[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

A tiny storefront tucked away on 19th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, Tebaya is the ideal spot for when chicken katsu and Japanese-style fried chicken cravings hit. I always go for the Tebaya Combo #1. $9.95 buys five pieces of their signature Tebaya chicken wings. These fried-to-order wings aren't coated in any batter, but simply fried naked twice in soy oil and brushed with a thin housemade garlic sauce, toasted white sesame seeds to finish. Addictive? Oh yes. Messy? Even more so.

The wings are served with a consistently crisp chicken katsu cutlet over a bed hot rice and katsu sauce. It's nothing extraordinary, just Japanese comfort food done well. I always ask for my katsu extra-crisp, and on that they deliver. No need to feel bad about eating so much fried food; the combo is completed with a plain, but absolutely necessary house garden salad and ginger-soy dressing. Should you like, Combo #7 turns that chicken katsu rice into a chicken katsu sandwich (also $9.95) with the miso-katsu sauce slathered over the chicken katsu, coleslaw and a mild wasabi dressing tucked into a bun. There is only one item to avoid—the chicken teriyaki tsukune, a chicken meatball most frequently found at yakitori spots. At Tebaya, the tsukune is mealy and lackluster; no reason to get this when their specialty is fried foods.

The shop is tiny with only four stools for seating. With the amount of deep frying they do and the lack of good ventilation, this is a spot recommended strictly for take-out meals.

Tebaya

144 West 19th Street, New York NY 10011 (map)
212-924-3335

About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.