Arigato Ariyoshi Izakaya!

Under food:



Izakaya Ariyoshi
226 E. 53rd Street
NY, NY 10022
(212) 319-3940



DJKung and I were feeling nostalgic about a prior trip to Tokyo, where we were hanging out at a local bar getting drunk and just noshin' on all sorts of grilled goodies. We were initially aiming for a robata (grilled food joint), but were not really looking forward to being surrounded by the East Village crowd on a Thursday (feeling old, I guess).



We agreed that Ariyoshi unselfconsciously felt like we were back in Tokyo, in the itty-bitty ryokan/hostel we stayed at, half-watching a popular game show while having dinner. It helped that the table next to us was populated by expats who, by that point, were animated after a few drinks.

Spider roll. Soft shell crab with avocado, in sushi rice. DJKung and I hardly ever order rolls. This one was pretty good; the crab was still warm and crispy. We were off to a good start.


Sapporo, Superfatty's beer of choice.

Mushroom soup, with three different kinds of mushrooms. We could identify the enoki and the oyster mushroom. The soup was sweet and hearty.

Hamachi kama (broiled yellowtail collar). This was a pretty big serving, meaty and succulent. I liked the little radish pickle (I think) thing in the middle.

DJKung ordered a beef skewer and a chicken skin skewer. Both were spot on.

While enjoying our apps, we came to realize that we ordered our usuals that we tend to get at Takahachi. I think we were really craving comfort food that night.

Tempura shrimp and veggies. This came with the tempura soba that DJKung ordered.

Soba noodles. Can't mess with this.

Nabeyaki udon. The broth was rich and smoky-sweet. It was perfect for that soggy, rainy day.

I'm not sure if it was because of the weather, but there were not many people out that night. I can easily imagine this place easily getting jam-packed, because of their nice little selection of beers and sake---nothing very fancy-pants. The food is very solid and there is a nice selection of skewers, apps and mains. It would be interesting to check Ariyoshi out in the wee hours of the morning (they close at 2 am on some nights).