Yakitori Totto

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Although yakitori means "grilled chicken" (usually on a stick), the time-honored working-class Japanese food that is the featured dish at this second-floor Midtown restaurant is taken beyond its usual place as street fare with the restaurant's use of premium chicken. Seated at the bar or at a row of small tables in one of two dining rooms, the predominantly Japanese crowd favors its grilling done in the traditional manner (i.e., not cooked all the way through). If rare poultry makes you nervous and you don't want to look like a timid American by ordering it well done, the menu extends beyond chicken kebabs, with noodles and soups, tofu skewers in a dark miso sauce, and a smattering of seafood. Most dishes seem designed for accompanying drinks, especially sojou and sake, which, for their part, can make negotiating the steep one-flight staircase down to the street something of an adventure as well. — Ethan Wolff

Chicken thigh and scallion skewer, $3.50; prawn skewer, $7; Kyona & Jyako salad, $10

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• Cheap Eats Guide 2006 (8/7/06)