Mr. Jones meets Mr. Times

Cocktails and Small Bites for Troubled
By BETSY ANDREWS (NY Times)
Mr. Jones

243 East 14th Street, (212) 253-7670, mrjonesnyc.com.

Applause for Lesly Bernard. Failing to open Village Tart, Permanent Brunch and La Otra this fall as planned, Mr. Bernard, the Tillman’s impresario, has managed to open this East Village yakitori lounge. Its name smacks of Amy Winehouse. The pop innuendo is abetted by drinks from the Angel’s Share bar book and a funked-up Danish modern interior, with big, round, red banquettes. “In the city, most people don’t have room to entertain their friends, so I really want to offer people a comfortable place for that,” Mr. Bernard said.

Judging by the empty seats, folks are in no mood to party. Perhaps their hearts have been skewered like those in the chef Bryan Emperor’s hatsu in yakitori sauce. At $3, these tasty, if chewy, grilled chicken hearts are a seeming bargain. Still, you would have to gut the whole coop to make a meal.

Other grilled meats are more satisfying. The harami goma shichimi’s hefty hunks of wagyu, topped with an opium-thick black sesame paste, deliver on designer-beef indulgence ($7).

Despite their dominance on a menu of small bites, the yakitori aren’t the go-to items; too many taste of gas from the grill. Instead, trust in the Frialator.

Lollipoplike chicken wings — partly boned, fried in potato starch and topped with daikon to offset their earthiness — are a comfort-food balm ($9). Kobe meatballs ($12) are rich enough with molten foie gras centers; frying them is overkill. But the mizuna salad benefits from a sprinkling of crunchy jako fish ($8). Calamari tempura ($8) is the chicken wings’ even trashier, more addictive companion. Slathered in a fermented soybean-and-chili paste that is mellowed and sweetened with cream, it’s a glam-rock sop for the cocktails.

As for those cocktails, who can resist the old-fashioned? It hugs a single sphere of ice. A flock of citrus, peels curled like plumage, perches on its glass. It makes you laugh. Then it soothes you. What more to ask from a drink in troubled times.

*** I know for a fact Chef Bryan uses Binchotan for his grilled goods.
Clearly this writer doesn't know the difference between gas and the unique smokiness you get from a charcoal grilled.