Japanese food, to most Anglo diners, is synonymous with one of three things: sushi, noodles, or tempura. We were as guilty as anyone of this conflation before we started exploring our old neighborhood in London, a little enclave near the Finchley Road Tube stop that brought together Serbs, Poles, Mancunians, and Japanese in approximately equal measure. Our favorite grocery store (especially where produce was concerned) was a place called ‘Natural Natural’ that always seemed to have scandalously good prices on onions and pumpkins. They also had a miniature cafe at the front, popular mainly with Japanese tourists and workers, where the shop’s chef prepared octopus (grilled and in balls), filets of fresh pork and chicken, and long caramelized tranches of eel with tiny tofu cubes dotting their tops. This little grocery is where we were taught just how much more there is to Japanese cuisine than salmon rolls and udon.

Credit Kasadela for teaching us a few new things. After first hearing about the restaurant from a friend who lives in the Lower East Side, we took our first trip east on 11th Street very early this year and have gone back as often as possible since then. The thing about Kasadela is that they hook you quickly: almost everyone orders the black edamame (which disappeared from the menu for a short time but have now returned) to snack on while perusing the menu, not realizing that they are cooked in some sort of habit-forming brine. Once you have eaten a few beans, you won’t be able to stop thinking about them. Perhaps ever. They’re called ‘black’ because the beans themselves are sheathed in a very thin skin that is darker than that of most soybeans; the name is an exaggeration, as the beans are not even forest green, but they do taste much richer and more buttery than normal edamame. Also, unlike edamame in almost every other restaurant, these are never dry and never slimy inside.

Each time we visit Kasadela, HungryMan and I try to order two appetizers, no matter how hungry we are. It’s not so much that the small plates are better than the larger ones, but more that because Kasadela is a true izakaya–equal parts a bar and dining establishment–the kitchen really knows how to prepare excellent snacks and finger foods. It would be a shame to skimp on these, so we occasionally even order three appetizers and a single entrée item. This week, when HungryMan and I popped in for a pre-WYSIWYG Talent Show meal, we were delighted to see that a few new appetizer specials awaited us. One was the Kasadela Hiyayakko: a long rectangle of cold tofu garnished with chiffonaded shiso leaves, green onions, seaweed, and a spicy red sauce. The astringent shiso and the very mild heat of the sauce emphasized the tang of the tofu, while its mineral flavors were brought out by the seaweed. I’d call this a master class in garnish.

One of our old favorites is the goma tofu– we order it every time we go to Kasadela, and for good reason. Goma (sesame in Japanese) tofu is a cool, very slightly grainy flan made not from soybeans, but from sesame, sake, and kudzu starch. Eaten wiith the accompanying wasabi and soy broth, it tastes like a delicate, savory tahini pudding. It is worth ordering just to taste another genus of tofu, one with the fragility of a custard.

As a main dish, HungryMan opted for the steak teppanyaki special, an iron-grilled fillet of thin steak slices that were once again garnished with panache: this time with matchstick slices of green apple and zucchini, all capped with a tiny mound of watercress leaves. Normally, I think of teppanyaki cooking as a style that showcases the seared flavors of meat to the neglect of everything else (think Benihana). But HungryMan’s entrée was more of a rare beef salad that played with textures and aromas to great effect. Tart green apples might not be a traditional companion to grilled beef, but after eating this, we think they should be.

For my main, I chose the rock shrimp donburi– another big favorite in the NYCnosh camp. This dish is a steamy sauteed concoction of shoyu, dashi, mirin, onions, juicy rock shrimp. The mixture is served over a bowl of rice, drenching it in the salty broth, and then finished with the addition of a beaten egg that cooks completely in the bowl. At Kasadela, the donburis are topped with a few shreds of nori seaweed and a sprinkling of hot pepper flakes. If rock shrimp isn’t your style, there are also chicken, vegetable, and eel donburis that are all just as good. In warmer months, HungryMan and I order from the Grilled or Fried Dishes sections of the menu, but in the winter, especially when the temperatures fall below freezing, I find donburi warm and soothing.

I’ve saved the best information for last: Kasadela’s most expensive entrée costs $10.00. It is easy to sit for a few hours, snacking and talking, drinking Kirin, Asahi, or one of the dozen sakes on the drinks menu, and still escape without spending more than $20 or $25 per person. According to Kasadela’s own website, such izakaya establishments sit on practically every urban street corner in Japan. I confess to being a little jealous of this– I imagine the world would be a much better place if we all had a Kasadela just down the street. But I’m just happy that there is one within easy reach on the Lower East Side.

Kasadela, 647 11th Street (close to Avenue C), 212-777-1582