Back in March, I wrote about three of my favorite street food vendors around the city (see post here:
Food Therapy: Street Food). One of them is Otafuku (located at 236 E 9th St (b/w 2nd & 3rd Ave), NY, NY). If you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend trying at least the okonomiyaki or takoyaki!
Otafuku is a hole-in-the-wall take-out only spot that sells Japanese street food: okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and yakisoba. There's no seating available and if they're busy, you have to squeeze to get inside to order.
I usually go when the weather is nice because if want to sit and eat, you're relegated to trying to slyly nab the single bench outside Otafuku or walking a block north for a bench outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 2nd Ave.
I took advantage of the nice weather last week and got a fix for my okonomiyaki and takoyaki craving. I usually go with Combination B:
On the left is takoyaki (6 pancake balls) and on the right is okonomiyaki (veggie pancake with beef topping). Traditionally, the filling for takoyaki is a piece of octopus. It's good but I prefer the cheese filling because I adore cheese! I usually get okonomiyaki with the beef topping (but you can opt for pork, shrimp or squid).
The brown Okonomi sauce is what makes both okonomiyaki and takoyaki so tasty. The mayonnaise (the white sauce you see) also adds a slight creaminess. The green flecks on top is Aonori seaweed. It's used more for decorative purposes because you don't really taste it. Usually, they will pile bonito flakes on top but I'm not a huge fan of bonito flakes, so I get my Combination B without them.
Though this is street food, it's not fast food. Expect a wait if you order okonomiyaki or yakisoba. I've been going back year after year (I won't mention exactly how many...).
