Sure, St. Marks Place is no longer the real hangout of punk abandon, the kids with the funny hair are most likely uptown refugees, and hipsters and models outnumber the junkies in Tompkins Square park, but I still have a place in my heart for these few seedy blocks between Astor Place and Tompkins Square Park. A number of things have changed the place, from NYU's encroachment along nearby streets to the meteoric rise of the housing market, but there are still a few things anchoring the neighborhood. One of them has to be proliferation of nearby cheap, excellent Japanese food, from the smokey yakitori (grilled meats and vegetables on skewers) places to discount sushi to the dark, cave-like sake bars (check out Angelshare and Decibel around the corner). These places are nestled at the western end of St Marks, near Astor Place.