Category Archives: Lower East Side/Chinatown

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Omakase Sushi by No Name

July 10, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

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

June 29, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

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

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Sun Hing Lung

June 18, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

Sun Hing Lung is a little hole in the wall rice roll and dumpling spot on Henry Street in Chinatown. I walked by here once and made a mental note that I wanted to try it, but I was never able to find it again on all my walks and rides in the area. Fast Forward to last weekend, when my friend Peter suggested it as a spot to try for rice rolls. BOOM! It’s the spot I have been trying to re-find for almost two years!

After a skate park session, I rode over to pick some up. I took them home and devoured them all. Chinese sausage with mixed veggies, curry fish ball, and pork. All great. Hard to choose a favorite.

SUN HING LUNG
58 Henry St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Toriya

June 17, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

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

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Da Li

June 17, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I have walked by this tapas bar that turns clubby at night a hundred times, and we have always wanted to go in. This time, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Their $10 martini during happy hour was perfect.

We also tried some of their tapas menu, which was also discounted (basically two-for-one).

We will definitely be back to try more!

DA LI
37 Market St.
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Kin Gin

May 23, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

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

April 28, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

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

Burgers, East Village, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

The Commodore II

April 23, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

A second location of the popular Williamsburg bar “The Commodore” just opened in the lower east side at Avenue C and Houston Street. My wife and I have been eagerly awaiting the open since we saw renovations going on there last year. The interior is really cool, almost like you’re aboard a yacht. They even have life fish in a tank along the right side wall, with circular portals for viewing.

We started with two frozen drinks and both were great. The winner between the Orange Julio and the frozen mojito was the mojito, however. They also serve $4 cans of Schaefer, which is a steal. During happy hour, you can get a beer and a shot for $7, which is a price that’s on par with the cheapest dives in town.

Speaking of happy hour, they offer their burger with fries for $14 (normally just the burger costs $14, but at happy hour the fries come with). The burger is a nice crumbly patty that’s well seasoned and dressed with all the fixings.

We also tried their fried chicken, which, despite saying three thighs on the menu, actually came with four. Also great biscuits, two hot sauces and a sweet honey butter. At $22 this is a great deal, especially considering how crispy outside and juicy inside the chicken was. Delicious.

We also tried their fried green tomato sandwich with slaw. I enjoyed this, and the baguette was a really nice surprice here on this sandwich. I expected it to be too hard and rough, but it was warm, soft and really nicely butter-toasted.

Definitely can’t wait to go back and try their fish items, grilled cheese and nachos.

THE COMMODORE II
14 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

King’s Co. Imperial

March 25, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My photos of this meal aren’t that great, because I forgot my light. My video is fine, however, because the built in video light for the phone is nice. Flash photos, not so much.

This place has a retro vibe, with a Polynesian, pu-pu platter and tiki drinks old school feel to it. The cocktails were great.

We started with crispy fried mushrooms, pork ribs and shrimp toast. All of these were good. I think the mushrooms were my favorite of the entire meal, actually.

Next up, short rib beef chow fun, dry fried string beans, and crispy Szechuan calamari. Of these, the string beans were best, with the calamari close behind. They just needed to be a bit more crispy.

There’s a lot that looked nice enough to try here, so we will most likely be back.

KINGS CO. IMPERIAL
168 1/2 Delancey St.
New York, NY 10002

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Ye’s Apothecary

March 18, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Ye’s Apothecary is a cool downstairs spot in the Lower East Side that serves great cocktails and some tasty Szechuan food. The Szechuan old fashioned was a great way to start the meal. It IS spicy, so beware.

Our favorite dish was “husband and wife,” which was a chilled appetizer of beef tripe and tendon in a spicy chili oil.

The egg noodles with char siu pork was also a nice dish, but I wouldn’t get it on a second trip.

The crispy squid was excellent. Slightly salty, but I didn’t mind.

With everything being so spicy, the chairman’s pork belly was a great way to sneak in a bite of sweet every so often. Only downside here was the thick rubbery external skin that sometimes still seemed to have the texture of stubble/hair on it. Otherwise really tasty and tender.