Meat on the Menu

Photo: Alex La Cruz

Join acclaimed NYC restaurant Matsuri, located in The Maritime Hotel, in honoring The Penis Festival, a traditional celebration of fertility in Japan where natives and tourists alike pay tribute to all things phallic. For the first week of April, the streets of Kawasaki stand erect with phallic see-saws, penis carving contests, and edible sweetmeat manhood replicas all in the name of fertility, or "Kanamara Matsuri." Along the same vein, at Matsuri, Chef Tadashi Ono will offer his tongue-in-cheek take on the festivities with a one-night-only Penis Matsuri menu on, of course, April Fool's Day. The day's festivities are sponsored by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which will be giving out Jeremy Scott for PROPER ATTIRE(r) condoms to guests complimentary.

Penis Matsuri menu: Available April 1, 2010 ONLY

• Ginseng Up Cocktail ($12)
• Get It Up Hot Pot ($23) -- a traditional Japanese Hot Pot of oyster and sea urchin in dashi broth
• Big Sausage ($18) -- with sea scallops and spicy cod roe
• Hard Banana Cream Pie ($9) -- caramelized with chocolate ice cream

Matsuri is located in The Maritime Hotel, 369 W. 16th Street at 9th Avenue, NYC. The special penis menu is available Thursday, April 1, from 6-12am. For additional information about Matsuri and The Penis Festival, call 212.243.6400 or visit www.matsurinyc.com

Previously > Public Penis Art: The Bishop's Bollocks