Eating fish roe in Greenpoint is a distinct pleasure

Where to find 2 ikura-drenched entrees and a banana split in the new "Little Tokyo"

In 2023, the New York Times dubbed Greenpoint’s southwest corner “Little Tokyo”. Unlike New York’s other Little Tokyo, in the East Village, there are no izakayas for boozing or ramen shops for slurping. Instead, there’s an artisan soba maker, a restaurant dedicated to “Japanese methods of fermentation and enzymology,” and a spacious shop where you can make your own dashi, selecting dried fish and seaweed from clear bins labeled in Helvetica, with handsome pottery and fine jewelry available in your peripheral.

It’s a very good neighborhood to eat in, if you can stand to go through a few hundred bucks in an hour.

Maybe I’m late to the party here, but my new thing is: Why eat an appetizer, a main, and a dessert in one building? The weather is too good now, and there’s too many good spots so close to one another.

Here’s my itinerary for a recent date night in Greenpoint, which—in Little Tokyo, Little Poland, and in between—is probably the best place to eat in New York City.

Stop #1: A Highball and Roasted Sunchokes

Across from the queue for Caffé Panna, there’s Rule of Thirds. I hadn’t been in this building since it was A/D/O; I forgot how big it is. On a Sunday at 5:30 PM, we walked right in to the massive restaurant and got seats at the bar.

We ordered a couple of drinks and two small plates. The tuna tartare with nori ($16) was delicious but was so strangely plated that I didn’t photograph it… You can see it in the top left of the photo. It looks like an uncooked meatball.

The roasted sunchokes with smoked trout roe, though, were on point ($17). The seasonally-appropriate sunchokes are perfectly crispy, with fried sunchokes chips on top, and a white sauce that’s listened on the menu as “yuzu kosho kimizu”. The dish reminded me of eating potato chips with creme fraiche.

One $15 highball later, I headed back out to see the line at Caffe Panna had looped around the corner. Time for a main course.

📍 Rule of Thirds

171 Banker St, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Stop #2: A bottle of nigori sake and duck soba, please.