Ippudo

Laura and I looked at each other as soon as we sat down, "This place is so New York."  Sure, Ippudo had a 20 minute wait at 11pm.  And the dark, slick interior is cool as can be.  Thumping club music bounces offs the wall and all the servers and cooks yell out greeting in Japanese to each new party.  The point is, Ippudo oozes atmosphere.  And places that do that usually get by with average or good food.

But Ippudo has amazing food.  Truly delicious.  Japanese gourmet ramen.  A concept that sounds so simple until you taste it. 

My recommendation: Order the pork buns for an appetizers and stick with the classic ramen.  Laura and I both loved our dishes, large bowls filled with noodles and other fresh ingredients.

Bottom Line: Ippudo has top notch food and atmosphere.  It's cool and delicious.  That's rare, and is why there is still a wait for dinner at 11pm.

East Village, on 4th Ave between 9th and 10th

Hikari

I'm not a huge fan of sushi, but I love good company and trying out new places. So when my friends Diana, Greg, and Lauren invited me out for sushi, I decided to go for it. Hikari is a small BYO on Liberties Walk. It has a clean, modern interior with an open sushi bar. It always inspires confidence when you can see everything the chefs are working on. There are about ten or so tables, so it's not a big place, but it's comfortable.

We split a nice bottle of red wine and ordered edamame and fried dumplings. Both of these were nice appetizers, but I have my favorite spots for both of these dishes elsewhere in the city. We ordered six different rolls between the four of us, and it ended up being the perfect amount of food. I was impressed with the price, too. BYO helps a lot; the final check for the four of us was under $60.

We ordered eel, yellowtail, Philadelphia (smoked salmon and cream cheese), shitaki, spicy tuna, and another spicy one. I wasn't blown away by the taste on any of these, but I was impressed by the variety. Eel is a unique taste, and it's one of my top recommendations here. A lot of the rolls include avocado, which was a great addition. My one grip would be that the spicy rolls could have been a few notches hotter.

The service here was great. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. The menu is diverse and offers many rolls, including a few options if you're vehemently against sushi. Still, I recommend you try it regardless of your past experiences.

Bottom Line: This is a nice little spot and one of the more unique and enjoyable restaurants in Northern Liberties. I recommend bringing your own alcohol and a few friends and try out all of the different options the menu has to offer. I didn't discover a new found love for sushi, but I had a nice meal.

Essentials:

1040 N American St (Liberties Walk)

215-923-2654

Avg Roll: 6-9 (includes 6-8 pieces)

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Yes

BYOB: Yes