Nonono is a restaurant from the people behind Her Name is Han. This is located just a few blocks from Korea town. They are part of the Hand Hospitality network, which also includes Atoboy, Cho Dang Gol, and many more. The restaurant offers Japanese grill cuisine with a twist. We’ve been to the restaurant several times, and it’s been a decent value and choice for any small gatherings. Ambiance & Service The ambiance feels like a normal Japanese restaurant where there was a lot of activity.

I’ve been to Tsurutontan a few times already in various locations including Union Square and Midtown next to Rockafeller Center. When this Japan udon chain first opened in Manhattan a few years ago, there was a massive line because it was the first international location in the USA. The food was outstanding back then, and now it’s gone down a little in quality but still pretty good. This restaurant is known for having mammoth sized udon bowls which will most definitely satiate your appetite.

I remember visiting Yoon Haeundae Galbi a while back when they first opened. Galbi is basically beef short ribs, and normally in the U.S., these short ribs are rather small. I haven’t found any place in NYC that uses a large rib similar to the ones I had in Suwon, South Korea. When they take the meat off the rib, they also cook the tendons very thoroughly on the grill and it becomes crispy and edible.

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao is one of those XLB restaurants that is not often brought up in the XLB fights because it’s not that accessible. The original location is in Flushing, so it’s a bit far from Manhattan. Many people do end up going to Joe’s Shanghai to get their fix, but fortunately now a Manhattan location of this restaurant has opened in Koreatown. I had originally gone to the Flushing location and said the following:

I had visited Ippudo twice before this time throughout my whole life, once in London and once in the East Village. This original post just had a comment of “Overrated and pricey. I’d skip here any day of the week. Daikokuya in LA is way better”. Because I didn’t take pics of my dinner nearly 4 years ago, I thought about revisiting this Midtown location to try to remember why I was underwhelmed.

This is an updated review for the Midtown / Times Square (Theater District) location for Ichiran. I had been to the original Bushwick location years ago, and I didn’t take pictures nor remembered much about it. The only thing I wrote down was it was a much better version of Shinsengumi. Shinsengumi was a popular Torrance (California) restaurant that served hakata style ramen. They also allowed you to select your flavor profiles, and it was far less busy than Ichiran.

This review is for the Midtown East location of Le Relais De Venise L’entrecote. The previous review I had was for the closed SOHO location, which I was complaining that they charged $5.50 for tap water back in 2018. Fast forward about 3 years later post pandemic, how does this location fare compared to the previous one? I will say much better. Note that this location did not appear to charge for tap water.

We were just around the block looking to meet a friend for a drink and some bar food at a nearby restaurant. Turns out that restaurant was booked due to a football game, so we had to hunt for another one. This restaurant for whatever reason was dead quiet but opened at the time. The cured Long Island duck breast came with pomegranate molasses, collard greens, and kabocha squash purée.

I’ve been here a few times already, so this is now a proper post for it. This is a Jazzy restaurant that you can dine-in without paying a cover which is nice. The jazz itself is pretty fun, although predictable if you don’t listen to a special guest. This is a blackberry gimlet which has reyka vodka, fresh blackberries, and fresh lime. It was pretty good, and it wasn’t too sweet.

Stumbled onto this while trying to go to Bobby Vans steak. That place was closed unfortunately. The service here was pretty subpar by New York City standards. The filet mignon was ordered medium rare, but in my opinion it came out medium. The temperature on the steak as a whole came out cold as if it was sitting there for a tad bit too long. The blue cheese sauce was really salty, but perhaps it was there to hide the lack of taste on the steak.