"You’ve probably heard people talking about The Izakaya without even realizing it. Such is the power of an incredibly generic name. This place is, in fact, a little izakaya in the East Village, and it’s a bright, minimalist space with plain white walls decorated with a couple of hats (for some reason). But as unremarkable as it might appear, the food is surprisingly delicious. The thick-cut salmon sashimi, for example, comes in chunks the size of 12-sided dice, which is officially how we’d like to eat all of our raw fish from now on. Plus, you can always get a table here pretty easily." - bryan kim