"In Japanese, “yaki” means grill, while “niku” means meat. Takashi is a 34-seat yakiniku restaurant dressed in wood, with rustic tables outfitted with individual grills that replicate the heat emitted by a charcoal flame. Just like at a Korean barbecue restaurant, diners order off the menu, and raw proteins land tableside, for a cook-your-own meal. While there’s an assortment of cooked appetizers, the focus is on carefully sourced premium beef (including wagyu) from sustainable farms in upstate New York and Japan. There’s both wagyu from Miyazaki, plus an American take on the buttery beef, alongside more adventurous cuts like tongue, stomach, and intestines. Takashi debuted in 2010 from the late chef Takashi Inoue and quickly become a New York fixture for its excellent beef and spartan Japanese look." - Kat Odell
