Photo by Daniel Krieger/Eater.com
Matsugen, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s tribute to the soba noodle is—at least in its Tribeca incarnation—a pretty austere affair. The Tokyo branch is a little darker, louder, sexier, but New York City seems to equate soba-eating mostly with quiet, calm, Zen-like spaces (see the excellent Soba-Ya and the late Honmura-An). Either way, the soba dishes (and other Japanese-esque noodle and non-noodle dishes) are going to take center stage here, spectacularly delicate and flavorful and nuanced as they are. You can have your soba noodles cold or hot, and with toppings like sea urchin or grated yam or duck or egg. You can skip the soba (only, don’t), since the menu has much more going on besides, like grilled pork belly or black cod, and gorgeous appetizers like soft tofu or sea urchin with yuzu jelly.
Matsugen. 241 Church St. at Leonard St.; 212-925-0202.
Prices/Features: MOD, VGT (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)