A Taste of NYC: Ootoya

I love Japanese food. This post is about one of my favorite spots in the city: Ootoya. There’s always a small wait but it’s one of the few places that is consistently delicious and never overrated. For some reason figuring out if they take reservations is confusing so we generally just go in for lunch. It’s a shorter wait and their lunch specials are pretty great.

The cousin ordered the Hokke Yuan.

The sister chose the Saba.

And I went with the mini-salmon don with mini-soba. It was everything I was craving, fresh sushi and refreshing noodles. All three also come with an egg custard which is surprisingly addictive.

This place is a personal favorite that everyone should try. Just please don’t spread the word too much, I’d hate to stop going because of a horribly long wait like Totto Ramen!

A Taste of NYC: Kyotofu

The sister loves desserts. I love savory foods. Together we can never figure out what to eat. This time we chose Kyotofu an adorable Japanese dessert bar in Hell’s Kitchen. We went planning to get a small meal and dessert. It instead turned into food and a walk to get a McDonald’s cone.

We started off with the Artisanal Tofu which includes three sauces (sesame soy sauce, tomato olive oil, and kuromitsu sauce). The tofu is made in-house daily and is to die for.

Next I opted for the braised pork. Pork is one of my favorites so once I got the dish I knew I’d be a fan. Again, delicious. The only critique that I have is that it would have been better with a little less radish. I found that the meat would disappear with so many competing flavors.

The sister chose a side of taro chips and side salad (not featured) that she said were great. I’m not a fan so I decided not to try them.

Next time we come back it will be a primarily dessert focused trip since I owe the sister.