Luke's Lobster

East Village – E 7^th Between 1^st and Ave A / UES- 81^st Between 2^nd and 3^rd

UWS- Amsterdam Ave Between 80^th and 81^st / FiDi- 26 S Williams Street

Seafood

Luke Holden, former UBS and CS Capital employee, enters the foodie arena giving new meaning to “claw backs” while bringing New Yorkers a fresh take on lobster.

Luke grew up in Maine working for the Portland Shellfish Company, his father’s seafood processing business. Between M.E. and Y.O.U, his strategic partnership with his father’s company solidified his leap of faith from crunching numbers in Excel to excelling in the restaurant business.

Luke’s is able to supply New Yorkers with lobster straight from the source, in what he claims takes 24 hours from sea to sale. His partnerships allow him to charge a steady rate of $15 for a New England top-split bun filled with succulent lobster, celery and butter. Splurge an extra $2 for a meal, which comes with a soda, chips & a pickle, or go the distance and turn that soda into an original Maine craft beer that you’ve never heard of… for an additional five dollars.

Each restaurant is decorated with buoys, lobster traps, and wood planks to provide the true Maine atmosphere to go along with the authentic Maine flavors. The lobster bisque sounds delightful but it’s a little too salty… almost as salty as every other lobster shack owner in NYC that actually pays a distributor.

Luke's Lobster, Portland Shellfish Company is your father.

Yakiniku West

East Village - E 9^th Between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenue 

Japanese BBQ

Enter Yakiniku West to a wall of shoes due East.  Yes, authentic Japanese BBQ means following authentic Japanese rituals.  Of course, they make it clear that while taking off your shoes is mandatory, you leave them in a cubby at your own risk.  Walking into Yakiniku West is like walking into Flight Club; only the shoes are not fresh Nike’s or vintage Air Jordan’s wrapped in plastic, and they’re especially not for sale. 

The tables at Yakiniku are dug out into the floor.  At first, I thought I would have to sit Indian style on the floor, which would have been somewhat of an issue.  However, I quickly realized that the Japanese are smarter than that.  Maybe they sit legs crossed on the floor in Japan, but they know how we operate in New York: overweight, inflexible, and out of shape.  Grab a pillow, and take a seat. 

Yakiniku West abides by the “do it yourself” concept.   Quite frankly I think its genius.  You buy the raw meat; they provide your own grills built into the table.  A few pitchers of Kirin and some saki-bombs and boom! all of a sudden you are the modern day Morimoto.  Who needs Benihana anyway?  The meat is thinly sliced, well marinated and easy to cook.  I’m pretty confident you can’t really screw this up.  I’d trust Stevie Wonder to orchestrate my dinner at Yakiniku West any day.   

Don’t bother with the sushi menu; stick with the searing raw meat selection.  The sweet and sour dipping sauces come complimentary and gave me more satisfaction then trading my apple for someone’s Dunk-a-roos during lunch back in Elementary school.  While the cookie-to-frosting ratio may have triggered your adolescent anxiety, rest assure your sweet and sour dipping sauce can be refilled.

Yakiniku West is a slam-dunk.  Bring the whole team.

BaoHaus

East Village – 14^th Street between 2^nd and 3^rd Ave

Taiwanese

Eddie and Evan Huang come to New York City fresh off the boat.  Their words, not mine.  Our boys bring with them a unique Taiwanese-Chinese meets hip-hop Gua Bao flavor.   No need to wait till 2013 for Fast and Furious 6 when you can experience it seven days a week in the East Village.  

 

These guys don’t just think outside the box, they tear it up.  Enter this hole-in-the-wall to rap music bumping, a street graffiti mural, and a shrine to Knicks’ point guard Jeremy Lin, extra MSG.  Seating is limited with two tabletops and a bar against the back wall.   

I walked in expecting to run into Vin Diesel and Paul Walker chowing down some Gua Boa with the likes of Tyrese, Ludacris, and The Rock along with ten other B-list celebrities.  Where the flip is Mia Terreto?  

The menu is simple yet creative.  BaoHaus is best known for their braised pork belly Chairman Bao and the all-natural fried chicken Birdhaus Bao.  Not the best bao in the City, but for $2.99 a pop, its worth taking a spin. The Oyster Po Bao made my stomach the epicenter of a magnitude 8.9 earthquake.  I only wish Tums had a Nos button.

At BaoHaus they don’t cook for pink slips.  If you want a 60 second Bao, you’re in the wrong place.  Service was not fast.  I got a little furious.  Maybe the Saturday late night pit stop had something to do with it, but you won't find me drifting back to these Bao Kings anytime soon.  

Review featured on Im In The Kitchen