TOKUYAMATCHA & ONIGIRAZU BAR- E 6th St.

Tokuyamatcha & Onigirazu Serves Portable, Affordable Japanese Rice Sandwiches in the East Village | Eater NY

"On a quiet side street in Alphabet City I found Tokuyamatcha & Onigirazu, a recently opened East Village cafe that I think is the city’s best example of New York’s onigirazu potential right now. Ingredients tuck between layers of hot rice — a sliver of saba fish with a whisper of cheese, cubed beef cloaked with pickled ginger, and more than 20 choices overall, from umeboshi and boiled eggs to chicken karaage and a pork-belly-ramen recreation with chicken ramen–flavored rice. Each onigirazu is made to order and handed to you in plastic wrap for a filling meal under $10; with just one bench inside and a table out front most customers take them to go (many to nearby Tompkins Square Park). The shop also sells high-grade matcha, emphasizes high-quality sourcing (I found some of the most flavorful iterations here), and has seen sales explode thanks to social media and neighborhood regulars — they sell around 500 onigirazu on a weekend, have hired more staff, and often have crowds and delivery drivers waiting at lunch. Co-owner Tomo Tokuyama, who relaunched the cafe during COVID with a Japan-forward menu, says she’s focused on honing the craft now though she has ideas for new flavors like uni." - Emma Orlow