Curry-Ya - Japanese/Curry - East Village

Food: 5/10
Everything else: 6/10
We would eat Curry-Ya as an appetizer while waiting for our table at Shabu-Tatsu.

We explored Curry-Ya, the twelve-seat East Village open-kitchen bar, on Monday. Progeny of the 10th Street Japanese food Titan Bon Yagi -- he owns several restaurants on the block -- the place was inviting and intimate. The menu was small as expected, especially when you ignore things like hamburger curry and anything vegetarian, which we admit we tend to do. 

Service, as one might expect, was speedy and attentive. We ordered the beef dried curry and the Berkshire pork cutlet curry. Being able to watch our food cooked and plated was definitely a plus, the chefs calmly and professionally doing their thing just inches away.

The dishes themselves were good but far from outstanding. The curry for the pork cutlet was tasty but we both agreed that it lacked heat, despite our having requested it. Silky and brown, the curry bathed the pork nicely, though, and was the highlight. The pork itself was fried well: very crunchy outside and tender inside. The curry was served in a pot on the side which allowed the meat to stay crispy throughout the meal. 

The beef dried curry was rather dull, if serviceable, and did not make an impression; the bits of beef and egg looked better than they tasted.

We just had to try the coffee-flavored jello for desert, and though we found it strange, the flavors were fresh and more authentic than any other jello we'd tried.

The experience here is a pleasant one, then, but unlike the raw-beef phenomenon that is neighbor Shabu-Tatsu (to be reviewed in the near future), not essential.

TLDR: Go here if Shabu-Tatsu has a two hour wait. Otherwise, meh.