Jackson Heights Life

The folks at Zabb Elee's opened a sake bar/izakaya downstairs over the July 4th weekend! I can't tell you guys how excited I am about this new development in the neighborhood, just a few doors down from the fantastic beer offerings at UFC's and Little Tibet.

Drinks: About 6-7 kinds of sake. Pitchers of Sapporo for $12, and an intriguing Japanese hefeweizen called Ginga.
Food: I didn't try a lot (I'd already had my fill of UFC) but the little we did order was good.  Izakaya style dishes like takowasa, grilled mackerel, fried chicken gizzards and shishito peppers were on the menu. They also have sushi, some rolls and Japanese style pasta. I'd recommend talking to the friendly owners (Joe and Kam - hope I got their names right!) about the specials of the day and what fish they have.
Decor: Fun izakaya, reminiscent of Kenka in the East Village. It's very small, tight, and cosy, but there's been a lot of care taken with the aesthetics of this place.
Hours: 6pm to 2am most days, open till 4am on weekends.

I'm already planning to go back!

You had me at gizzards!

Yeah, I went there post-meal (John Brown barbecue in. LIC) as well but the sake was great, cool environment and great tunes. Heard Robert Johnson, Bobs Dylan and Marley intestine I was there, a musical combo and soundtrack you don't hear often around here.

Went there tonight and arrived just as Bob Marley was giving way to the Blues. Nice, low-key vibe, friendly staff, and the chef-owner stopped by our table to see how things were going.

Classic Japanese pub food -- really tasty. We went with the steamed edamame, tender takoyaki (with chewy tidbits of octopus tentacle in the center), grilled Hokke (mackerel with grated daikon and a lime wedge on the side) and Napolitan (Japanese-Italian fusion spaghetti with tomato, bacon, onion, red bell pepper, parmesan and slivers of dried seaweed -- greasy and smoky in a perfect-with-a-beer kind of way). A couple of pics attached...

Some of the other tables opted for sushi and sashimi. One of the orders we saw was elaborately presented in a giant cocktail glass filled with shaved ice and garnished with seashells and a cherry-blossom sprig.

We saved room for the "Dessert King," a fish-shaped pancake stuffed with red bean paste, served with green tea gelato, matcha warabi (sweet jelly cubes dusted with green tea powder) and more red bean paste.

And we tried the Ginga Hefeweisen, which was very good.

I've also been once and loved everything about it--the food, the music, the service. The staff all seem excited to be a part of it and it's easy to share their enthusiasm. Our waitress told us they are expanding the menu next month. And here is a great write-up from dnainfo:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150716/jackson-heights/sake-bar-offers-12-sapporo-pitchers-under-michelin-starred-thai-restaurant

Village Voice review, 7/22/15

http://www.villagevoice.com/restaurants/zabb-sake-bar-an-izakaya-with-a-thai-accent-comes-to-jackson-heights-7400178

checked it out last night for the first time and couldn't have been happier. had a few dishes that were stellar....the gizzards, fried perfectly and hit with just enough salt and pepper, the mentai pasta that lalochezia mentioned earlier and described to a t (I was reminded of taramasalata) and a Hamachi collar that was huge (and the most expensive thing on the menu).

we got there around midnight and were the only couple there, but by 1:30, it was packed, and people were waiting to get in.
lovely, lovely service....such a great addition to the neighborhood!

Really enjoyed the food here the other night.  I will say that the wait time for our food was about an hour, even with only another table of patrons next to us.  It felt very slow and we were starving.  I might suggest ordering an appetizer - hopefully that would help with the wait.  At one point they opened the door, and we had to ask them to shut it because the train going by every few minutes was extremely loud.  Staff was very friendly though and I hope the wait time was just a blip in service and not the norm.