NYC, Part 6

When I was planning my trip to New York, I set a budget just for food. I won't say what that budget was, but I definitely set aside a good portion of that budget for sushi.

Our original plan was to go to Sushi Yasuda and have the toro flight. Similar to a sake tasting, the toro flight would feature a number or pieces of fat-laced pieces of tuna from around the world, each with a distinctly different taste than the last. Fortunately (yes, fortunately), when we called to confirm our reservation, we had found out that they had moved us from the sushi bar to a table so we canceled our plans.

This left us scrambling for an alternative and luckily Soto was available for dinner that night at the sushi bar.

Though it wasn't exclusively a sushi dinner, it featured impeccably fresh seafood and other ingredients presented beautifully and simply.

Black and white sesame tofu, wasabi soy sauce

Geoduck clam salad - Japanese cucumber, daikon, shiso, spicy radish sprouts

Fluke and cod roe

The next course is an example of trying everything at least once. In my case twice. I had eaten shirako once in Tokyo and declared it one of the worst things I had ever eaten in my life. For those of you that don't know what shirako is, go ahead and look it up, you wouldn't want to eat it either. 

I even remarked to CK that of all the things on the menu, this was the one thing I wanted to have no part of. When it came out as one of our courses I thought I would suffer through it, out of respect for the chef. It turned out to be one of the best parts of the meal.

Shirako Agedashi

Chawan mushi 

Wild snapper carpaccio - aged vinegar, sea salt, cilantro, ginger shoots

Surf clam - sweet miso and mustard marinade, myoga ginger shoots, sesame, scallion

Minute steamed tai - ginger, scallion, light soy

Unctuous and rich without being heavy or laced with butter or added fat, the next course was beautifully prepared and the highlight of the meal.

Braised black cod - Japanese vegetables

Shima aji carpaccio - truffle ginger soy sauce

White shrimp - uni, quail egg, nori

Broiled langoustine - shiitake mushroom sauce

The cooked courses were followed by a few pieces of sushi, but at this point I was so eager to eat sushi that I didn't want to leave them sitting for much longer than a few seconds so the pictures I did manage to take didn't come out too well. 

Sea Trout

Ika

Aji

As a bonus after meeting up with LO and another friend MC and consuming a few too many drinks over the next few hours, we made the Grey Goose-infused decision to head to Blue Ribbon to try and soak up some of the alcohol.

Beef marrow, oxtail marmalade

Nothing like beef marrow and oxtail marmalade at 1 AM!

As you can see by this next photo, I was feeling pretty good because this appeared to be totally in focus when I took it.

Duck club sandwich, sweet potato chips

Happy and full, we headed back to CK's apartment. The next day would, unfortunately, be my last in New York.

NYC, Part 5

The dining in New York started to become a blur. Between all the Michelin starred dinners, drinks, and delis its becoming hard to fill in the gaps between meals. Luckily, we had a lot of memorable ones.

Though CK has had the chance to both eat in and work in 3 Michelin starred establishments, I would be experiencing it for the first time on this trip.

We chose to head to Jean Georges for lunch as we could order 1x1 and taste a lot of the same food they offer for dinner.

Trio of Canapes - Cauliflower Soup, Salmon & Creme Fraiche, Clementine

We didn't actually order our next course, but thanks to CK, again, we got a treat with our meal.

Uni - Yuzu, Jalapeno, Brown bread toast

After that pleasant surprise, we got into what seemed to be one of the best overall dining values in New York (especially considering that this is a *** restaurant) as each course is $14 and you are allowed to choose as many you like or as few as 2.

One of the best dishes I ate all week and a Jean Georges Classic.

Tuna Ribbons - Avocado, Spicy Radish, Ginger marinade

Peekytoe Crab dumplings - Celeriac & Meyer Lemon Tea

Next was another dish I had been looking forward to trying for a long time.

Sea Scallops - Caramelized Cauliflower, Caper-raisin emulsion ($8 supplement)

Foie Gras Brulee - Pineapple-meyer lemon jam

Soy glazed beef short rib - Apple-jalapeno puree, Rosemary breadcrumb

Black Cod - Honshimeji Mushrooms, Lemongrass Consomme

Chocolate - Jean Georges chocolate cake, Vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate gnocchi, grapefruit, gianduja, basil

Caramel - Chocolate pop, Coffee-cardamom ice cream, Dehydrated sponge, Roasted pineapple sorbet.

Macrons and chocolates

Jean Georges marshmallows

A completely different experience than Daniel. Not better, not worse. Different. A different style of food entirely, much lighter in style but no less flavorful. Just another experience that I will never forget.

Last Night

Sea Urchin Panna Cotta. Black River Caviar, Hawaiian Vanilla Oil

Big Island Hearts of Palm, Radish, Pickled Fennel, Cilantro Chips

"L'Arpege Egg"

-Coddled Egg, Sherry Vinegar Sabayon, Maple Syrup, Feta

Japanese Big Fin Squid Noodles

-Miso Consomme, Enoki Mushrooms

-Ponzu, Kahuku Sea Asparagus, Scallion

Big Island Abalone

-"Grenobloise"

-Lentils, Sweet Garlic Puree

"BLT"

Crispy Pork Belly, Tomato Pain Perdu, Romaine Pacquet

The "Unofficial Tasting Menu"

For those who enjoy the degustation or tasting menu format, please come to Roy's Waikiki next friday and saturday. It will be about six courses and priced very fairly. We are trying to implement a weekly tasting menu and allow people to sample a slightly more refined experience. Please come and support next weekend. The "unofficial menu" below:

"Manju"

Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Pickled Shallot Jam

Santa Barbara Sea Urchin Panna Cotta

California Estate Caviar, Hawaiian Vanilla Oil

Big Island Hearts of Palm

Compressed Melon, Salted Pinenuts, Sweet Chili, Cilantro Chips

"Bacon and Eggs"

Crispy Pork Belly, Slow Poached Egg, Truffle Butter, Black Pepper Crumble

    Tasmanian Sea Trout

Shortrib Marmalade, Crispy Sweetbread, Herb Salad

Maple Leaf Duck Breast

Radish, Fennel, Scallion "a la grecque", Satay Sauce

Hopefully, the turnout will justify a weekly place on the menu. This is a new concept for the restaurant, but I am optimistic it can be commonplace. 

CK

NYC, Part 4

After eating however many courses at Daniel the night before, CK and I again couldn't make it out of the door before noon. We didn't think it would be very wise to go out for another huge meal so we had already canceled plans our 10PM reservations at Peter Luger for dinner.

About 2PM we finally made it back out again to go to another spot I'd been waiting to try since I saw it on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Food Network show "A Cook's Tour." Barney Greengrass has been in New York for over 100 years and is famed for their smoked fish and other deli favorites. Bourdain goes so far as to claim that Barney Greengrass is home to the best chopped liver in the universe.

Nova Lox and Sturgeon Appetizer

Chopped Chicken Liver

Nova, Surgeon, Eggs & Onions

Over the 3 dishes and a couple of bagels and bialys we decided to go out for some late night yakitori and take it a bit easy on the eating for the evening. That was easier said than done. 

The following is the "light eating" that occurred that night and into the next morning....

When we got to Yakitori Totto at about 10PM it was still packed. After suffering through some of the worst karaoke known to man next door at the unfortunately named "Japas" (for Japanese Tapas, we assumed), we got the call and sat down to eat.

Tako Karaage

Negima

Teba

Tsukune

Kawa

Gyu tongue

Eggplant Miso

Shishito

Bacon-wrapped asparagus

We were thinking of ordering more food, but we already felt like we ate everything on the menu that we wanted to try.

Not completely full and fueled by some Sapporo-aided gusto we agreed to continue eating at Sake Bar Hagi.

Sake Bar Hagi Entrance

Pork belly, chive, and beansprout stir fry

Hamachi Kama

Chicken Karaage w/ daikon oroshi and ponzu

Mentaiko Fried Rice

Yeah......So.......We didn't really take it easy.......Oh well.....I don't think either of us really expected to anyway.

Off the menu

Remember when I said it was good to know people? This past Saturday I had the pleasure of sampling some of CK's dishes at Unnamedrestaurant. While I usually enjoy everything that is on the menu at Unnamedrestaurant, I was there to eat CK's food this time. He's never let me down in the past in any regard, and certainly didn't on that night either.

Short-rib and foie gras manju with short-rib marmalade

I was joined at dinner by another friend that CK and I grew up with, RM. As soon as we sat down to eat we were greeted with 3 manju fresh out of the oven, stuffed with short-rib and foie gras and brushed more with rendered foie. This dish took me from eating midnight bone marrow and oxtail marmalade with CK @ Blue Ribbon in NY (post coming eventually) to home for the holidays at a Christmas party where CK and I tried real homemade manju that blew Home Maid out of the water. I'm glad CK got the dough recipe from that party. Perfectly buttery and flaky, it was made all the more indulgent by the brush of the rendered foie gras right after they came out of the oven. Hey, if you got foie you might as well use it.

Next was our 1 x 1 pork belly course.

"Bacon & Eggs"

"Onsen Tamago"

24 hours sous vide pork belly with perfectly crisped skin. I loved how CK used 90 percent of the same ingredients in both dishes, yet the flavor profiles were so different. The pork belly and soft-boiled egg accented by chives, sel gris, and truffle butter in CK's bacon & eggs dish made for the ultimate in breakfast-for-dinner fare. But the onsen tamago might even trump that dish with its delicate flavor and aroma imparted by the ginger tea that you pour tableside. The richness from the oozing egg yolk mixed with the tea, the perfectly cooked pork belly, and the crunch of the pork skin also mimicked by the bubu arare CK used to finish the dish made for a perfect combination of flavors and textures.

CK made this next dish knowing how much we like to frequent the various izakaya all over town.

Maitake Tempura

Simply prepared, fried crisp, and topped with yukari salt CK let the mushrooms speak for themselves and allowed us to enjoy their rich, earthy flavor.

And then we went back to a 1 x 1 toro course.

Seared bluefin toro, tomato, scallion vinaigrette, balsamic gelee, pickled jalapeno

Toro sashimi, confit orange, ponzu gelee, truffle vinaigrette

The seared toro was finished with a tomato water (not pictured), perfectly seared to enjoy two textures of toro with the acidity of the tomatoes and balsamic gelee to cut through the natural richness of the toro. The toro sashimi was another well thought out dish with a delicate balance of earthiness from the truffle vinaigrette, the buttery toro, and the acid from the ponzu and orange segments.

Finally, and mercifully CK allowed us to stop eating after the next dish. In all honesty, RM and I could have stopped after the 3 manju, but with CK leading the way we didn't want to.

Seared scallops, vadouvan, and lime

The perfectly seared scallops (an impressive feat in its own right knowing that it is absolutely impossible to get dayboat scallops to Hawaii at the peak of freshness) seasoned with vadouvan,  a sort of french curry-like spice that CK has made in San Francisco, and finished with butter under the broiler.

A special thanks to CK for letting us sample his food. Hopefully those of you that read this get a chance to try the things that he's making in that kitchen. I know his passion and I know he puts great thought and care behind every dish he puts out where ever he is. We're all lucky to have him cooking in Hawaii for a while. I have no idea how long it is going to be for, but I'll be there trying everything he sends out to me while I can.