What intrigue to see the 2024 New York Times guide to the best 100 restaurants in New York City! Naturally we lapped up the full feast of offerings with great interest, scanning as always for the rightfully extensive inclusion of Asian fare.

Cheers to you (in order of ranking), Atomix, Yoshino, Cheli, Jeju Noodle Bar, Mam, Kono, Zaab Zaab, Atoboy, Shion 69 Leonard Street, Szechuan Mountain House, Okdongsik, Raku, Yoon Haeundae Galbi, Great N.Y. Chinatown (!!), Chongqing Lao Zao, Oiji Mi, Hakka Cuisine, Laghman Express (a first for Uyghur spots!), Mapo Korean BBQ, and, coming in at a healthy 23, the many wonders of the fine and friendly Queens Night Market!

Of course, any round-up of an arbitrary hundred will miss the mark here and include other places there that we might have, for better or worse, overlooked. We pine for another visit to the beloved Yopparai, long a mainstay of our downtown travails, and regret the goodly little place of perhaps five, possibly six tables did not make the proverbial cut this year. But then again, why cry? The Times crooned for Yopparai long ago (we did too!) and the place knows exactly the riches it presents, the greatness of what it is. Inclusion might have only meant joining forces once more, shoulder to shoulder, with more members of the thrumming masses– among whom we proudly count ourselves, of course– and while that might mean greater riches to Yopparai’s bottom line, it would have only found us mashing our thumbs and forefingers ever more rapidly to the dear outpost’s funny little doorbell. This being a converted railroad apartment we’re talking about, after all, and only so many people (let’s say 15?) can and will be accommodated at any given time. Ah well. So it goes, so it goes…

On the more formal end of things, we saw neither hide nor hair of Masa, though the lauded establishment long ago broke the sound barrier of highest price tag on a single dining experience to be had anywhere in the Americans (certainly North but also, in all likelihood, South too). Does high price always equal high value? When it comes to raw fish, we are inclined to vote yes. Funny thing– while one of us Hoppers recently returned to Japan for a family visit (hurrah!), the other made the rounds in New York City’s divorce courts (sigh, don’t ask) and Masa came up in conversation with a visited friend. “I ate there several years ago!” she exclaimed. “There was this salad…” (pause here to imagine a salad, that tumbled bevy on a small plate, causing such stir and impact as to be recalled with rhapsodic pleasure on the mean streets of Greenwich Village some five, possibly six years later. The mind boggles, though the mouth abides). “It was honestly the best thing I have ever eaten. It had this miso dressing? And seaweed?” The particulars eluded our speaker and, in brief recollection, perhaps might inspire little admiration and many thoughts of cliche, at best. No matter. The fact that a single presentation of mixed greens lightly dressed and quickly consumed many years ago might still inspire a side-street pause of revery is all the information we have and ever will need.

Ah, Pete Wells, you had us at hello. First stop on your list for this Hopper? Yoshino! Top marks for website alone…

In other news, we are recently in receipt of young novelist and gadfly about town Delia Cai’s roundup of the who-fors and what-fors of her Spring 2024 travels in Japan. Feast your eyes and gird your wallets! We are saving up for a savory visit to Sushi Ya, Sushi Tokyo Ten, Ichiho, and ALL of these top wonders:

Sushi Aoki:   https://www.sushiaoki.jp/en/index.html
Sushi Ichiyanagi:   Ichiyanagi – Ginza/Sushi [Tabelog]
Ginza Seamon:    Seamon Ginza, Sushi Restaurant (Edomae) in Ginza, Tokyo (eok.jp)  
Ginza Karaku:  https://ginza-karaku.com
Udatsu Sushi:   https://www.udatsu-sushi.jp/en

Much to savor and celebrate across the offerings, served up in a chatty yet relatable way. Be still our quivering yen!

Til soon, Hoppies!