Japanese – Page 5 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Nobu 57

40 West 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth
212/757.3000
about $650 for omakase for six people, 60% comped, with drinks, with tip
â™¥ â™¥ â™¥

You know when people say it’s all about who you know? I realized what that truly meant last week when I was invited to join a friend’s family for a birthday dinner at Nobu 57. The birthday boy works in the omakase kitchen, so it was just appropriate that he took his family to work to celebrate. The Dr. and I were lucky enough to be included. We joined the celebration a few minutes late. The night was young and already, the restaurant was loud and buzzing with celebrities. Blistered peppers and grilled fava beans were on the table when we arrived. I rarely see fresh fava bean pods in the market, so I was thrilled to see them as appetizers. The kitchen continued to send plate after plate to our table for the next three hours. The celebrant was all too familiar with the dishes because they make at least 500 of the omakase orders a night from the time the restaurant opens for lunch until it closes around midnight. His friends in the back surprised him a few times with new specials.

They started us with the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeÃ±o peppers and the fluke in ponzu sauce. Both were so light I was led to believe that the rest of the night was going to be manageable. But then the presentation began–the kitchen staff trying to impress one of their own. The tuna with spicy cucumbers was served in a martini glass and topped with microgreens. The lobster and shiitake mushroom salad, a popular Nobu dish, became one of my favorites. The lobster was so succulent. The mushrooms only highlighted its decadence. A tofu and mussel salad was more mellow, served in trendy foam made of miso. Although impressive, it was probably the least memorable.

The rock shrimps were served with a spicy cream sauce. I could have done without the creaminess, but apparently, Scarlett Johansson loves them the way they were. The soft-shell crabs were lightly deep-fried and cooked to perfection. I loved them even more because they were served with small chunks of watermelon. Cubed fish was served next on lettuce leaves meant to be picked up with our hands. They were topped with fried phyllo dough that looked like dried noodles. We could have ended our meal there, but the food kept coming. The arctic char was delicately sweet, so grilled cauliflowers and purÃ©ed cilantro sauce were the perfect complements. At this point, I was unable to move, but I had to force myself to keep eating because the beautiful lamb chops came in. These lamb chops made up for all the bad lamb I’ve ever had in my life. Redemption is oh-so-sweet. I could have eaten a few more if only my stomach didn’t beg for me to stop. I had no choice but watch as the rest of the table picked up the sushi pieces in front of me which included a salmon lookalike ocean trout and seawater eel.

Thank goodness the drinks kept pouring. The beer and the wine flowed freely. Two carafes of cold sochu, one pomegranate, another lycheee flavored, disappeared immediately. We were too paralyzed to eat the desserts, but we happily picked on three kinds including the Nobu beer ice cream served with a white peach and jasmine soup and the whiskey milk ice cream with coffee crumble. One by one, the kitchen staff came out to greet the birthday boy. They brought with them a warm chocolate cake with green tea ice cream and a plate of fresh cantaloupe with a flickering birthday candle.

I’m not as young as the celebrant, but I had no reason to complain as we achingly walked out of the restaurant to digest. Happy birthday indeed.

Sachiko’s on Clinton

25 Clinton Street between Houston and Stanton
212/253.2900
$180 for four people with three carafes of sake and two beers, without tip
♥ ♥

I didn’t expect to save money during Japanese Restaurant Week. Every restaurant week promo I’ve managed to attend always sounded better than what I actually ended up experiencing. The discounted menus during restaurant week are usually subpar, with the least expensive ingredients being offered. I’ve been content with some of the prix fixes I’ve ordered, but what to drink with them? My bill just always adds up in the end. I booked a table at Sachiko’s to take advantage of the week-long event, but not once was I reminded by the restaurant’s staff. On my way out, I saw printed menus on the bar with a 10% coupon attached to them. Even if they told me about Japanese Restaurant Week, my discount would have been, at most, $18. I doubt I ordered anything that was eligible for the discount anyway.

For $20, you can get at least three slivers of seven types of fish–that’s a whole lot of fish! It was the better choice because nothing in the a la carte menu was different. The eel wrapped in rice paper was a bit boring, and the kushiage, breaded and deep-fried meat and seafood assortment, although lighter, was similar to anything I’ve eaten before that’s been breaded and deep-fried. My favorite was the soy and egg “soup” with uni, a delicate concoction of soft tofu, egg and sea urchin. Scooping up the tofu and having the uni softly collapse in my mouth were most pleasurable. At Sachiko’s, the sashimi was pretty good, the sake choices even better.

Sushi Zen

108 West 44th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
212/302.0707
$190 for two people with sake, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

You have a favorite spot when you’re craving something and you just know that whenever you go, it would not disappoint. This is how I feel about Sushiden, my restaurant of choice when I crave sushi after having been away from the city. When the Dr. and I return from a vacation, the first full meal we eat the next day is sushi. It’s like a cleansing ritual for us; to rid off a lot of fried foods from Central America or decadent meals eaten in Europe. When we came back from Nicaragua, Sushiden was closed, but we found Sushi Zen a few blocks away.

And what a find it was. The fish of the day was a special kind of yellow snapper flown in from Japan. It tasted like Japan was only ten minutes away. It was so fresh and so buttery, I couldn’t help but order two pieces. (Which probably explains our bill at the end of the night.) The bowl of seared tuna with yuzu, sprouts and pea shoot leaves was a great indication of a great meal. The pea shoot was a little peppery and it gave a nice contrast to the citrusy flavor of the broth and highlighted the freshness of the tuna. We were impressed with the salmon tagine, which simmered only in Japanese scallion broth, some miso and hot peppers. It reminded me of Korean chigae, only more pure than any stew I’ve ever tasted. The giant clam was sliced to look like enoki mushrooms waving on my plate–tender with good texture. The jack mackerel wasn’t as oily as I expected and the kelp rolled with the fatty tuna helped me from rolling my eyes in superlative appreciation.

And Anthony Bourdain said sushi on Mondays is a bad thing!

Related post/s:
My favorite sushi place, Sushiden

Ushiwakamaru

136 West Houston Street off Sullivan
212/228.4181
$150 for three people with six drinks, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

I’m always walking on Houston Street, but I have to admit that I never pay attention to the restaurants on the street. There are a few off Sullivan Street, right before you turn towards Bleecker, but I’ve never been inclined to check them out. We wanted sushi one night after a few after-work drinks in SoHo but Blue Ribbon was, as usual, packed and there was quite a wait at Nagomi. Yama or Tomoe are not good options to me so I was delighted to eat good sushi at Ushi Wakamaru. The uni was fresh and the ankimo creamy. The otoro was still the most expensive on the menu but it was still less than what Gari would charge. They accommodated my requests for salmon skin and shiso leaf makimo before we closed our tab. They didn’t take unfamiliar requests like shiso with pickled carrots and daikon–something Sushiden wouldn’t refuse–but they pretty much met my expectations.

Aburiya Kinnosuke

213 East 45th Street between Second and Third
212/867.5454
$104 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

There are two ways you can order your grilled food at Aburiya Kinnosuke. The robata grill is right at the bar where the Japanese chefs set skewers next to burning coals (not on top of) and take about 30 to 40 minutes to prepare. If you choose the shichirin grill, your meat will be served on top of a little clay pot and you can grill your food yourself. The portion is small you won’t be grilling like you do at a Korean restaurant. It’s all done that Japanese way: simple and understated.

When we reserved two seats at the bar, the fish of the night was yellowtail and the specials board noted that they were all flown in from Japan. The restaurant’s specialty is fish collar and because the yellowtail probably flew in style, it was priced at $30. We were interested to try it even at that price but thankfully, they were all out of stock by 9pm. We opted for the sea bass collar instead for $7. For collars, I don’t care if the fish came from another country. If it’s a cheap cut of fish, it really shouldn’t be more than $10. That said, we imagined our $7 sea bass collar was as good as how the $30 one would have tasted. It’s grilled the same way and it probably had the same amount of meat as the yellowtail.

But we started with the monkfish liver first. We never fail to order ankimo when it’s on the menu and Aburiya Kinnosuke’s is as delicate as they come. Another item we don’t skip at Japanese restaurants is the uni. The sashimi was served in a small woven basket with two kinds of kelp. I couldn’t help but order the fresh sea eel minus all the familiar kabayaki sweet sauce. They were served with the eel bone deep-fried with a dollop of wasabi. The eel meat was soft, yet very meaty, and it really had its own sweet taste without the dressing. The pork cheeks were delicious. They were chewy but tender enough to make us forget that cheeks, too, are considered cheap cuts. The offal taste was offset by the sweet seaweed and lemon juice. The fried chicken balls came with grilled peppers, something we’ve come to love after Barcelona, and powdered sea salt. They were crunchy without being too heavy. Next were the beef slices on the shichirin grill. They were atop a dried magnolia leaf and a handful of miso chiffonade garnished them. We cooked them for only a few minutes, rare and juicy enough to eat.

The servings were small so Aburiya Kinnosuke’s pacing was key. There were short pauses in between our dishes that allowed us to enjoy our Sapporo and plum vodka. Our dessert was one of the best things I’ve had since my visit to ChikaLicious: white sesame pudding with vanilla ice cream. The sweetness was so restrained and the nuttiness so addicting that I could have eaten another serving even though we were so full.

The crowd at Aburiya Kinnosuke is more adult and more moneyed. In fact, you can reserve a booth behind small curtains where a lot of the Japanese men probably conduct important businesses. (Since the initial reviews were published in 2005, they have employed English-speaking staff. The white girl who answers the phone is as fluent in Japanese as any of the chefs.) I understand that I have to go to midtown to have a real Japanese meal because of the proximity of the United Nations building. If I count how many times I eat Japanese food in a given month, I would group the restaurants in midtown as the best ones. Aburiya Kinnosuke is just one of them.

Related post/s:
Desserts at ChikaLicious