Continuing our efforts to reconnect with Japan ever since we left, Alisa and I headed down to the Lower East Side on this snowy afternoon to
Soy, home of Japanese "home cooking." The humble, slightly funky joint was empty when we arrived, except for the warm proprietor and a gray and white unnamed cat lounging on a wooden chair at one of half a dozen empty tables. We shared a rich, salty miso soup with daikon and napa cabbage, then an appetizer of edamame cheese rolls -- deep fried little cigar-shaped crispy and filled with the advertised ingredients. It's not often you bite into anything at a Japanese restaurant and wind up with a string of gooey cheese extending between your mouth and the food you
just bit into, but here we were and they were good. For entrees, I got a beef and potato stew. Although advertised as a classic "Japanese Mama's" dish, it tasted strikingly similar to my own Canadian/Scottish-Irish mama's stew with small chunks of beef nestled among fat boiled potatoes and carrots in a hearty brown gravy. Again, not very Japanese, but wonderfully comforting as snow fell outside the window and the cat -- still looking for a home since it was found 10 days ago on Suffolk Street -- occasionally rubbing against
my leg. Alisa opted for spicy tuna and avocado over rice. Although spicy tuna usually refers to crap bits of yellowfin mixed with mayo and red pepper masking its lack of quality, these spiced pieces were in decent-sized chunks and not at all stringy (the trademark of bad tuna) with nice slices of avocado. For dessert, I had a green tea cheesecake (I asked if it was soy, but in fact it was mostly cream cheese). Tasty, with a crumbly chocolate crust and faint matcha sweetness. In all, a good value and a comforting meal that was traditional and not at the same time. Worth a return visit.
Continuing our efforts to reconnect with Japan ever since we left, Alisa and I headed down to the Lower East Side on this snowy afternoon to Soy, home of Japanese "home cooking." The humble, slightly funky joint was empty when we arrived, except for the warm proprietor and a gray and white unnamed cat lounging on a wooden chair at one of half a dozen empty tables. We shared a rich, salty miso soup with daikon and napa cabbage, then an appetizer of edamame cheese rolls -- deep fried little cigar-shaped crispy and filled with the advertised ingredients. It's not often you bite into anything at a Japanese restaurant and wind up with a string of gooey cheese extending between your mouth and the food you 
just bit into, but here we were and they were good. For entrees, I got a beef and potato stew. Although advertised as a classic "Japanese Mama's" dish, it tasted strikingly similar to my own Canadian/Scottish-Irish mama's stew with small chunks of beef nestled among fat boiled potatoes and carrots in a hearty brown gravy. Again, not very Japanese, but wonderfully comforting as snow fell outside the window and the cat -- still looking for a home since it was found 10 days ago on Suffolk Street -- occasionally rubbing against 
my leg. Alisa opted for spicy tuna and avocado over rice. Although spicy tuna usually refers to crap bits of yellowfin mixed with mayo and red pepper masking its lack of quality, these spiced pieces were in decent-sized chunks and not at all stringy (the trademark of bad tuna) with nice slices of avocado. For dessert, I had a green tea cheesecake (I asked if it was soy, but in fact it was mostly cream cheese). Tasty, with a crumbly chocolate crust and faint matcha sweetness. In all, a good value and a comforting meal that was traditional and not at the same time. Worth a return visit.
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