St. Marks Place is a must visit on any trip to NYC. You may prefer the West Village to East, but there is little doubt that the strip of 8th Street is one of the more interesting culinary roads in the world.
Yet it is perhaps most well known for a Japanese influence. And to the surprise of many Americans from a small town like myself, that does not solely mean sushi. The only other styles of Japanese food that I was familiar with prior to August 9, 2003 was ramen, soba, udon, and donburi. That is when Henry, Jannie, and Ji introduced me to yakitori on St. Marks Place.
Somehow I had formed the misconception that all Japanese food was healthy. Sure enough, Japan has its own pub food. And it comes on a stick. There is nothing very fancy about its preparation as long as you have a grill. You could probably make the same marinated chicken skewers at home but that would be missing the point. Yakitori is meant to be enjoyed with friends over a drink. I think that is what made the neighborhood so interesting to me before I moved to NYC. I used to treat most new international foods as exotic, but I soon found that New Yorkers can take anything and make it their own without a big fuss. It doesn’t matter where you came from, or what you did before, or even where you will go later. Grab a drink and try something new. We can make friends anywhere.
I can personally vouch for ikada (scallions) and atsuage tofu as staples when I head back to Oh! Taisho. I’ve also ventured into kokoro and zuri (heart and gizzards) but that might be best suited for a second trip if you are squeamish. After seven years living in NYC, though, that word seems to come up less often these days.