Donburi (CLOSED)

Far from fine dining, Donburi is cramped, often loud and always cheap. But the informal tone is exactly why people flock to the Japanese rice bowl joint. Owner and chef James Jang keeps energy high with chef’s counter seating that puts the harried kitchen on display. There, cooks churn out karaage (golden fried chicken), sashimi and vegetable tempura. The star, though, is the restaurant’s namesake dish, made with rice and your choice of topping. Barbecued eel (unagidon) blow-torched before your eyes is a fan favorite.