For home-style Japanese food in a delightful setting, head to Seo. This hospitable hideaway wears no airs; its kitchen is wholly dedicated to the cooking and conservation of their little lair. While Westerners may misconstrue it for a sushi bar (glimpse the long wraparound counter), Seo is anything but. Make your way beyond a steamy kitchen to a small dining room neatly attired with a few tables and a glass wall overlooking a traditional and very tranquil Japanese garden. Amid this serenity, eat your way through crunchy, salty edamame followed by tender inaniwa udon or superb salmon sashimi atop rice with wasabi and shiso. Like its Zen backyard, a lick of the red bean-green tea ice cream will deliver you far from the maddening midtown streets.