Before we came to NYC, I never knew Japanese noodles extended beyond ramen and udon (and even udon I learned about just a few years before). The thick, ropey noodles at New Orleans joints like Kyoto and Sake were fantastic and a value, arriving with a healthy portion of tempura for under $15, generally. Then, spying something in the Times one day (is it clear how much I look forward to the back page of the Wednesday
Food section?) I saw a $25 and under
review of Soba Totto in East Midtown. We went there for the first time and tried the buckwheat noodles, which are thin like spaghetti and also have a nice nuttiness (not to mention being healthier than regular semolina noodles). They often come in a miso-soy type of broth, with green onion and any number of underwater delicacies resting on top, like uni, which adds a nice saltiness. At lunchtime, a combo meal often includes japanese pickles, a seaweed salad, fish or tempura and any number of other little side dishes. Best of all, soba is ubiquitous to the seasons and just as good cold as hot. Soba Totto also happens to be on an amazing block (East 43rd between 2nd and 3rd aves) populated by a number of amazingly authentic (I assume authentic...we haven't been to Japan yet) Japanese restaurants:
Sakagura (where they have an amazing selection of sake, a fantastic array of non-sushi or noodle Japanese dishes, including something with squid liver that was ten times better than you'd think, not to mention a real
Japanese toilet in the ladies' room, Alisa says) and
Sushi Yasuda (last year ranked top sushi spot in the city by
Zagat). Earlier today we learned it's possible to get great soba outside of that tiny strip, at
Soba-Ya in the
East Village, where not only is their soba equally good, but you can
watch a dude make it right where it looks like they'd be running your credit card. Instead, he uses a variety of handle-less rollers to flatten out the dough and then chops off thin noodle strands. There's also a Japanese toilet (but, again, only for the ladies, although not quite as elaborate as Sakagura's, Alisa again says). For the record, there's also a recently-opened sake shop (the only one east of the Rockies, its owner says) a block east,
Sakaya, that's definitely worth checking out (especially for the
tiny cans that are like tasty little chocolaty flavor bombs).
Before we came to NYC, I never knew Japanese noodles extended beyond ramen and udon (and even udon I learned about just a few years before). The thick, ropey noodles at New Orleans joints like Kyoto and Sake were fantastic and a value, arriving with a healthy portion of tempura for under $15, generally. Then, spying something in the Times one day (is it clear how much I look forward to the back page of the Wednesday Food section?) I saw a $25 and under review of Soba Totto in East Midtown. We went there for the first time and tried the buckwheat noodles, which are thin like spaghetti and also have a nice nuttiness (not to mention being healthier than regular semolina noodles). They often come in a miso-soy type of broth, with green onion and any number of underwater delicacies resting on top, like uni, which adds a nice saltiness. At lunchtime, a combo meal often includes japanese pickles, a seaweed salad, fish or tempura and any number of other little side dishes. Best of all, soba is ubiquitous to the seasons and just as good cold as hot. Soba Totto also happens to be on an amazing block (East 43rd between 2nd and 3rd aves) populated by a number of amazingly authentic (I assume authentic...we haven't been to Japan yet) Japanese restaurants: Sakagura (where they have an amazing selection of sake, a fantastic array of non-sushi or noodle Japanese dishes, including something with squid liver that was ten times better than you'd think, not to mention a real Japanese toilet in the ladies' room, Alisa says) and Sushi Yasuda (last year ranked top sushi spot in the city by Zagat). Earlier today we learned it's possible to get great soba outside of that tiny strip, at Soba-Ya in the
East Village, where not only is their soba equally good, but you can watch a dude make it right where it looks like they'd be running your credit card. Instead, he uses a variety of handle-less rollers to flatten out the dough and then chops off thin noodle strands. There's also a Japanese toilet (but, again, only for the ladies, although not quite as elaborate as Sakagura's, Alisa again says). For the record, there's also a recently-opened sake shop (the only one east of the Rockies, its owner says) a block east, Sakaya, that's definitely worth checking out (especially for the tiny cans that are like tasty little chocolaty flavor bombs).
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