Category Archives: Lower East Side/Chinatown

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Hakka Cuisine

October 18, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I just walked by this place a few weeks ago and we were wondering if it was any good. Then, a few days ago, some friends of ours organized a lunch here. We were psyched to go.

This place is really known for their “blossom chicken,” which is basically a chicken that has had all the meat removed, chopped up, and mixed with shrimp paste to form a sort of chicken-shrimp sausage. Then it’s stuffed back into the skin and cooked until that skin gets golden crisp. It’s amazing!

We also had a really tender, delicious and savory braised pork belly dish. Make sure you order some rice to soak up those amazing juices.

The stuffed tofu (stuffed with pork sausage, I think) was good, but it was my least favorite of the main dishes. It just didn’t have the powerful punch of flavor like the others.

This stir fried white fish or bait fish dish was really tasty. I think this would benefit from a pop of spice, but the ginger in it was really refreshing.

If you’re looking for a big shared appetizer, get the sliced conch on ice. It’s heavy on the wasabi, but if you’re like me, that’s a good thing!

Last, we had some pea shoots with fried baby shrimp on the side. This was more soupy than I expected, as opposed to stir fried. It was still delicious though.

I will definitely be back here to try more dishes. Our waiter showed us a few more items that they consider specialties as he was bringing them to other tables (egg custard with clams, and lobster fried rice).

HAKKA CUISINE
11 Division St.
New York, NY 10002

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Cellar 36

October 10, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Cellar 36 is a small wine and tapas bar located in Chinatown owned and operated by the same folks behind The Ten Bells, which I love. Like Ten Bells, Cellar 36 offers a great happy hour deal that includes $20 carafes and $1 oysters. We went for it.

I definitely recommend this spot, and I’ll definitely be back!

Cellar 36
36 Market St
New York, NY 10002

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Kalye

October 3, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Check out my Ride & Review first HERE:

Kalye is a relatively new-ish (open since November 2022) Filipino food joint on the Lower East Side. My buddy Ivan (@eyebahnrides) wanted to check it out, so we made a video out of the occasion. We swapped bikes and each did a review of the other persons bike, then we finished up at Kalye.

We started with the lumpia and a little dish of macaroni salad. Both were great. They air fry here, so the lumpia weren’t greasy or oily. Great crisp, and this went perfectly with our first round of beer (San Miguel).

Next, we moved on to the sisig and lechon. Both of these pork dishes were incredible.

The lechon had such a great crisp on the skin, and the belly was rendered out and cooked perfectly. Both dishes were paired with a wonderful garlic rice, and we put down our second round of beer; Red Horse.

Last, dessert. Halo halo. Absolutely delicious ube soft serve ice cream atop chipped ice, coconut, sweet mung bean and grass jelly.

This place was excellent. The plan is to go back with our wives for a double date.

KALYE
251 Broome St
New York, NY 10002

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Kaki

October 3, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife discovered this newly opened joint in our hood called Kaki. They have a 15-piece omakase that includes sake for just $75. WHAT A STEAL! The pieces are clean, beautiful and delicious. A bit more on the traditional side in terms of presentation.

Here’s a photo dump of all the pieces.

I will definitely be back. We really like this spot!

KAKI
129 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Cloud

September 24, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Cloud is a new Vietnamese place in the lower east side. After some drinks and snacks nearby, my wife and I decided to pop in to give a few items a try, particularly their coffee selections and their avocado shake.

We started with their non-traditional take on banh xeo, which was more like a pita bread cone with all the flavors of banh xeo inside. It wasn’t bad!

Then, we tried a soup called banh canh, which was almost like a cross between pho flavors and some Chinese noodle soups we used to get up in Hell’s Kitchen. I enjoyed it.

On the flip side, we didn’t like the egg coffee because it was laden with cooked egg particles. It wasn’t mixed in properly to make for smooth texture. I actually asked them for something to strain it with. After that, it was better.

Their peanut butter coffee was delicious, however.

The avocado shake needed some more sweetened condensed milk, but otherwise was nice.

I’m sure eventually I’ll try the banh mi and pho to fill out this review a bit more.

CLOUD
79 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Italian, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Fiaschetteria Pistoia

September 17, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my ass-kicking RIDE & REVIEW video for this restaurant HERE:

This place, whose name translates to Pistoia Wine Shop (Pistoia is a town in Tuscany), has some really amazing food.

We started with the guancia (pork cheek) and Tonno del Chianti (pork that tastes like tuna). Both were hands-down incredible.

Even their bread is a delicious mix of focaccia and country style.

Next we dove into some pasta. On was a special tagliatelle with sausage. Very good, although just a hint salty.

The other was a duck pappardelle which was lights out!

We finished the meal with the most perfect panna cotta I’ve ever had. Seriously.

FIASCETTERIA PISTOIA
647 E 11th Street
New York, NY 10009

Banh Mi, Deli, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Sam’s Deli

September 16, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I stopped in this joint for a sandwich while I was serving jury duty. I felt like the price was high for $11.50: turkey club and a seltzer. But it was decent.

They also had banh mi. Look at the HORROR/DEATH METAL font!

I grabbed one for the road. It was okay for the price, but I’ve had better.

SAM’S DELI
30 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10013

Deli, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Regina’s Grocery

August 14, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my short Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I finally got in here for a sandwich.

The place has been around for a long time, and I have to say, there’s a reason for it. The sandwiches are GREAT! This was a little expensive at $17, but when you compare to a place like Joey Roses ($8), which are smaller, the price makes sense. The quality is great from the bread to the Calabrian chili paste to the meats and mozz.

We went with the Uncle John (mortadella being the big selling point) and we added the chili paste.

I will definitely be back.

REGINA’S GROCERY
27 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002

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

The Hairy Lemon

July 25, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I went on a little food and bar crawl this past weekend, and The Hairy Lemon was our first stop for a bite. We tried two flavors of wings: spicy orange and ginger sauce, and mango habanero. We liked the mango habanero better, but neither were particularly as spicy as we had hoped.

We also tried their tots. These were nice, but just needed a hint of salt. A nice dipping sauce came with them.

I’d definitely go back to try the burger, and to hang for some UFC fights. It’s a big sports bar with tons of TVs, a pool table, a giant Connect Four game, etc.

THE HAIRY LEMON
28 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Carlota

July 22, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Carlota is a small tapas and vermouth bar on Orchard just above Canal. It’s a great spot for sips and snacks, and it’s a sister restaurant to Bar Belly, just next door.

We tried a lot of stuff, so there’s a photo dump below. Everything we had was excellent.

Here’s the menu: