The Izakaya

You’ve probably heard people talking about The Izakaya without even realizing it. Such is the power of an incredibly generic name. This place is, in fact, a little izakaya in the East Village, and it’s a bright, minimalist space with plain white walls decorated with a couple of hats (for some reason). But as unremarkable as this place might seem, the food here is surprisingly delicious. The thick-cut salmon sashimi, for example, comes in chunks the size of 12-sided dice, which is officially how we’d like to eat all of our raw fish from now on. The chicken nanban is also very good (especially with the creamy sauce on the side), and you can get a table here pretty easily.