vip in the city

Japanese grazing

After a weekend of fun and food, we were able to squeeze in one final eat outing. B’s stories from his recent trip to Japan had whet all our appetites for some authentic Japanese cuisine. And although a few restaurants in New York do serve fugu, the precious, highly toxic blowfish prized in Japan, we decided on Sunday night to hit the other end of the food spectrum: ramen and street food.

To the East Village, then: the ramen epicenter of the city. It must have been fate that we somehow managed to snag four of the fourteen counter seats at Rai Rai Ken. (Bonus: two more stamps on my frequent eater card!)

And then to Otafuku (#91 on New York magazine’s 2006 Cheap Eats list), a snack shack with essentially three items on the menu: takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancakes) and… in a throwback to last summer’s trip to Hong Kong: shaved ice!

And to clarify: the balls are made of  octopus. 

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