Slurpy Goodness

Ippudo
65 Fourth Ave., New York, NY 10003

**** (Definite Must)

Okay, so I cheated on this one. Ippudo is not technically a dive—even by my lazy definition of one. It’s more of a semi-fine dining Japanese chain restaurant that specializes in ramen noodles. At least I got the price right. My $ 13 bought me a hearty bowl of steaming noodles drowned in a flavorful Tonkatsu (pork-based) broth with thinly sliced, slow-roasted Berkshire pork, crunchy cabbage, scallions, and sesame oil, and topped with their “special secret sauce” which I guessed was made from garlic oil and red miso paste.

Somethin' Fishy

A Salt and Battery
112 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10011

**** (Definite Must)


Though British cuisine may not have the largest fan following, there are definitely at least a few things the Brits do know how to cook right. Principal amongst these is fish n’ chips. Having had remarkable newspaper-fulls of this delicacy in Britain about two years ago, my standards were pretty high when it came to reviewing a restaurant that swore by its fish and chippery. Nevertheless, I’d been craving some ever since my last experience and decided to give it a shot.

Always Open

Esperanto Café

114 MacDougal St., New York, NY 10012

*** (Worth a Visit)

In the city that never sleeps, Esperanto serves quite well as a café that never shuts. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, the Bohemian capital of Manhattan in the early 1960s, the café’s interiors reflect an artistic, untraditional aesthetic that actually seems to fit into its infamous surroundings. A wall-hung old bicycle, a piano on its last legs, a rundown sofa, and a telephone booth are cleverly positioned in the café and interspersed with raggedy wooden chairs and tables to give a quite complete feel of a lived-in apartment, charming nevertheless.