Curry-ya X Rai Rai Ken X Otafuku

Curry-ya X Rai Rai Ken X Otafuku

Whenever I got my allowance, I loved going to East Village - not to the main drag St. Marks Place, but a block or two north of it. This was where I learned about Japanese cuisine before ever visiting Japan.

Over the years, all the delicious looking food I saw in anime, Japanese dramas, and movies appeared in East Village. There were creamy katsu curry, ramen, and street food like takoyaki and okonomiyaki. There were also, of course, sushi, soba, and ice cream parfait.

Baked Curry from Curry-ya

For a long time, I imagined like-minded restaurateurs just happened to open their businesses featuring different aspects of Japanese cuisines. As it turned out, this was no coincidence. This collective of Japanese eateries was the life work of Bon Yagi - T.I.C. Restaurant Group. Yagi came to the United States from Japan in 1968 and took on all sorts of odd jobs. In 1984, he opened up his first restaurant, Hasaki. Over the years, T.I.C. Restaurant Group grew to include over ten restaurants. Almost every one of them specialized in a different type of Japanese food.

2020 was a tough year for restaurant businesses in New York City. While warm, mildly spicy curry covered rice and hot soft takoyaki may no longer be at their old locations, they can still be found in East Village. Curry-ya and Otafuku moved in with Rai Rai Ken for now. Their signs adorn the same store front, and you can order all three specialties from one place - Curry-ya X Rai Rai Ken X Otafuku.

Making Takoyaki at Otafuku X Medetai

Takoyaki

• Curry-ya X Rai Rai Ken X Otafuku
  
• T.I.C. Restaurant Group