Yakitori Taisho- NY

"Yakitori Taisho" is japanese for "hole in the wall"...no, not really. but seriously, if the unfinished ceilings and graffitied bathrooms are any indication of what this place is like, then you would agree with me in saying that yakitori taisho is far from extravagant. HOWEVER, we all know that "hole in the wall" joints like this one are in fact some of the greatest places ever for fantastic food at low prices.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake)
i'm deathly scared of consuming eggs so when i saw "pancake," i was hoping that "pancake" didn't actually mean omelette. after triple checking with the waiter to make sure that there wasn't any eggs in this pancake, i went ahead and ordered it...and a successful choice it was! the batter is made of flour and shredded cabbage. sprinkled throughout the cake are bits of shrimp, squid and pork. on top, there is a drizzle of some sort of mayo or cream dressing along with yakitori taisho's rendition of BBQ sauce. lastly, the light pink/ beige shavings you see on top is katsuobushi flakes (this i had to look up), which is dried, fermented skipjack tuna shaved film thin.

first things first, i will say the pancake smells really fishy (it reminded me of the flakes that you feed to little goldfishes) and initially i was wondering why but i now know it was probably from the katsuobushi. but once you get past the fishy smell, this pancake is delicious!! it came out super fresh, super hot. if i could describe the batter, i'd say it's a little wetter and more moist..almost like a mashed potato cake. one suggestion i'd make: reduce the amount of BBQ sauce because the pancake itself is plenty flavorful so the addition of sauces just makes it a little too salty for me.  

Yakitori Combo: Pork, Chicken Skin, Squid, Chicken Meatballs, Chicken Liver
if you are looking to gain about 500lbs and you care nothing about your health, you are in luck, my friend. yakitori taisho makes these absolutely delicious cholesterol-raising, heart attack- inducing, obesity- guaranteeing chicken skin skewers...otherwise known as "fat on a stick." rest assured, these yakitoris taste amazing and how could they not with all that crispy skin and that luscious fat which just melts away in your mouth.

another snapshot of the combo
aside from the chicken skin skewers, the remainder of these yakitoris tasted pretty standard. still, the combos are great for sampling and sharing.

Matcha Creme Brulee
who would've thought that Yakitori Taisho made creme brulee? and even more surprising...it was actually really good!! the dessert is pretty small. if you can see from the photo, it's about the size of a small sauce cup and they gave us 4 big tablespoons to eat it with, don't ask me why. although it was tiny, the flavor was really concentrated so without a doubt, you can taste the tea.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/yakitori-taisho-new-york