NY Tofu House (East Village)

NY Tofu House
6 St. Marks Pl
Manhattan, NY 10003

The East Village has New York's most enviable diversity of reasonably priced cuisine, from Japenese yakitori and ramen joints to Latin American arepas to Polish diners to mac & cheese eateries to gastropubs to Moroccan food. And a large number of these restaurants have 500+ reviews on Yelp; they are highly trafficked and highly rated. So if I were looking to open a casual, populist-appealing, ethnic or single-item-focused restaurant, some quick market research would probably show the East Village to be the perfect spot. And a St. Mark's Place address would be an ideal location. Thus, NY Tofu House seems to have made some smart bets, and I predict it will fare well. Just look at this crowd outside on a random Wednesday evening:

NY Tofu House is still in "Grand Opening" mode, so they were handing out free samples to the eclectic cross-section of East Village evening roamers, all of whom seemed to be in the mood for some free Korean pancakes. Most seemed to move on after devouring their gratis goods, but I did notice a few people who seemed to be convinced by the sample to enter the restaurant. My husband and I had already planned on going in, but pathologically drawn to free things, we still snagged some pancake bites before entering.

The menu is very simple - appetizers, bibimbap, and tofu. Unable to resist goofy names, my husband ordered the Monkey Balls for our appetizer (deep fried stuffed mushrooms with tofu and veggies). Ratio of mushrooms to tofu/veggies to deep fried exterior was good; could still taste the mushroomy goodness inside the fried shell.

And of course the requisite (free) banchan that came with our entrees: salad with a lightly sweet sesame sauce, kimchi and mung bean squares. Nothing too special here, especially considering K-Town's BCD Tofu House has free banchan that includes an entire deep fried 8-inch mackerel-type fish, which is in itself a reason to eat there.

The bibimbap tasted fresh and healthy, with a generous proportion of meat.

The soondooboo broth had just the right amount of heat and density for a chilly winter evening.

Decent fare at decent prices with a great location. Nothing too special to report, but my warmed belly sure isn't complaining.