Good Taste
Take Three: Japanese The restaurant gods haven't always been kind to the occupants of this handsome-but-oddly situated space in the Academy House, which has seen a string of short-lived ventures reaching back to its one long-ago hit as Marabella's. New owner Kenny Hong, three months into the space's third incarnation, as a Japanese restaurant, is hoping his Sakeya is the third-time charm.
Take Three: Japanese
The restaurant gods haven't always been kind to the occupants of this handsome-but-oddly situated space in the Academy House, which has seen a string of short-lived ventures reaching back to its one long-ago hit as Marabella's. New owner Kenny Hong, three months into the space's third incarnation, as a Japanese restaurant, is hoping his Sakeya is the third-time charm.
He's off to a promising start with fun maki fantasies like the deep-fried Volcanic Mountain roll ($10) stuffed with minced fish and drizzled in lava flows of spicy-sweet sauce. My favorite starter, though, was the okonomiyaki, a comforting, savory pancake that's made the leap from Japanese home food to one of the trendier items at Asian-themed kitchens around town. Studded with seafood, veggies, and two-tone streaks of sweet dark sauce and Japanese mayo, it arrives at Sakeya inside a cute ceramic crock - a satisfying pre-theater nibble that also tastes like a good omen.
Okonomiyaki, $6 at Sakeya, 1420 Locust St., 215-735-1144.
- Craig LaBan