The Ride-Along Report: First Takes From Last Night’s Dinner

"What It Is: An all-day Japanese cafe on the LES Perfect For: Casual Weeknight Dinner, Unique Dining Experience As we walked into Davelle, the chef behind the bar waved at us with one hand while blow-torching some oden with the other. Oden is basically a small bowl of broth with your choice of ingredients like fried tofu, boiled egg, or sausage with Japanese mustard. We ordered about five per person (each is around $4), and liked the mushrooms and fried octopus best. We were also kind of blown away by how much uni was in the $13 sea urchin rice ball. This is a tiny spot that’s open all day, but it’s best for a dinner when you want something low-key but interesting. The Verdict: This is a great spot for a unique weeknight dinner. We’ve added it to our Hit List." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang, matt tervooren