Wannabe trendy restaurants come and go pretty quickly along Williamsburg's Bedford Avenue, but for over a decade the casual Japanese restaurant Supercore has been holding steady on the Southside. Owned by a mysterious Tokyo proprietor (there's another location in that city) Supercore serves Japanese-inspired comfort food such as Chikuzen-ni (simmered vegetables and chicken) and Miso-ni (simmered fish with miso-flavored soy sauce) and a variety of Kozara (small plates). Their kimchi is definitely good for what ails you, and the Beef Curry Stew, which is slowly cooked for four days, is probably the most popular dish.
In our experience, the mostly Japanese staff at Supercore is consistently friendly and attentive, and we're quite fond of the secluded private tables tucked into two back corners—perfect for private assignations or laptop procrastination. Beyond that, you'll find the most charming little backyard garden, an ideal oasis once the weather warms up. They serve out there until 11 p.m., and happy hour goes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with discounts on house sake, beer and food. Supercore's Smoked Salmon Sandwich with watercress, egg salad, and wasabi mayo ($9.25) is a particular favorite of ours, as well as the Sauteed Spinach with garlic ($4).
In addition to the food and drink, Supercore also doubles as a dainty art gallery of sorts, with a rotating monthly art show adorning the walls. And early Sunday evenings they bring in an eclectic variety of musicians to perform live—currently multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Takuya Nakamura is playing a regular weekly gig there. (He's out of town this Sunday, but on April 8th he'll be back with Josh Werner on acoustic bass.)
305 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg (Between South 2nd and South 1st Streets); 718-302-1629
