Three restaurants that are more affordable than a flight to Tokyo
It’s a rule of law: If a dish exists, there’s someone in Japan who’s made a livelihood out of contemplating every detail of that food — be it the pancake, bagel or burger — until it’s damn-near perfect. I haven’t been to Japan (yet), but I have visited several wonderful restaurants this winter that turned singular dishes into carefully contemplated pleasures. Hamburg steaks that sizzle in their pans. Loaves of salt bread that sparkle in the sun. Japanese yams that melt in the oven. Even pizza, our holiest of foods. This week, I’m taking you to three Japanese restaurants that stand out for one thing.
Salt, flour, sugar, yeast, butterThe slender, salted rolls known as salt bread (government name: shio pan) originate in Japan, but Justin Lim, a Korean restaurateur, is the one who is popularizing them in Manhattan. During the pandemic, Mr. Lim found himself meandering through Tokyo when he came across Pain Maison, a local chain famous for its glistening, buttered buns. “I couldn’t believe no one was making them here,” he recently told me. Mr. Lim is a one-dish wonder who has obsessed over the finer details of tsukemen, tan tan ramen and udon at his Okiboru noodle shops around town. So after tinkering with hydration levels and proof times for several years, he opened Justin’s Salt Bread in the East Village at the end of last year. His five-ingredient rolls may look like Olive Garden breadsticks, but they squish like milk bread and emit warming clouds of steam when they do. (Mr. Lim’s philosophy: No roll sits for more than 10 minutes.) Order a few of them, then kick off your shoes: The best seats in the house are on the sprawling tatami mat in the back. 58 Second Avenue (East Third Street), East Village
Sweet potato for your sweet toothI’ll give you one guess as to what’s on the menu at Hello, Yam! Sorry … so close. The specialty of Emi Kataoka’s little cafe is sweet potato — they’re different! — patiently roasted and sweet as any dessert. That’s the potato experience Ms. Kataoka remembers from Japan, where torched tubers are dispensed from the backs of trucks in foil wrappers. She imports beni haruka potatoes from Kagoshima, where the city’s volcanic soils produce candy sweet tubers with plum-colored skins that peel away in the oven, drawing out their natural flavor. I like her beni harukas with a pat of honey butter, but anyone with an internet connection will tell you I’m wrong. Shortly after opening, Ms. Kataoka’s shop went viral for its sweet potato sundaes: a scoop of vanilla ice cream finished with corn flakes and ribbons of shredded sweet potato. Call it something for everyone. 443 East Ninth Street (Avenue A), East Village
Mommy’s little Hamburg steakNew York is an accredited meatball town, but secretly, I always wished it was more of a Hamburg steak one. There’s just something about those little patties: carefully sculpted from ground beef and seared until a crust forms on both sides, a well of beef juices waiting to burst from the dam. A Hamburg steak like that showed up last summer at Cafe O’Te, a small cafeteria inside a home goods shop in Greenpoint. (It’s connected to the upscale Japanese restaurant House Brooklyn, in the same complex.) Compared with the coffee mugs carved from Tabunoki wood, the Hamburg steak is a bargain, served with chicken soup, potato salad and a bowl of rice for soaking up the drippings for just $25. Fork and knife? Not necessary. Chopsticks are all you need after these domed patties are seared, baked and served, sputtering in their own fat. 38 Norman Avenue (Dobbin Street), Greenpoint From the archives
Want more Japanese dining recommendations? Check out our newsletter from April 2024 featuring three destinations for Japanese sandos and another from July 2023 on the rise of the Little Tokyo in Greenpoint. Thanks for reading, and see you next week! Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
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