Turn up the Decibel

I've been to a few speakeasies before. Out of the way places you just need to know about. A small sign outside is all the notice you are going to get. While many of these places provide the kitsch of 1920's Americana, at steep prices most of them are unattainable on a regular basis.

When walking in little Poland last night my friend brought up Decibel sake bar. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe the ultra commercialized dribble you get all too often, or perhaps the ever popular over sanitized Japanese restaurant. But one step in the door and I knew this place was a keeper.

A twenty minute wait to get a table and there is no option to put your name down as the hip materd in the kimono says, “I just remember your face."

For a visual reference, Imagine wall to wall Japanese graffiti, random bits of kitsch, a hello kitty shrine (an antique wood engraving, not the new shit) and some drops of anime for good measure. I've never been to Japan but what I've seen of it visa ve The Fast and the Furious and reruns of Anthony Bourdain I think it was a close approximation.

Reading the menu was a crash course in Japanese boozing (minus the obligatory karaoke): tons of sake, shochu drinks (distilled alcohol from sweet potatoes, supposedly with medicinal benefits), and a sampling of bar food…

Bar food... I'm not talking salted nuts, burgers, or fries...edamame, fried seaweed, and some pretty decent sashimi. I've never tried kohada (a mix between mackerel and herring) but served marinated with a little soy sauce and wasabi I can't even describe how good it was. Fishy but not overpowering, tender not gamey at all definitely something I would recommend.

Decibel was reasonably priced, offering the ability to enjoy the place on a budget (or in a recession) as well as the opportunity to drop a bill on a bottle or box of fine sake. Oh and unlike the American version of the speakeasy, name dropping is definitely allowed- it is in fact encouraged to be splattered all over the walls beneath the Saki lined cornice of this joint.

DECIBEL

240 E 9th Street

New York, NY 10003

(Between 2nd & 3rd AV)