Yakitori Totto - Yakitori using Whole Chickens on 55th and 8th in Midtown West

[lion]

If you have a chicken Jones, maybe try Yakitori Totto. They buy whole, high-quality birds, and offer everything as yakitori, right down to the soft bone (my first experience with this cartilaginous curiosity). In the past, they offered raw chicken but no alcohol; now, it's the exact opposite - I also really appreciate that so many things are named Don. Interestingly, they now have a second branch in Thailand. If you go, I strongly recommend making a reservation.

Yakitori Totto is really good. Again, the draft Japanese beer is excellent as well.

[Rhone1998]

Hot damn this place is good. Except the drink options suck (maybe I'm spoiled by Izakaya Seki, but beers were limited to Kirin Ichiban, Asahi, and Sapporo, for instance). Three of us ordered about 15 different things, standouts among which were chicken skin, chicken thigh "oyster", ankimo (monkfish liver--the menu specializes in, but is not limited to, grilled meat skewers) and a skewer whose Japanese name I forget but it translates to "stew" I think because it's meant to evoke a traditional Japanese stew of beef, mushroom and tofu (it's a grilled skewer of very thinly sliced beef wrapped in a cylinder around mushroom and tofu) -- apparently an invention of this restaurant and not itself traditional.

Go here. It's near the corner of W 55th and 8th Ave.

[Cizuka Seki]

Hot damn this place is good. Except the drink options suck (maybe I'm spoiled by Izakaya Seki, but beers were limited to Kirin Ichiban, Asahi, and Sapporo, for instance).

...a skewer whose Japanese name I forget but it translates to "stew" I think because it's meant to evoke a traditional Japanese stew of beef, mushroom and tofu (it's a grilled skewer of very thinly sliced beef wrapped in a cylinder around mushroom and tofu) -- apparently an invention of this restaurant and not itself traditional.

you want even better yakitori, try tori shin.  their sake selection is also good -- not as good as ours, mind you -- but well, good 'nuf.   service is slow. also, that "stew" skewer is probably trying to evoke "sukiyaki", which is a classic hot pot of beef, mushrooms, tofu, and a bunch of other goodies.  and coverting this dish to a skewer is not a "thing" -- it's certainly specific to totto.

[DonRocks]

On 6/9/2012 at 12:13 PM, DonRocks said:

If you have a chicken Jones, maybe try Yakitori Totto. They buy whole, high-quality birds, and offer everything as yakitori, right down to the soft bone (my first experience with this cartilaginous curiosity). In the past, they offered raw chicken but no alcohol; now, it's the exact opposite - I also really appreciate that so many things are named Don. Interestingly, they now have a second branch in Thailand. If you go, I strongly recommend making a reservation.

Went back to Yakitori Totto tonight for the first time in forever. I think it was better 15 years ago, but it’s still awfully good - and such unusual cuts.

A bottle of Takaisami Junmai Ginjo (?) Nakadare ($75) worked throughout the meal - Totto’s online wine list is different than their actual version, so don’t spend too much time deciding before you go.

We each got an Agedashi Tofu ($11) because I knew we’d be fighting over it, although two orders was really too much of a good thing.

Then for Yakitori, we got two skewers each of Hiza ($8, soft knee bone), Suragimo ($5, gizzard), Momo ($6, thigh), Sorires ($8, chicken oysters), and one order of Seseri ($8, neck). It was more than enough food, and we were stuffed.

It had been over a decade since I’d been here, but I was pleased at the product they’re still putting out. Reservations are important. As a bonus, it was a 50-feet walk from our hotel. (No Yakitori photos - sorry!)

Still highly recommended after all these years.