Yakitori Taisho

5 St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
212/228-5086
about $50 for two, with two drinks, with tip

Yakitori Taisho has been around ever since I was allowed to take the subway from Washington Heights and walk around Greenwich Village without a chaperone. It’s dingy, smoke-filled and smoke-stained but their grilled skewers, yakitori, are still the best on St. Mark’s Place.

I love coming here for a late night dinner and ordering the beef tongue, beef stomach and the smelt yakitoris with a bottle of beer to wash all of them down. During winter visits, I go for the ramen or the tofu and udon soup bowl. Whichever time you choose to visit, expect to wait. The place hasn’t changed much since I was in high school. The cool Japanese kids who used to come here have just been replaced by other cool Japanese kids.