipotle-esque setup serving build-your-own rice and noodle bowls. I hesitantly joined the line after bypassing the premade hot food display of noodle dishes, overpriced dumplings, soups and the cold options of sushi rolls and salads. It turned out that deciding to fashion myself a “Yu Bowl” was a surprisingly excellent choice.

Read more »

First Look: Hibachi Heaven Is The Healthy Version Of Street Meat

As noted on the Midtown site, there’s something of a trend right now with trucks serving Japanese food. Hibachi Heaven debuted last Thursday in the Financial District and this Friday there’s a truck called Okadaman hitting the streets with okanamiyaki and other specialties more commonly found at sake watering holes in the East Village. But this review’s about Hibachi Heaven which serves the protein + vegetables + rice + sauce combo familiar to anyone who’s eaten at a street meat cart. This wasn’t street meat, but it wasn’t exactly Japanese either.

Read more »

Yushi’s Pearl St. Outpost Opening Today

Last week we told you that signs had gone up on the new Yushi location on Pearl St. (btw. Maiden & Cedar). Since then they’ve taken the paper down from the windows and everything looks ready to go inside, which is good because they’re opening on Monday. This joins the location in the World Financial Center food court and one in Midtown, and furthers the creep of chain places from Maiden Lane.

Yushi,  Pearl St. (btw. Maiden Lane & Cedar), 4 World Financial Center, www.yushi.com

Hibachi Heaven First Impressions, According To FiDi Lunch’ers

hibachi resize

The Hibachi Heaven truck finally debuted in the Financial District (and the streets of NYC) yesterday after some hiccups delayed the launch from Tuesday. I wandered down early to avoid any crazy lines, and happened to get there a few minutes before they opened making me the second person to order food. My take on it will be coming on Monday, but I thought since a couple of you weighed in after eating there that I’d do a special Friday crowd-sourced review since they’ll be returning to the corner of Water & Broad Old Slip today and every Tuesday and Friday (at Hudson & King on Thursdays). The good, the bad, the lack of rice straight ahead.

Read more »

Hibachi Heaven Truck Debuts Downtown Tuesday

Have you ever thought your life would be complete if there was a truck roaming the streets of NYC serving food cooked on a hibachi? Well, get ready to live (or die?) because a truck called Hibachi Heaven is making its debut on Tuesday in the Financial District somewhere on Water St. The concept seems somewhat similar to one of those Mongolian grills where you choose protein, vegetable and sauce and then it’s all cooked on a hot flat top for you. You can check out the menu after the jump, but it looks pretty simple and thankfully they chose not to fuse the food with anything other than Japanese flavors.

Read more »