Anne Fishbein
There are now four Takehiro Tsujita restaurants within 1,000 feet of one another — the original Tsujita, Tsujita Annex (a back fat–heavy homage to Tokyo's Ramen Jiro), Sushi Tsujita (no noodles, sorry) and now Killer Noodle, a red-and-black lacquered temple to spiciness that opened last month to the same long lines that greeted the original Tsujita. There are a few points of focus in the new restaurant: One is an enormous red chandelier in the middle of the 70-seat dining room. Another is a wall of jars filled with peppers, cinnamon sticks and various spices that are lit ominously from beneath, like a mad scientist's lab. But heat is the overriding theme at Killer Noodle, and initially it comes dangerously close to feeling like a gimmick, capitalizing on the popularity of the spice fanatics you'll find at Howlin' Ray's or on the celeb-driven YouTube show Hot Ones. Like deadly sins, seven Killer Noodle rules, or fundamentals, are trotted out before each diner on the menu. No returns or refunds for customers who can't handle their spice is one axiom. The last is the slightly more scatalogical advice to “take care of your bottoms” after you head home. Read our full review.
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