Kion Lounge (509 E. 6th St. btwn. A & B)

I generally consider 6th street between A & B the East Village's version of Club Row. All of the bars & restaurants seem out of place (except Buenos Aires & Joe's). I was a bit skeptical when a friend suggested that we go to Kion Lounge which serves Peruvian & Japanese Cuisine. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the food was good & that it wasn't full of douchebags.

We decided to eat at the bar & started with soups. Jhonny & I got the Miso soup & my other buddy opted for Pork Ramen. The Miso was pretty much standard fare, but the Ramen was very well received. I guess I'll have to try that if I go back there.

I was really in the mood for Sushi, so I ordered from the Japanese portion of the Menu.

Eel, Cucumber & Avocado Roll. Tempura Shrimp & Avocado Roll w/Tobiko. Both were very good & suprisingly fresh.



California Roll. Rainbow Roll. Jhonny ordered this, so I can't comment on it's taste. I'm not such a big fan of California Rolls though...




Deep ordered the Lamb Shank which I tasted & thought it was very good. Served simply with veggies, a salad & mash.

I enjoyed the food, but Kion is really not my first choice for sushi in the East Village. It's more of a club/lounge than a restaurant & I can imagine it being packed to the gills on Fridays & Saturdays. If you're in the 'hood, give it a try though.

Fu Sushi (182 Avenue B)

I was looking for a sushi spot to take my Mom to for her birthday & I came across Fu Sushi. F U Sushi? Is that like Up Yours Burger on Avenue A? Jokes aside, I later learned that the place is owned & run by a certain Mr. Fu, which explains the name.

They opened a few months ago in a space that was a crusty old clothing store & the decor is pretty simple, with plenty of cozy tables & the sushi bar & kitchen at the far end. We were offered tea & water as soon as we sat down as we looked through the menu.

We were having a conversation about how we both hated any sort of sushi with cream cheese on it & presto, the chef sent out an amuse bouche of tuna 'crunch' on a corn cracker with guess what: cream cheese! Oh, the irony. It was actually really good though.

We decided to order the Sushi & Sashimi combination for 1 as a starter while we looked for more stuff to order. It took quite a while to come out as it's obvious that the chef takes decoration very seriously & I'll admit that it looked like a piece of art (which we eventually defaced).

I still can't get over how much food there was. Both of us were stuffed after eating the plate (& we still had a few pieces left). The White Tuna was by far my favorite, but there was 2 pieces of clam sashimi (we had to ask what it was), that both of us really didn't like, just a matter of our own tastes.

Mom-Dukes got an order of Uni (Sea Urchin) as well, which was equally as attractive. I didn't try it, but she looked very pleased.

After we were done, they sent out a martini glass full of sectioned oranges which were deliciously sweet.

The food was excellent, the service was amazing (no teacup went unfilled!) & it was incredibly well priced. My only real gripe was the lack of booze. Community Board 3 turned down their liquor license as they're in a CB3 resolution area, a real bummer!

I certainly will be coming back here soon & I hope that the massive portions & the lack of booze doesn't lead to an early demise...

Ishikura Sushi (67 1st Avenue @ 4th St.)

Bracing the cold last night & refusing to wait on line at Takhachi, my brother & I walked a few extra blocks to Ishikura Sushi (formerly Kura Sushi) as a friend had recommended the place. Luckily the place wasn't very busy & we were seated at a spacious booth right away. With hands warming on delicious green tea, we took a look at the menu.

Honestly, everything looked good, but I don't know why the menu is so extensive. There seemed to be a lot of dishes duplicated in different sections, which made ordering somewhat difficult. Stefan opted for the Blue Crab Miso, while I just got a regular Miso soup to start. Stefan was thoroughly unimpressed with his soup, which he said had way too much vegetables in it.

The sushi that we got was extremely fresh & beautifully prepared. The salmon & tuna were both amazing. The service was good (our tea & water glasses were never empty for more than a minute or so) & I liked the decor. Ishikura is definetely a place that I'll be checking out again.