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Grub Street

Edited by Josh Ozersky with Daniel Maurer

All Posts Tagged: ‘japanese’

Engines of Gastronomy 

7/11/08

6:00 PM

Matsugen’s Mill Is Constantly Grinding

matusugen mill

The mill grinds slowly, but rarely stops.Photo: Melissa Hom

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s latest offering, Matsugen, has an extensive menu and a topflight sushi bar, but the restaurant will likely rise or fall based on how the public responds to its primary focus: soba (buckwheat) noodles. In Japan, soba sellers get freshly-ground flour from a nearby mill. In an expensive attempt to replicate that flavor, Matusgen has a modern, mechanized version of the ancient technology. With the electric Mitsuka mill, two heavy wheels of granite are fed two ounces of Japanese buckwheat kernels every few minutes. The machine — which cost nearly $10,000 — slowly grinds the sobako flour to varying textures. After the flour drops through the millstones, a robotic arm brushes it into a bin below. “It basically runs all day,” says sous-chef Kyle Herman. “We constantly need fresh noodles, so we constantly run the mill. Those wheels are constantly turning.”

Related: Vongerichten Soba Palace Matsugen to Open Tomorrow
Will Soba Be Another Japanese Crossover Hit?

Read more»

More: Engines of Gastronomy  »japanese, jean georges vongerichten, matsugen, soba, tribeca

NewsFeed 

6/30/08

8:30 AM

Will Soba Be Another Japanese Crossover Hit?

Soba

Will Matsugen's soba stir the masses?Photo: Melissa Hom

Jean-Georges Vongerichten has high hopes for soba, the humble Japanese buckwheat noodle that is the foundation of his new restaurant, Matsugen. “I think all New Yorkers will love soba,” he predicted last week. But will soba join sushi and ramen as culinary immigrant success stories? Or will it be excised to the Japanese-food ghetto with okonomiyaki and tempura? Below, a guide to those Japanese foods that can carry a restaurant, and those doomed to be modest menu items.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »japanese, jean-georges vongerichten, matsugen, soba

NewsFeed 

6/24/08

12:15 PM

Vongerichten Bets on Soba

jean georges vongerichten

Jean-Georges Vongerichten: In soba we trust.Photo: Getty Images

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's latest venture, Matsugen, is essentially a high-end buckwheat noodle shop. What's one of the world's most famous French chefs doing slinging soba? We went to the source to find out.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »japanese, jean-georges vongerichten, matsugen, soba, tribeca

NewsFeed 

6/13/08

2:30 PM

Vongerichten Soba Palace Matsugen to Open Tomorrow

Matsugen, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s long-in-the-making soba project in the old 66 space, will open tomorrow night, Eater tipsters report. Vongerichten is expected to cut short his stay at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic and head back here to attend the opening. Inevitably, comparisons to the recently opened Soba Totto will be made; we’ll see what the Japanese gastronomes, in particular, think of the place. Sadly, the Japanese gourmet megamarket originally envisioned as part of the project has not come to pass.

Matsugen Mania: Jean-Georges’s Soba House Opens Tomorrow [Eater]
Earlier: Vongerichten’s Soba Plans Back On; Japanese Food Superstore Coming, Too?

More: NewsFeed  »66, japanese, jean-georges vongerichten, matsugen, soba, tribeca

NewsFeed 

5/ 5/08

12:00 PM

Don’t Tell Adam Platt, But Fugu Is Safe Now

fugu

Without the danger … this just looks unappetizing somehow.Photo: James Wojcik

Hot on the heels of Adam Platt’s death-defying trip to Japan to eat the potentially deadly fugu (blowfish) comes a piece in the Sunday Times on the very subject. It seems that the fugu farmers have this deadly-toxin thing licked, and that, with many of today’s new and improved fugu, you couldn’t get poisoned if you tried. (Platt actually knew about the safe fugu but hadn't come all the way to Japan to eat safe blowfish.) Of course, since fugu doesn’t taste like anything, that doesn’t give the world much reason to eat it. It’s a true paradox.

If the Fish Liver Can’t Kill, Is It Really a Delicacy? [NYT]
Related: To Die For [NYM]

More: NewsFeed  »adam platt, fugu, japanese, sushi

NewsFeed 

4/18/08

2:00 PM

Sunrise Mart Isn't Selling Us on ‘Vegetable Cheese’

Having eaten everything from bull’s penis to chicken ovaries to the fish guts that Zenkichi warned us were for “Japanese, sake connoisseurs, and adventurous eaters only,” we’ll give any peculiar food a chance, but we have yet to get much joy out of natto, the fermented soybean dish that triggers the gag reflex of even the most hardened masticators. Japanese grocery store Sunrise Mart (a favorite of Santogold) clearly senses this trepidation, because they’ve posted the following pamphlet attempting to warm — nay, “addict” — Westerners to what they euphemistically dub “vegetable cheese.” Yeah, that’s not exactly helping.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »japanese, natto, sunrise mart

NewsFeed 

4/11/08

2:00 PM

Gridskipper’s Ramen Picks Exclude the Most Famous Noodle Bar of All

ramen

Ramen in the morning, ramen in the evening…Photo: IStockphoto

The city’s ramen rivalries grow hotter each day, and so yesterday Gridskipper did the service of laying out their picks, in order, for the best Japanese-noodle broths. Number one with a bullet is Hakata Ippudo, the East Village newcomer created by the so-called King of Ramen. As far as Gridskipper is concerned, the title is well earned, but then none of the comments on the various ramen houses are especially pointed. (“Setagaya's specialty is shio ramen (‘salt’ broth) — some think it's the best in the city.”) What may be, however, is the absence of the most famous ramen bar of all, Momofuku, from the list.

The Best Ramen in the Big Apple [Gridskipper]
Related: Ramen War Intensifies With Hakata Ippudo
Best Ramen [NYM]

More: NewsFeed  »east village, gridskipper, hakata ippudo, japanese, momofuku noodle bar, ramen, ramen setagaya

NewsFeed 

3/28/08

9:00 AM

Chanto Shuttered Last Night

Chanto

The lights are dimmed forever at Chanto.Photo: Shanna Ravindra

It never quite happened for Chanto; and now the West Village restaurant, the first American outpost of a major Japanese chain, has gone under. Last night was the final service for the place, which served some of the most elegant Asian food around, like the spectacular “King of Kimchee.” The strange Seventh Avenue location seems to have been the culprit, along with a failure to get the word out. Neither the sake tasting, nor the live jazz, nor the DJ nights, nor the Kobe burger bar downstairs made any impact. There was talk behind the scenes that the place might re-brand itself, and reopen as another concept, but that seems to have fallen aside and now there's nothing left but the whitewash. We liked Chanto, a lot. When we asked Adam Platt a year ago why he hadn't reviewed it, he uttered these chilling — but prescient — words: “The place has the stench of death about it.”

Related: Annotated Dish: Chanto's Sophisticated Kimchee

More: NewsFeed  »chanto, japanese, west village

Openings 

3/20/08

3:40 PM

Ramen War Intensifies With Hakata Ippudo

Why Japanese restaurateurs decided to make the East Village the ramen war's western front may never be clear, but there was another skirmish at the Tuesday press preview* of Hakata Ippudo. Owner Shigemi Kawahara was there to celebrate his chain’s first location outside Japan, but Gothamist lamented that his signature dish, the Ramen King — “a pork-based creation containing a cube of gelatinous foam that changes the flavor of the soup as it dissolves” — was absent. Something tells us it won’t be long before Foam-Cube Ramen makes its way to the East Village. The ramen wars require every weapon known to man.

*Correction: This event was a press preview, not opening night. Hakata Ippudo opens on March 31.

Ramen King Holds Court at Ippudo Opening [Gothamist]
Related: Huzzah! More Ramen for the East Village!
Where the Underground Gourmet Will Be Eating [NYM]

More: Openings  »east village, ippudo, japanese, ramen

Back of the House 

3/11/08

11:30 AM

Huzzah! More Ramen for the East Village!

ramen

Pictured: generic ramen, as opposed to signature ramen.Photo: IStockphoto

On the theory that you can never have enough ramen bars in the East Village, Ippudo, yet another Japanese import, will open on March 31. According to Andrea Strong, Ippudo will be in “an urban-styled log cabin hut” (um, okay…) and will serve five kinds of ramen, “including their signature Shiromaru Moto-Aji (white-pork-based broth ramen) and Akamaru Shin-Aji (a bolder-flavored red broth seasoned with garlic olive oil and their secret sauce)." Will Ippudo succeed where Momofuku, Setagaya, Minca, and others have also succeeded? Why not? The liquor license and specialty sake cocktails certainly won’t hurt.

This Just In: Ippudo to Open March 31st! [Strong Buzz]
Related: Best of New York: Best Ramen [NYM]

More: Back of the House  »andrea strong, east village, ippudo, japanese, minca ramen factory, ramen, ramen setagaya

Back of the House 

2/ 5/08

1:57 PM

Holy Grail of Japanese Knives Can Be Found Downtown

Keijiro Doi, the greatest knife-smith in Japan.Photo: Salon.com

The conjunction in the last few days of a Salon article and a Discovery documentary about the greatest living Japanese knife-maker, Keijiro Doi, and his fiery arts has had chefs buzzing around town. Most all of them fetishize Japanese knives: The Salon article name-checks Thomas Keller, Jean Georges, Eric Ripert, and David Bouley. But the commanding figure in the article is Doi, and it so happens that the only place in America where you can actually buy the 80-year-old blacksmith’s legendary creations is here, at Korin Trading Company downtown. Korin sells a $4,720 yanagi, or sashimi knife, although it is so rare it isn’t even on the company’s Website, as well as a lesser yanagi, a bargain at $720. Korin founder Saori Kawano tells us that Doi inspired her to found the company, the premier Japanese-knife story in America, as a way to honor Japanese knife-smithing.

Read more»

More: Back of the House  »japanese, knives, korin trading company, saori kawano

Back of the House 

1/ 4/08

9:30 AM

Soba Totto’s Chef Is a Yakitori Goddess

Mika Ohie speaks softly but kicks ass in the kitchen.Photo: Melissa Hom

Given the macho atmosphere of most izakayas, with their clientele of hard-drinking salarymen and meat-centric menus, it might come as a surprise to learn that the chef of three of the city’s best — Yakitori Totto, Torys, and the brand-new Soba Totto — are all under the control of a woman. Mika Ohie is a first-class cook and kitchen manager who runs all three restaurants with an iron hand, says her boss, owner Ryuichi “Bobby” Munekata. “I hardly go in the kitchen at Yakitori Totto,” he says. “I leave it all up to her.” But Ohie admits kitchens are not the friendliest places. “Kitchens are very tough. You need to accept the challenge of running one,” she tells us. “I love to cook, but restaurant work is definitely tough.”

Read more»

More: Back of the House  »japanese, mika hoie, ryuichi munekata, shuichi kopani, sobba totto, yakitori torys, yakitori totto

NewsFeed 

12/13/07

2:00 PM

Vongerichten’s Soba Plans Back On; Japanese Food Superstore Coming Too?

Jean Georges's 66 is turning Japanese, we really think so.Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Though a deal is not yet signed, we can report that Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s partnership with Japanese restaurateurs the Matsushita brothers is back on. The building that used to house 66 will become a long-awaited soba restaurant and maybe something even better: a three-story Japanese megamarket. The soba restaurant, Matsu Gen, is envisioned as the anchor to what one source familiar with the project described as a “Japanese Zabar’s.” (A similar Japanese megamart, the Mitsuwa Marketplace, exists in Edgewater, New Jersey, and is a mecca for Japanese cooks and aficionados from all over the greater New York area.) It’s not definite that the full three-floor bazaar will come to pass, but the restaurant, at any rate, seems to be coming into focus.

Earlier: Vongerichten's Soba Plans May Be in the Soup
Vongerichten May Deep-Six 66, Serve Sushi and Soba Instead

More: NewsFeed  »66, japanese, jean-georges vongerichten, matsu gen, tribeca

Openings 

12/11/07

9:00 AM

Yet Another Haru Opens, Appropriately on Wall Street

The Haru juggernaut rolls on.Photo courtesy Haru

Whether Haru’s reputation as the Dos Caminos of the sushi trade is deserved, the chain keeps growing: This week the latest sushi megastore opens up, with all its ridiculous (and surprisingly good) specialty cocktails intact. This one is in the Beaver Building downtown and will likely mint money as fast as the other Harus. Like its parent, Benihana, Haru has found the perfect formula: good sushi, big menu, big bar, and lively atmosphere. Even though the food is better at Chanto, the dull atmosphere keeps people away (in a bad-for-business cycle). Successful Japanese restaurateurs know that Americans prefer big cocktails to kaiseki or soba noodles. All you have to do is ask Rocky Aoki, if you can find him behind his mountains of yen.

*Correction: Haru does not yet have a liquor license. The restaurant's reps say it should come "any day now."

More: Openings  »benihana, chanto, financial district, haru, japanese

NewsFeed 

12/ 3/07

9:00 AM

Sakaya and Its Daily Tastings Just Two Weeks Away

East Village sake stronghold Sakaya has been on the way for a long time, a process chronicled on various blogs, including Sakaya’s own. Now that we’re less than a couple of weeks (or fewer) away from the place opening up, we spoke to former Food & Wine publisher Rick Smith, who owns Sakaya with his wife, Hiroko Furukawa. “We’re going to be the first store totally dedicated to sake in New York, and we’re going to have sakes that no one has seen before here — artisanal sakes, small-batch stuff, things that have never been imported here before.” Sakaya’s line will range from an ultrapremium Midori Kawa Dai-Ginja for $163 to the “lovely” $18 Yuri Massamune, the George Duboeuf of sake. The only problem, and it’s one Rick can’t fix, is that we can never remember which sake we like since the labels are all written in Japanese. But we’ll get the chance to find out: Sakaya will host daily sake tastings, so you can learn (and get a little looped) whenever you stop in.

Sakaya Blog [Official site]

More: NewsFeed  »east village, japanese, sakaya, sake

Click and Save 

11/ 5/07

12:35 PM

Waiter, There’s a Fifth Element in My Soup

This is your tongue on Umami.Photo: npr.com

On the eve of Momofuku Noodle Bar moving its base of operations up the street, NPR’s feature today on the “fifth sense” of umami has a certain timeliness. (In the ramen business, every day is umami day.) The Japanese word for “yummy” is used to describe the taste of meat, animal fats, cheese, dashi, and other foods in which glutamates have broken down — it reflects the “savory” sensation that everybody likes in chicken soup, ramen broth, and other foods not notably salty, sweet, bitter, or sour. The feature is a kind of combination of Science on the March, with Escoffier standing in for Madame Curie, and a Paul Harvey piece: “and that flavor, that scientists said was just a figment, was… umami. Now you know the rest of the story.”

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter… and Umami [NPR]

More: Click and Save  »japanese, momofuku noodle bar, umami

NewsFeed 

10/31/07

9:00 AM

Oriental Spoon Gives Up on Tapas, Relaunches As Japanese Pasta House

Stop in for ramen … we mean tapas … or sushi … or is pasta?Photo: Melissa Hom

No sooner had we begun to understand Oriental Spoon, the Pan-Asian tapas restaurant hidden away in the rear of Ramen Setagaya than it had changed again. Welcome, Pasta Wafu! The newest incarnation of the space specializes in “Japanese-style pasta,” says manager Charlie Huh. Think of flying fish roe in a cream sauce with penne or linguine with sea urchin and “homemade oil sauce.” But if you’re not into Italianate fusion, there’s also a full sushi bar. But be daring, says Huh. “This is top-notch food, and it’s very affordable! It’s not just for Japanese people.” We’ll settle for just not having to stand in the Setagaya line.

Related: New East Village Ramen Spot Insists It’s More Authentic Than Momofuku

More: NewsFeed  »east village, japanese, oriental spoon, pasta wafu, ramen, ramen setagaya

NewsFeed 

10/22/07

5:13 PM

Yakitori Totto to Get New Soba Sister

Imagine another Yakitori Totto (pictured), but bigger.Photo: Shanna Ravindra

New York soba fans (more than you might think) will be pleased to hear that the city is getting a much-needed addition to its roster of buckwheat-noodle restaurants. The source is impeccable: Ryuichi “Bobby” Munekata, the owner of the Cheap Eats favorite Yakitori Totto and Aburiya Kinnosuke. “There are only three or four soba restaurants in New York, compared to hundreds of sushi places,” says Munekata. The planned location for Totto Yakitori and Soba, though, is directly atop one of its few competitors: Sakagura, which occupies the basement floor of the same East 43rd Street building. You’ll find Totto Yakitori on the ground floor, likely as of mid-December.
More: NewsFeed  »japanese, midtown east, ryuichi munekata, soba, yakitori totto

Openings 

10/11/07

4:34 PM

Japanese Curry Coming to East Village

Bon Yagi, whose mini-empire of Japanese restaurants includes Sakagura, Decibel, Shabu-Tatsu, and numerous other places, is looking to open another, he tells us: Curry-ya, a Japanese curry concept to be located next to his Rai Rai Ken in the East Village. “It’s a very popular concept in Japan,” he says. “But nobody has ever done it here.” Wait! What about Cheap Eats favorite Go! Go! Curry? Yagi conceded that Go! does a bustling business in the Times Square area but suggested that his version will be more high-minded, catering to women and leisurely types. “There will be wine, ambience, and salads. It will be very Japanese and very refined.” Curry-ya is slated to open in February.

More: Openings  »bon yagi, curry, east village, japanese

The Orange Line 

10/10/07

11:21 AM

Riding the B Line: The Zen of Sake Bar Hagi

We're riding the B and V from Coney Island all the way to Forest Hills, jumping off frequently to rave about our favorite restaurants and food stores near the subway.

This Week: 47th-50th Streets

Read more»

More: The Orange Line  »japanese, sake, sake bar hagi, times square

NewsFeed 

9/27/07

9:30 AM

Josh DeChellis Brings Special Beer and More Special Foods to BarFry

Josh DeChellis

Bar Fry: Not just for tempora anymore.Photo: Melissa Hom

When Josh DeChellis opened up BarFry, we were a little skeptical. It seems a waste of the chef’s prodigal talent to just be throwing stuff into a pot of oil, which is pretty much what we imagine tempura cooking to be. Well, not to worry. Like he did at Sumile Sushi, DeChellis is breaking out his brilliant composed dishes.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »barfry, beer, japanese, josh dechellis, west village

NewsFeed 

9/21/07

9:30 AM

David Bouley to Open Restaurant With Japan's Top Cooking School

David Bouley is a grown-up exchange student.Photo: Patrick McMullan

We have it on good authority that one of David Bouley’s sweetest and longest-delayed dreams is going to come true soon: The Tsuji Culinary Academy, the largest and most prestigious cooking school in Japan, is about to open a restaurant here in New York with Bouley to run the place. This isn’t as unlikely as it sounds: The pioneering fusion chef and the school’s head, Yoshiki Tsuji, have been working together for over fifteen years, traveling between New York and Osaka and experimenting in Bouley’s New York test kitchen. We’re waiting on a call from Bouley for more details; we’ll pass them on to you as soon as we hear.
More: NewsFeed  »david bouley, japanese

Openings 

9/18/07

1:05 PM

‘Times’ Building to Get First Outpost of Tokyo Robatayaki

'Times' Building

The Gray Lady will soon eat better. Or at least more dramatically.Photo: Corbis

As reviews of Metro Marche took glee in pointing out, the Port Authority is a bit of a culinary hinterland. Sure, New York Times employees have access to fancy cheese and custom sushi rolls, but as a lawyer in the building complains to us, “The Times isn’t being very neighborly about their cafeteria.” The lunch hunt will become a bit less grim in mid-2008 when Dean & DeLuca opens in the building (its seventh New York site) along with the first Stateside location of Japanese robatayaki restaurant Inakaya.

Read more»

More: Openings  »dean & deluca, inakaya, japanese, new york times

Mediavore 

8/10/07

10:02 AM

Gordon Ramsay Suit Tossed; Vendy Nominations Open

If there’s a halal-chicken guy on your corner whom you think is unappreciated, now’s your chance to do right by him: Nominations have opened up for the Vendy Awards. [Gothamist]

A judge has tossed out the suit against Gordon Ramsay brought by the manager of Dillons for acts committed in the name of reality TV. [NYP]

Simon Oren, the owner of new French bistro Charolais, double-crossed the Insatiable Critic, and she isn’t happy about it. [Insatiable Critic]
Related: New French Bistro Has an Old Soul

Read more»

More: Mediavore  »aquagrill, charolais, cote d'or, dillons, east, frank bruni, gael greene, gordon ramsay, insatiable critic, japanese, jay mcinerney, marylou's, olive oil, simon oren, staten island, yakitori totto

Mediavore 

7/23/07

10:44 AM

Bourdain Lays Into ‘Top Chef’ Hung; Restaurant to Open in Back of Setagaya

Anthony Bourdain jumps on Top Chef’s Hung even harder than he laid into Marcel last season: “‘Flavor’ counts for very little in a competition for ‘Top Chef.’” [Amuse Biatch]
Related: ‘Top Chef’ Biases Finally Out on the Table
‘Top Chef’ Non-Winner Lia on What Went Wrong

Kanye West is a soul-food connoisseur, when he’s not eating out in haute Asian eateries like Spice Market and Philippe. [WSJ]

An unrelated restaurant will open Thursday in the back room of Setagaya and will feature Thai, Japanese, and Malaysian food. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Related: New East Village Ramen Spot Insists It’s More Authentic Than Momofuku

Read more»

More: Mediavore  »anthony bourdain, egg creams, hung huyhn, japanese, kanye west, las vegas, malaysian, mcdonald's, phillipe, setagaya, spice market, tao, thai, top chef, trans fats

The Annotated Dish 

7/20/07

11:00 AM

15 East Offers a ‘Study in Seaweed’

15 East, Tocqueville’s long-planned sister restaurant, has made a lot of fans with its excellent sushi and sashimi. But owner Marco Moreira’s proudest achievement may be the “degustation of sea lettuces,” a $14 appetizer that presents New Yorkers with eleven varieties of authentic Japanese seaweed. “Seaweed is so unappreciated here,” he says. “You see seaweed salads that come in already dressed and frozen, with different seaweeds mixed together. I wanted to create a dish that showcases different seaweeds, textures, looks, and flavors.” As always, mouse over the different elements of the dish to see them described in Moreira’s own words.

Read more»

More: The Annotated Dish  »15 east, japanese, marco moreira, seaweed, tocqueville

NewsFeed 

7/ 3/07

11:00 AM

Gold St. Enters the Ramen Wars Without a Care in the World

A ramen only a college student can love.Photo courtesy Gold St.

The ramen wars are raging as never before, as Momofuku and Setagaya go against each other hammer and tongs, and Minca and Rai Rai Ken clean up the remains. But Gold St. tells us that their new ramen rollout is completely unrelated. From the look of their soup, they may be right.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »gold st., japanese, mica, momofuku noodle bar, rai rai ken, ramen, setagaya

Openings 

6/19/07

11:00 AM

New East Village Ramen Spot Insists It’s More Authentic Than Momofuku

You probably won't be hearing Pavement songs here.Photo: RJ Mickelson

Aside from David Cross’s favorite, Minca, Momofuku pretty much has the lock on the ramen market. But this Wednesday Setagaya, the first U.S. outpost of a beloved Tokyo chain (more of them will pop up here and in Boston) will go up against the Goliath with what manager Charlie Huh insists is 100 percent natural ramen made from 90 percent Japanese ingredients. Asked about Momofuku, Huh says, “They get mostly American customers. Japanese people do not go to that place. They’re pretty good — but we can do much, much better.”

Read more»

More: Openings  »east village, japanese, momofuku, setagaya

In the Magazine 

5/14/07

9:30 AM

Small Precious Pleasures in the New York Food World

Platt loves the silent, solitary art of sushi. Especially the silent part.Photo: RJ Mickelson

A trio of food events, some stinging nettles, and two very serious Japanese restaurants make up this week’s food news. Though the items may be few in number, the magazine’s contents carry a significant freight of good tidings. Adam Platt visits a modern sushi restaurant and an intimate Japanese kaiseki establishment, and finds both pleasingly stark and traditional, a welcome change from the big-box Asian behemoths of recent years. Sara Jenkins, formerly of Bread Tribeca, provides a similarly plain but elegant recipe for one of the spring’s most welcome greens, wild stinging nettles, which adorn a simple Tuscan bucatini dish. Last, this week’s Short List features three events which have nothing in common except all sounding absolutely delicious.

Read more»

More: In the Magazine  »adam platt, italian, japanese, produce, rob patronite, robin raisfeld, sushi

What to Eat Tonight 

4/12/07

2:00 PM

It's Cherry-Blossom Time at Sumile

Squab, flying among the cherry blossoms.Photo: courtesy Sumile

For the remainder of this month, Sumile Sushi chef Josh De Chellis will be preparing a Japanese spring tasting menu incorporating preserved cherry blossoms and leaves. “The whole cherry-blossom experience is an excuse to cook delicately,” says De Chellis. “That’s what spring is: the first grasses and first vegetables. It’s a delicate time of year.” De Chellis works the cherry blossoms and leaves into four courses, all accompanied by a Sparkling Sakura Sake Elixir infused with them. Unagi (eel) is smoked with cherry blossom, touched up with a blossom glaze, and served with a rich foie gras mousse. Boned squab is rolled up with blossom-infused rice, then roasted, sliced, and served over a bitter, smoky burnt eggplant purée. A chocolate-and-cherry-blossom tart rounds out the meal, which costs $70 including sake. On a cold and rainy day like today, you could do a lot worse for a shift in mood.
More: What to Eat Tonight  »japanese, josh dechellis, sake, sumile sushi, west village

Restroom Report 

3/16/07

4:40 PM

Basking in the Casks: Sakagura's Five-Star Toilets

Knock before barreling in.

Though we're suckers for that new-bathroom smell (aah, the leather at Amalia, the pine at Morandi), every now and then we get the sudden urge to revisit those restrooms that really raised the watermark. One such classic lies deep in the bowels of a midtown office building, immediately beyond the hidden entry of perennial sake spot Sakagura.

Read more»

More: Restroom Report  »japanese, midtown east, restroom report, sakagura

NewsFeed 

2/28/07

1:21 PM

Top-Secret Morimoto Materials Reveal an Indian Empire

"I'm 'not' opening in Dehli."Photo: Getty Images

We’ve got in our hot little hands a not-for-distribution marketing blad for Masaharu Morimoto’s cookbook Morimoto: Recipes and Techniques From the Japanese Iron Chef, a $40 227-pager to be published by DK in September of 2007. There are no real surprises among the 125 recipes — tuna pizza, blowfish skin caprese, yuzu foam, and of course the Iron Chef’s famous Duck, Duck, Duck — but hidden in the sales points is this juicy news: “Another sushi bar opening in Boca Raton and — top secret (until now) — another in Delhi.” Morimoto’s publicist confirms that a Delhi project (Morimoto’s second in India) is in the preliminary stages. —Daniel Maurer
More: NewsFeed  »cookbooks, japanese, masaharu morimoto, morimoto: recipes and techniques from the japanese iron chef

Openings 

1/31/07

5:00 PM

You Bring the Booze, ‘Izakaya’ Brings the Grilled Ox Tongue

Sake bottles on the wall are for display purposes only.Photo: Daniel Maurer

We like our yakitoris with Sapporo-splattered floors and burnt tinfoil walls, but the owner of this Ludlow Street newcomer ain’t having it. A designer who has also worked with Banana Republic outfitted the narrow space with dark wood paneling, mirror inlays of sakura flowers, and comfortable brown-leather bar stools. The opening menu is limited to grilled skewers like a heavily peppered black Angus beef in teriyaki sauce, capelin fish stuffed with roe, and kurobuta sausage, a baby bratwurst made from corn-fed pig and topped with mayonnaise dotted with fish roe. A dessert special consists of Jell-O stars made from osmanthus petals. Expect the chef to get still more fanciful when a full izakaya menu kicks in later this month. The restaurant has been awaiting a liquor license for eight months, and it may be a while longer before 30 types of sake are on offer; in the meantime, September Wine & Spirits is just across the street. — Daniel Maurer

Yozakura Kushiyaki Bar, 168 Ludlow St., nr. Stanton St.; 212-226-2066

More: Openings  »japanese, lower east side, yakitori, yozakura

Back of the House 

1/16/07

9:56 AM

Startling Results of a Franco-American Summit; Queens Restaurant's Mob Ties

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Chow provides a sorely needed molecular-gastronomy cheat sheet, which not only explains
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