Inspiration Seekers, Go to Go Japanese Restaurant

Cheese is the answer to everything. That would’ve been in the thought bubble floating above my head as I slurped a mini cauldron of streaming udon soup saturated red with kimchi and American cheese. These two ingredients—a piquant vegetable and a sweet-ish creamy dairy product—seemingly belong in different cuisines altogether. Not so at Go Restaurant, where they marry these contradictions in my dish called Kimcheese. This combination is one of the most palatable I’ve ever had, with the liquid cheese neutralizing the spicy kimchi-flavored everything, including slices of pork, in every bite and sparing my tongue.


Drawing the St. Marks Place vibe inside, Go Restaurant hosts an environment of miscellany that fascinates all your senses from when you enter to when you leave. There’s the throbbing J-pop/rock soundtrack, the posters and art on the walls, the smells, the tastes, and the funky people. The small, relaxed restaurant is also staffed by friendly Japanese street fashion devotees, who will usher you to a seat at the sushi bar or to tables in the main room or patio.

The food selection is immense, spilling out of the menu to handrawn items on the walls and to laminated pieces of paper. They have the usual izakaya suspects: yakitori, sushi, okonomiyaki, alcohol, and the inventive like deep fried potato and tomato wrapped with bacon, the Sansai Yamaimo that is sliced japanese yam, veggies with plum mint sauce, and some dish I can’t remember that comes with a warning that it takes 15 minutes to make. We highly recommend the sushi. We ordered the tuna and salmon hand rolls for only $2.50 each, which is a deal, considering the freshness and amount stuffed into it.

Besides the food, the conversations are juicy. On a busy Sunday night, two inebriated middle-aged men at the sushi bar argued at full volume about which one of them had the most Twitter followers. There was a pair of students on my left who seemed to be practicing their interviewing skills, some women on my right shared their trials and tribulations of menopause, and a boy tried to communicate to a waiter (unsuccessfully) in bad broken Japanese. These amusing people definitely kept me quite entertained while I chewed on my Kimcheese.

Go to Go. Portions are gigantic, atmosphere is fun, company is lively, and their variety offers something for everyone. They will be at the Cool Japan Festival, serving fried soba from their yatai selection. 

Did I say this place also does great things with cheese? That was confirmed when we tried another dish, the Chicken Ala Chiba, a deep fried chicken cutlet with a perfect flaky crust impregnated with cheese. I had another thought bubble while eating that: don't be afraid to try everything new once—with a side of cheese.

The sushi bar

Sushi menu

Tuna and salmon hand rolls

Kimcheese

Chicken Ala Chiba

Chicken Ala Chiba, oozing cheese

Menu on wall

Oh, look who it is!