Akira Back

Ok, so this place was awesome. Had a good vibe, and I really liked the food.

For two people, I recommend getting all of the following: wagyu tacos, sashimi platter, protein roll, King Crab fried rice, and show me the roll.

Next time I think I would also get the Rock shrimp to try.

For drinks, since they had toki, got a toki highball.

Bada Bing Sports Bar and Grill

We grabbed food here after the Bills game.

And yea, we definitely had some Buffalo Wings (in Buffalo). Can’t beat that.

We also had the pepperoni pizza and a mushroom and pepper pizza. Will say the latter was better than the former.

For drinks, got a toki highball and a makers on the rocks.

Conclusion is that I would definitely come back if I find myself in downtown Buffalo.

Attaboy

We had drinks at this speakeasy.

Basically you need to stop by to put your name down, and then they text you (like 2 hours later, so we went to a place called Two Doors Down to kill time, which is also a great bar).

This type of bar you tell them what you’re feeling like drinking, and they make it for you (although they seem to have a preset menu because all their drinks they served had a name).

I told them for the first drink I wanted something with whisky and sweet, but no simple syrup. I think the drink they gave me was called Come Around.

The second drink I said alsmot the same thing, it something with banana flavor.

Prince St Pizza

As the name suggests, this pizza is located on Prince St at the lower east side.

They are famous for their square Pizzas. There was a line when we got there, but it went fairly quickly. Probably partly because they have whole pepperoni pizzas already premade.

I would come back, but I will say had a little bit of heart burn after (probably because of the pepperoni).

Rice to Riches

Stopped by this place for a snack while shopping at SoHo.

I ended up getting the chocolate chip flavored rice pudding (although really liked the Nutella or rocky road that I sampled, but they don’t have a smaller sized version of them). Would come back.

Sons of Essex

Technically this is a bar, but we went here for a brunch.

I would come back, bout would definitely order some things over others.

For drinks, mimosas and Irish coffee were great. (Next time I would also try the espresso martini).

For food, I got scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon. The eggs were good, but would probably get regular bacon over Canadian bacon next time.

We also ordered the mac and cheese with bacon. Highly recommend.

Also, will say the owner was very easy to talk to, and there was a DJ playing great top 40 edm music.

Mr. Purple

This rooftop bar is actually pretty good. The view of the New York skyline was great, and also people watching was fun. Had a very Gen Z vibe (even one guy was trying to impress some girl with his trust fund).

FYI, the entrance of it is not obvious (on street level).

I will say drinks are not cheap (it was $25 for one drink… although they do give heavy pours).

I would come back for the people and view.

Buddakan

We went to this really trendy Chinese restaurant. The vibe was very night clubby, and also Gen Z.

Basically when you get in it’s like a Vegas style check in (have people behind a hotel like counter). After, you basically wait in the bar area before you get seated (even if you have a reservation). The bar area is actually quite large, and really good for a pregame (could also go to this restaurant without eating and just chill there). And the DJ was very on point playing great top 40 edm music.

After about 10 minutes we did get seated. We got the chow mein with beef, the dim sum sampler, and something that is like pop corn shrimp (it wasn’t called that, but basically an Asian version of it). Honestly, would get everything again.

For drinks got an Aperol spritz and whisky on the rocks. Can’t go wrong with either of those.

On a side note, there was a downstairs area which looked like it had bomb seating. Also, this place is near the Google office and Tao night club. Would be down to go to this place and explore the area at night next time.

Update (7/21/2024): we went back here for a friends bday. There was 15 of us, so we had to do a fixed menu. The menu is listed below, it I think the highlights for me were the lobster fried rice, the jumbo shrimp, and the cod. Other food was great, but it was just a lot of food (need to pace myself next time).

Russ & Daughters

Tried the bagel place for breakfast/lunch at the lower east side.

This place is known for their lox bagels. And that’s exactly what I got (the original). Honestly it was really good. Got it with a sesame bagel, original cream cheese, tomato, onions and scallions. The salmon they used I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was good.

Ye’s Apothecary

So this is labeled as a speak easy, it really it’s just a late night Chinese food place with a full bar / cocktails.

I would go back again for a late night meal. We got the Sui Mai, XLB, noodles with beef, and Szechuan beef. Would get everything again but the beef (pictured below, it was not what I was expecting since it was crispy. Usually it’s not like that).

For drinks, think I just got whisky on the rocks (the usual).