We’re riding the B and V from Coney Island all the way to Forest Hills, jumping off frequently to rave about our favorite restaurants and food stores near the subway.
This Week: 47th-50th Streets
Bordering Times Square territory, the 47th-50th Streets B stop is no place for tiny hole-in-the-wall cafeterias or sentimental sandwich makers. Instead, give in to the anonymous clamor at Sake Bar Hagi, a place to get lost in if ever there was one.
A long wooden bar is crammed with Japanese nationals, watching distractedly as they gnaw on izakaya treats like chicken skins, broiled rayfish fins, chicken meatballs, and other tiny, salty dishes, accompanied by shochu, sake, or beer. The TVs are usually tuned in to American baseball or basketball games, and the clamor is masculine noise, like a Japanese version of the Blarney Stone. Fall into a meditative state in which yellowtail collar, rice wine, and the Rangers displace all worldly anxiety and pain. It will serve as a balm to your inevitable push through Times Square.
