New York Magazine
Week of September 15, 2003


Opening Drinks and Dinner

by Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

Yujen Pan isn’t anti-sushi—he worked for Nobu, after all, launching branches around the world—but for his first solo venture, he decided to build an izakaya, defined in A Dictionary of Japanese Food as “a simple tavern where customers eat and drink at small expense in a cheerful atmosphere.” Kasadela, a cozy, brick-walled East Village sake house, where Pan serves a concise, affordable assortment of rice wines and $10-and-under traditional Japanese snacks, fits the bill. Unless you grew up in Kyoto, you might not consider custardy goma tofu (made from sesame seeds) or miso-steeped cod bar food, but you should—the small, artful plates pair perfectly with sake.