Snacks on a Train

The bullet train, or better known as "Shinkansen" in Japan is by far the nicest train I've ever ridden on.
Smooth, Fast, Comfortable and Clean. There isn't much more you can ask for.
They even serve good food.









-side note-
When I was much younger (err, 20 years younger) I was fortunate enough to have the famous Imperial Palace Hotel Curry Rice on the Shinkansen. The Japanese take their curry seriously, and the Imperial Palace Curry recipe is one of the most recognized in the country. They exclusively served that same curry on the Shinkansen and it sold very well. But it was laborious and cumbersome to get the batch of curry onto all the trains every day so it was terminated from the menu around 15 years ago.

So I bought a weekly pass for the Japan Railroad system and hopped on the Shinkansen a few times this trip.
I opted for a tiny snack to hold me off til dinner time.

Below is a cute sandwich set (very standard in presentation and quantity) and drink.

Kaiseki in Kumamoto

I attended my sister in law's wedding while in Kumamoto and the wedding reception was at a local resort serving Kaiseki cuisine.

































These are various courses highlighting the season's best and often plated with flare and artistic balance.
Not to mention it's mighty tasty as well.

Izakaya in Kumamoto

The word Izakaya can loosely be translated to Trattoria for us westerners.
Simple preparations of local and seasonal ingredients served in a homey neighborhood environment.
Tons of beer, sake and shochu to be had while sitting down with friends or family.
Sharing the time together with spectacular food. What could be better?

Grilled Sanma with freshly grated Daikon, and Dago Jiru (a starchy miso soup)









Variety of Yakitori Skewers and Crispy Pan Fried Noodles with Seafood Ankake Sauce

Tsukiji - Tuna Auction

The Tsukiji is a well known tourist attraction for the "gaijin" (foreigners).
A perfect destination early in the morning for the jet-lagged and not to mention the breakfast for champions for, yes, us champions.

So on my most recent trip to Japan, I made it a point to revisit the largest fish market in the world.

When you say the word Tuna to an American here in the states, you either think of Bumble Bee "Tuna", or "The Big Tuna", Phil Parcels.
But when you say the Japanese word for tuna "Maguro" in Japan, you get an instant smile and an eyes closed muttering of "Umaisnee", (translated slang - Damn, it's good).

Tuna is highly prized in Sushi Restaurants. And especially in Edo-mae style sushi served in Tokyo.
So the simple rules of economics couldn't be better demonstrated at the daily Tuna Auction held in Tsukiji every morning. From 5am to 6:15am Mon thru Fri, literally tons of tuna are lined up in a row, inspected, then auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Bidders represent restaurant buyers and distributors alike.

Below are pictures I was able to take while roped behind the "tourists corner".

Eleven Madison

I just happened to dine there right before leaving for Tokyo 2 weeks ago.
So I guess it's only appropriate to post my thoughts immediately after last week's 4 stars.

Well, first off, congrats to the chef (Daniel Humm) and Danny Meyer for their quest for 4.
It's not easy swaying the gobbling goblins of the NY Times these days. But this just shows persistence pays off in the end.
I've been dining at Eleven Madison on a semi-annual pace with my wife for the past 2 years now and it's always been a total treat. There are floor captains in every corner, at least 3 somms on any given night, and a brigade of bussers and servers to man each table in unison.
Not to mention an extremely talented Swiss born chef in the kitchen running things every night.
Well done guys!


















I haven't checked the menu prices but if they haven't gone up after the crowning, IT WILL...
So get your reservations in and enjoy.

















Going on gut (literally) instinct here...
I suspect Chanterelle will recapture their 4 stars when they reopen after renovations in October.
The food and wine pairing there is absolutely prefect.

dell'anima - Review

Intro
dell'anima - Highly Recommended
268 West Broadway at 6th Avenue
New York, NY
Phone: (212) 925-1600

Been curious to check out dell'Anima based on Colameco's glowing reviews of the place. Honestly, there's been a bunch of times where I think he's dead wrong about a place, but this place is so f'n on. Perfectly cooked pasta with huge flavors - I think this is my favorite pasta joint in the city right now. Overall, I give the restaurant a 87/100.

Our Menu
1) Sweetbreads “alla piastra” parsley root puree, blueberries, pickled chanterelles **
2) Linguini cherry tomatoes, mint, chilies, sea urchin, colatura di alici **
3) Tagliatelle alla Bolognese ***

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Dish Comments
1) I love me some sweetbreads, but most have the same profile which is usually quite delicious. You know, the crispy exterior with the uber creamy interior. These were just crazy creamy and had such a huge bright flavor - loads of lemon juice and blueberries which were more tart than sweet. Incredibly delicious.
2) I've had uni pasta way back when at basta pasta, but it was just OK there. Decided to give it a second try based on watching them cook it. Great idea - it was completely delicious. Perfectly al dente pasta, great tomatoes, nice spice from the chilis, and blown away by how awesome the mint tasted with the pasta. The uni added more of a stock or demi glace effect providing this huge background note, but unfortunately none of the uni flavor came out. Didn't matter though, it was still f'n delicious...
3) Mr Risotto ordered a nice cake for dessert and I saw the chefs rocking the "bolo" all night long. Like a terrible tease - I just had to have me some. Another great WTF type of idea. Perfectly silky and decent chew to the pasta with the same silky type of meat. Pasta water and butter do wonders! Brought me back 10 years ago to my first bolognese dish at Babbo - extremely happy and completely a WTF type of dish...

Overall Restaurant Experience (87/100)

• Food 8.7/10 – I only had 3 dishes, but all 3 were so f'n delicious. Not fine dining by any means, but just really solid make you smile type of food. Big flavors...
  
• Service 8.8/10 – Waitress was easy on the eyes and the food came out quick. It also helped that we sat at the chef's counter watching the chef's cook. Here, the chefs are kickin' so much ars, they don't talk to you so much; but they saw I was going nuts over the food and we chatted briefly.
  
• Atmosphere 9.0/10 – Tiny place maybe seating 50 or less. Right when you walk in there's a bar, that's a teeny bit crowded. Towards the back is the open kitchen cooking in front of a marble bar. We sat there and they were the best seats in the house albeit crazy hot. Pretty amazing watching 3 dudes just kicking ass cooking a crazy amount of dishes. Like dinner and a show, but much better. Didn't remember anything else about the deco, but very cool type of place. There were a lot of groups of girls at this place and some couples. We got there at 7:30 on a Thursday and were surprisingly seated right away.
  
• Price 8.4/10 – Moderately expensive - about $18 a pasta dish but they were decent sized. My bill was very pricey but I ordered 2 glasses of wine (about 10-14 a piece), 2 pastas, and an app. Either way - I was extremely happy, so the price seemed right to my happiness factor.
  

Closing Comments
Me thinks this is definitely my favorite pasta joint right now. I loved Convivio and I was much happier here. Definitely coming back for the pollo fra diavolo which looked spectacular. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but this was spur of the moment...waiting for the latest android / ms mobile phone to come out with a 5MP camera phone.

Congrats to Eleven Madison Park

Eleven Madison Park recently received the coveted 4 stars from the NY Times making it only one of 6 total restaurants in NYC to receive that distinction - Per Se, Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, and Masa being the others. Pretty big accomplishment and definitely the most relaxed and playful of all the above mentioned restaurants. When I originally went 2 years ago, I didn't necessary think it was in the league of a Daniel or Jean Georges, but curious to check it out again to see if anything's changed...

Hot Waitress Index

Funny article from NY Magazine, describing the hot waitress index.

"The hotter the waitresses, the weaker the economy. In flush times, there is a robust market for hotness. Selling everything from condos to premium vodka is enhanced by proximity to pretty young people (of both sexes) who get paid for providing this service. That leaves more-punishing work, like waiting tables, to those with less striking genetic gifts. But not anymore."

Breakfast is important

Just about in any culture, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day.


For as many years as I can remember, I've never really woken up early enough to make myself a good square meal. I'm never really that hungry in the morning (probably because I ate like a king the night before) and frankly, I'd rather get that extra 30 minutes of sleep.


But this trip to Japan has made me a believer in starting your day right with a good healthy meal.

























I'm staying at my wife's home in Kumamoto this week, and every morning her mother and grandmother prepare one of the nicest heart warming meals I have ever had.
Breakfast usually consists of Carrots, Cucumbers, Eggs, Sausages or Fish, Miso Soup, Natto, Mentaiko, Uni, and a bowl of Rice.

A little too perfect

Veggies at a small local supermarket.
Absolutely impeccable.

Aji (Sashimi)

It's a treat to have fish in season. And there's no exception here. Aji is the best when it's packed some meat and oil. Nothing's better than a plump fatty fish.

It's also pretty fishy, so the condiments served with the fish are a must.

Below is sliced Aji prepared with minced ginger and chiffonade of shiso leaves.

Drizzle some soy sauce and munch away. It's a perfect pair with some cold sake.

Bar Artisanal - Review

Intro
Bar Artisanal - Highly Recommended
268 West Broadway at 6th Avenue
New York, NY
Phone: (212) 925-1600

The last couple of years we've seen a craze in the cheap eats - obvious correlation to the state of the economy - with foodies flocking to find the best burgers and pizzas in the city. Bar Artisanal was one of those contenders and it did not disappoint - phenomenal burger. I loved Artisanal back in the day and the same solid cooking is now brought to Tribecca with Bar Artisanal. Overall, I give the restaurant a 86/100.

Our Menu
1) Gougeres *
2) Pork Rilletes Spring Rolls **
3) Burger: Artisanal Blend - Pickled Green Tomato***

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Dish Comments
1) Funny that they have a menu for Amuse Bouches - the usually free tiny bites that awakens the diners palate for the rest of the meal. Here you pay, but in reality they're appetizers or even tapas style dishes. The gougeres here are tasty, but not as nice as I remembered at Artisanal. Still fun stuff - light and decent cheese flavor.
2) Another item off the Amuse menu and these were hella fun. Deep fried and stuffed with juicy pork and pickled carrots - reminded me of a banh mi, but fried up like an egg roll. Delicious.
3) A super WTF burger. Basically, Bar Artisanal's burger is a grind of short rib and chuck meat which yields a super juicy and flavorful meat. And don't worry, there's no braised short rib here like at DB Bistro, this burger is pure and awesome. The remoulade and pickled green tomato didn't make sense when I heard it, but the sourness just intensified the beefy flavor which was quite odd and quite delicious. Finished it off with gruyere and a home made fluffly brioche bun which was a perfect foil for the burger. It soaked up all the juices/fat perfectly - almost like a french dip sandwich. Don't worry the brioche has no traces of sweetness which I've sadly experienced at other restaurants. Fries were solid - huge potato flavor, but not as crisp as I would like.

Overall Restaurant Experience (86/100)

• Food 8.6/10 – Like Artisanal, this place does some pretty solid cooking. Delicioius stuff here.
  
• Service 8.5/10 – Our waiter was on top of his game. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and food came out at a perfect pace. Also, everyone gets plated at the same time which I haven't seen in a while.
  
• Atmosphere 8.0/10 – Very open place with tall ceilings - all floor to ceiling windows were open as well. Kinda looks like an old timey place with the checkered floors, tons of mirrors and black trim. The tables were perfectly spaced unlike at Artisanal where it feels like your literally on top of everyone. Got there at 12:30 on Friday for lunch and it was relatively empty. A little bit later, the crowd consisted of a large group of finance people, and a couple women in pairs of 2.
  
• Price 7.8/10 – The price was pretty expensive - about 50 a head, but I was happy to pay it. The burgers are about $15, but they are gargantuan and you will be stuffed all day. Amuse were around $7. Beers are a bit stupid as they were $10-$14 a beer - I had a Samuel Smith Nut Brown which paired perfectly with the burger, but $10 seemed steep to me.
  

Closing Comments
The co-workers and I debate which is the best burger in the city and I believe this is definitely a contender. I'm usually a purist as my keys to a burger are it has to be juicy and it has to have a great beefy flavor. This meets those categories, but the remoulade has an MSG type of effect, where it falsely enhances the beef flavor. Nevertheless, this is one of the best burgers I've ever had and will have to go back to JG to see if it overtakes it for me as my favorite burger in the city.

Break me off a piece of .... whaaaaaa?

There's rarely a dull moment in Japan. And that can surely be said about their candy segment as well.

Well at the airport, I caught a glimpse of craziness and had to stop and take a pic.

We all know of a KitKat bar to be made up of crispy wafers and milk chocolate.

This below is their new line of KitKat bars in Japan this summer. Soy sauce flavored KitKats and kinako flavored KitKat bars. WTF?

I didn't pick up a pack yet, but will have to when I get the chance again.

Curious to say the least.

Convenient Eats

Convenient stores (ie 7/11, Lawsons, Family Mart, etc...) in Japan all have a kick ass food section for the people on the run. It's usually no more than a few hundred yen (100 yen to 1 usd) and they are fresh and delicious.

Just wanted to post one of my guilty pleasures.

Sandwiches without the crust. That's the norm here in Japan. Sandwiches cut into triangle halves, then wrapped in these easy to open plastic wraps. Just another example of Japanese efficientcy to the max.

Daiwa Sushi (Tsukiji)

It's been a dream of mine to go back to Tsukiji these past 5 years.

After immersing myself into the world of gastronomy, I guess it's only natural to go back and examine the ingrained fish culture in Japan up close one more time.
There are a few famous sushi restaurants in the Tsukiji market and we happened to stumble upon one of them. Daiwa Sushi.

And as luck would have it, we sat with the chief sushi chef who treated us to the best pieces of the day.
Although photos weren't really permitted, I did express my great love for sushi and that my wife and I had traveled from NY to experience the Tsukiji. That got us 1 picture and I snapped away before he could take it back.









Below are pictures from the tuna auction held everyday between 5am and 6:15am.

Welcome back to Tokyo

It's been 3 or 4 years since I've been back to Japan and not missing the summer weather one bit. Hot and muggy, not a good combo by any standard.

But the food is good, public transportation runs on time, people are really helpful, and the city is kept extremely clean.


Well enough about the city specs, and more onto the food.
For the next 10 days, I intend to eat just about anything in my field of vision. (hehe)
I was picked up at the airport by a friend and we went to a quaint izakaya for dinner.


This meal was ￥1,000($10)!
Grilled Sanma (in season)
Bowl of really good rice
Pickled Veggies
Miso soup with clams
Tofu puree
Fruit plate

My next stop, Tsukiji...

Off to Japan

Stay tuned...  Will be sure to document step by step... or should I say, bite by bite. 

Ripert on Gordon Ramsay

Here's a podcast with Bourdain interviewing Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin. Ripert, the ever so polite chef, gives his mind on the loud mouth British chef. This was recorded a while back, but still pretty entertaining...

Lobsters cheaper than hot dogs?

According to this article from Fortune -

"Per pound, it's (lobsters) less expensive than hot dogs right now," grumbles lobster-boat captain Mike Dassatt, who fishes the coast near Belfast, Maine, with his wife Sheila.

The article sites the poor economy and an increased size of the lobster catch as reasons for the price decline. So before the summer's up, take advantage of these cheap lobsters for that last BBQ...