Bozu

Bozu, a colloquial Japanese term for monk, also means “bald”—and the name does seem inspired by the shaved head of one of the owners, whose day job as an interior designer isn’t hard to deduce. He’s the one who strung red lacquer daruma dolls into a beaded curtain at the entrance, poured clear resin into an aquarium-like bar, and got some DJ pals to convert a vinyl collection into an iPod stocked with fresh tunes. His partner is in the kitchen putting together the “finger pick” (steamed soybeans with an intriguing corn aftertaste), “warm dish” (sweet wasabi pork Betty) and “bombs” (sushi bites funked up with spicy mayo, sun-dried tomato and kataifi, a crunchy shredded phyllo dough).