I sit, ponder and plan where I will eat, what I will see and do before I head overseas.  Even when it is for business I try and work out what I can fit in. Of course my research is just a guide and some things are achieved and others aren’t.The joyof travel is finding something not expected. I expected fantastic food in NYC and I had plenty of it, but a chance conversation lead me to a restaurant that is regarded as a hidden jewel, and well hidden it is.

Sakagura was established in 1996 and is now one of the top sake bars in the USA. If you didn’t know it was there you would just walk right past it. Why? The entrance is actually an office building which looks like it is closed in the evenings. You walk in to the foyer and wonder where on earth you are meant to go next. You then find the stairs that you are to proceed down, walk along a corridor and then find this magical oasis. Tokyo in the basement of a NYC office building, amazing.

Funnily though once I returned back to Sydney I saw Sakagura on an episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain was discovering the non touristy side of NYC that he loves. Well done me for finding it before being told about it by a celebrity chef.

Besides having a reputation for sake they also take that care and pride in their food. This was an unexpected treat of a meal and I would have to say some of the best Japanese food I have had.

The staff are very knowledgeable in regard to sake (which would be expected) and more than willing to help the novice decide what would best suit their pallet. Myself being a novice with sake I tried their sample set which included three sakes they thought I may like. It is fun to compare the different sakes and then decide which one you prefer. I settled on a dry sake served cold.
It was so hard to decide what to have to eat as everything on the menu sounded so fantastic and a little bit different.Kamo Roast Negimaki: Sliced chilled roast duck wrapped around scallions with an accented basil sauce.

Holly molly this was to die for. The duck was just seared and served thinly sliced. It had a slight smokey flavour to the meat and the finely sliced green onion cut beautifully through the layer of fat on the duck.
Tatami Kwashiorkor: Dried sardine crackers, fried crisp and served with a spicy mayonnaise dip.

The spicy mayonnaise was sesame based and I didn’t find it at all spicy. The crackers reminded me of a Japanese style prawn cracker, nice and fishy, but not overpowering of sardine. Even though the mayo was not spicy it made a lovely companion to the crackers.

Uzaku: Grilled eel vinaigrette served with thin cucumber slices and wakame seaweed.

Sakagura Special – Stewed Diced Pork: How can you go past the words special and diced pork?

This was the most tender pork belly I have ever eaten, melting in your mouth <Homer drool>. The broth was a light cleansing pork broth, with a hint of wasabi, which suited the richness of the pork belly.

I had no room for dessert, but I just had to have some anyway. As I had noticed Black Sesame Crème Brulee with Black Sesame Ice Cream on the menu. Bwaaaaaaa!!! They had just run out. So I opted for my next choice.
Sake Manju:  Sake Lees Bun stuffed with Red Beans served with Green Tea Sorbet.

The dessert was beautifully presented and the black sesame twist in my sorbet was a pleasant surprise and visually stunning. Sadly this was not my highlight of the meal and I sulked slightly as I watched the person next to me scoff down a delicious looking crème brulee, bwaaaaaa!!!If you do find yourself in NYC, Sakagura is well worth the visit.

Sara
xxx


211E 43rd St B1F
New York NY 10017 [Between 2nd& 3rd Aves]
Tel: 212.953.SAKE [7253]
Fax: 212.682.1951

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It is always nice to open your emails and find a invitation, it is even nicer when that invitation is to a very funky shochu bar called Tokonoma.

So by the kind invitation of Chef, Regan Porteous and General Manager, Paul Birtwistle I found myself on a Thursday night at Tokonoma with Sian from Mark Communications and a couple of fellow food bloggers.As soon as you walk in the establishment has a great vibe about it. A small bar area at the front which has leather lounges, low tables and candles flickering away.  Up the back are lush leather banquettes.  Wood and leather mixed with low lighting give you a warm and welcoming feel, so do the staff.

We started off with a few cocktails, the list offers the standard range as well as some great unique ones.

I also tried some nashi pear and pistachio shochu, I have had shochu before but not flavoured.
Tokonoma have a wonderful menu, there really is great range, which all looks delicious.  Luckily my fellow diners didn’t have to put up with my inability to make a decision as we had the tasting menu which is a 10 course chefs selection of signature dishes.   

First up was gyu niku no tataki, (seared beef, pickled onions, mizuna and garlic chips). Loved the crunch of the garlic chip with the beautifully sliced beef seared to perfection.  Was melt in your mouth and flavoursome.


Maguro no miso taru taru (tuna tartar, baby shiso leaves, barley miso dressing). I adore tuna tartar and this was extremely moreish.  The tuna was combined with finely chopped red onion, sesame seeds, green onion and miso.  Served with white sweet potato chips which added a lovely crunch.Watari-gani kara-age (crispy soft-shell crab with wasabi mayonnaise). Was everything I would want from a crispy soft shell crab, the coating crisp and thin, the accompanying mayo not too overpowering in order to appreciate the subtle flavours of the crab.
Omakase zushi (assorted selection of toko rolls and nigiri). Beautifully presented as with all the other dishes.Piri kara dofu to abogado (spicy fried tofu, avocado salsa, barley miso). Nice crisp spicy tofu paired with a creamy avocado salsa.  Visually gorgeous, tasted good too Hotate no jalapeno amuzu zoe (robata grilled scallop, sweet pickled apple, jalapeno garlic). I am just drooling looking back at this picture.  Perfectly cooked plump scallop, the jalapeno sauce had a kick to it which was subdued with the sweet apple.  This was one of my favourites.Ami yaki ro-su riku to wafu sauce (scotch fillet steak, wafu sauce, garlic crisps).  The fillet was cooked to perfection and just melted in your mouth.  The sauces married with it were delicious and I loved the freshness of the bean sprouts and green onions on top.  This was my other favourite and I could of eaten it all quite happily by myself.  I had to control my only child syndrome and reluctantly shared with others.Zucchini no wafu yaki (zucchini, wafu sauce, sesame). Sadly this dish didn’t sing to me like all the others and as it was served towards the end it was a bit of a shame.  As far as zucchini goes it was done nicely.Shiro Miso (white miso soup, spring onion, tofu, wakame).  Lovely miso soup and a great pallet cleanser for what was about to appear.
Dessert plate, chefs selection of desserts.  Oh My God!!!!  I have never ever had a dessert plate sat in front of me of this magnitude before.  It really was spectacular and sadly my photos don’t do it justice.  In the middle was a carved piece of ice with home-made ice creams and sorbets.  Then around this were a selection of brulees, chocolate fondant, ginger pudding with poached figlettes caramelised and kokutou pear and white chocolate spring rolls.

It really was a sensational meal and Tokonoma is definitely on my return visit list.  Lots more tempting cocktails to try and lots more on the menu too.  Sadly I am going to have cravings for those scallops and fillet steak which will need to be satisfied.

Sara xxx

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Sunday morning and just doing a little mindless trolling of the web whilst eating breakfast when I came across the Sushi Popper.

It is manufactured by a USA company, Popper Foods LLC based in New York and Las Vegas.

Interesting concept, which apparently is a green option as millions of trees are not cut down each year to make chop sticks. Good in theory, but when you have a roll this size, who uses chopsticks? If anything to me there is more packaging than on your run of the mill jumbo roll which is just a bit of plastic around the outside.


It is a novel concept though. The soy sauce comes in a tube at the side of the packet which it seems then coverts to your stick to push your sushi out of the package to eat. They offer quite a number of flavours, from your run of the mill tuna and salmon to slightly different flavours like spicy crab mango cilantro (coriander for us Aussies) and garlic shrimp.They also can tailor poppers specifically to your marketing needs, packaging to reflect your company for example.

The market that they are aiming for are places where sushi was difficult to stock before, but I must admit most the places they mention as hard to stock places I have seen sushi before. Must admit not in space stations, they should contact Sir Richard Branson.

The are currently trying to branch out and looking for international partners, so you never know you may see sushi poppers popping up in Aus soon.

Really it all comes down to taste and freshness and having one on a shelf in a tube makes me wonder how long it has been sitting around for. Now living in Sydney, we are spoilt with fresh sushi ever which way, is so easy to get, so that makes the tube not an option for me. Now, if it came to me on a flight or something like that, it would work.

Can’t give this one a belly rumble as I have no idea how they taste, but I give them a big thumbs up for being creative and can see it finding a niche market.

http://www.sushipopper.com

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