Reflections

I’m surprised at the high (8.4 out of 10) reader rating that Blue Ribbon Sushi in Soho got. However, I’m not surprised that not many of the reviews talked about the actual dining experience or the quality of the fish. Well, that just goes to show you that people who write reviews for these kinds of places… are not knowledgeable about sushi at all.

Anyway, I was expecting a lot and was severely disappointed, perhaps because I had high expectations to begin with. But I don’t think that was what went wrong, since I expect a lot out of so called “great” sushi places. I went with a friend to dinner and found the decor pleasant. The only thing I don’t like is the lack of reservations, though we got there early enough for there not to be a wait.

The menu was enticing. Lots of items (and wow that sake list) to offer, though a bit lacking on variety, though I haven’t been to any place that offered more variety than Sushi Yasuda. That aside, the menu offered lots of choices, for the connoisseur or the clueless. Also, Blue Ribbon Sushi doesn’t just offer sushi, there are quite a number of appetizers and non-sushi dishes to pick from.

I went with the daikon (radish) salad, sushi deluxe, a piece of botan ebi sushi (one of my favorites, I love shellfish sushi), and one of the specials that day, whole live clam - I didn’t feel like paying $65 for the omakase for a first time visit. Yes, I eat a lot, if you didn’t get that already from my previous posts. My friend got the Honoo set, essentially 3 spicy rolls. She was also going to get the Iwashi Special but they didn’t have it that day.

The service was adequate and prompt, so no complaints there. But as I mentioned above, the food just wasn’t as good as I expected. Fresh it was fresh. But the portion size was a bit small for the price I paid. Granted, the omakase might have offered some exciting varieties but from where I sat at the bar, I didn’t see any fish out of the ordinary. Their a la carte menu was also scarce in terms of variety. All in all, my Blue Ribbon Sushi experience was less adventurous as I had hoped. Sushi fans, stick to Sushi Yasuda for value and variety and Sushi of Gari if you want something fancier and are on a corporate expense account (or are just loaded).

Tucked in a quaint corner of the West Village, Café Henri (named after the owners cute dog) makes for a nice little stop on one’s walk through Soho on a sunny day. Or perhaps you just want to sit down to read a book while sipping a cup of deliciously brewed coffee.

Serving a variety of French classics on a cute bilingual menu (so non-French speakers, such as myself, are not intimidated), Café Henri’s offerings are fairly appetizing. Most of the entrees come with a side green salad and the portions are just right. Anything with Ratatouille (a tomato-y stew) is highly recommended, especially the crepes. And for dessert, don’t forget to get a sweet crepe. They’ll definitely make your sugar tooth happy.

I think this blog might become a food blog soon, at the rate I’m going…

In any case, this entry is on the wonderful dinner I had at Yakitori Totto on Friday. This small midtown restaurant is a gem. The 1 hour wait and short climb to the 2nd floor is well worth the effort… because the food will have you reminiscing for days. I guarantee it.

This is my second trip to Totto and was looking forward to it the entire week. I swear I drooled over the menu all day at work on Friday. Wasn’t a pretty sight, I’m sure. The food at Totto can be classified as Japanese street food made for the upper middle class. You won’t find greasy oil bins for deep frying or cracks in the walls from lack of renovation. The restaurant seats 40 people, tops, but keeps with a modern decorative motif, complete with a display of eggs on one of the walls.

At Totto you’ll find a few categories of food: yakitori (well, duh), rice & noodles, small plates/appetizers, and dessert. Of course, one wouldn’t head to Totto without having their yakitori (literally, grilled chicken, but think: chicken satay, shish kebab, or if you prefer, meat on sticks). My recommendations for yakitori: Negima (chicken thighs w/ scallion), Hatsu (chicken heart - for the adventurous), Tsukune (chicken meatball), skirt steak, and the best on the menu IMO, Kobe beef Gyu-tan (beef tongue - not for the faint hearted). Japanese food is always a bit exotic and adventurous… but seriously, it won’t kill ya. Just try not to remember what you just ate. It all tastes like chicken! Oh, one thing to note, their chicken (and eggs) are apparently all organic!

Now don’t expect yakitori to fill your stomach (unless you’re anorexic, then I don’t suggest you come here…), but it will empty your wallet if you attempt to. So to fill the rest of your appetite, try some of the following: Dashi Maki Tamago (rolled egg omelette… totally worth your 9 bucks, trust me), The Negi Tori Don (quite big rice thing with chicken, scallion, and half cooked egg - share it with your date), Ochazuke with plum (rice with light broth, dried seaweed, sesame, and sour plum - so good and a great end to end a semi-greasy and flavorful meal). And when you’re done with the salty stuff, order the Ice Banana, arguably the best dessert I’ve had.

Next Totto challenge for me: Takitate Donabe Gohan or Zidori Donabe Gohan. Nabe is like a hotpot with meat, veggies, soup stock, and usually rice at the end. It’s heaven for your taste buds. Will let you know the results!

When my cousin and her boyfriend were visiting in NY the weekend of Comic Con, we went to Esca for dinner. It’s a Mario Batali restaurant so I expected a lot. Well, that and the fact I drooled over the menu every couple of days leading up to the day of our dinner.

I was very curious about the Crudo dishes and was determined to get the Crudo Tasting as my appetizer. Served in two parts for a total of six bite-size explosions of flavor, the Crudo Tasting was absolutely divine. I like my seafood raw and usually like it without any flavor additions, i.e. a la sushi rice, a dash of wasabi and soy sauce, but this dish was a new take on fresh fish. I think my favorite was the tuna, which I didn’t think would taste so… rich. Out of all sushi, tuna is one of my least favorites as I believe it is almost bland compared to other tasteful fish. But I was pleasantly surprised with a sizely portion of blue fin tuna doused lightly in oil. I then had a serving of oysters, which, if you’ve read my post on Aquagrill, know that I cannot resist. As expected of a pricey Italian restaurant, their oysters were perfect.

For my main dish I had the Maccheroni Alla Chitarra. Oh, how I cannot resist sea urchin. Again, I usually like my seafood raw but wanted to see what Chef Batali can do with sea urchin in the pasta capacity. I must say that perhaps, my expectations were a bit too high. My dining mates thought the dish to be wonderful but I was not convinced. Visually, the dish was beyond beautiful. The pasta looked thick and plump (just the way I like it), with a coating of a deliciously creamy yellow sauce and a dash of fresh green leeks. But when I took a bite, I was all too disappointed. I think what threw me off most was the fact that the pasta was not steaming hot. That put a damper on things as I worked through my portion (which I should mention was pleasantly large for an upscale Italian restaurant in Manhattan — they usually like to starve us, or make us think we need to diet more often). The first bite was delicious, despite being lukewarm, but the second and then the third were not so much. I tasted a distinct “fishy”ness that you get when you stepped into a restaurant you wished weren’t so dingy. Perhaps my tongue for seafood is all too sensitive from all the sushi I eat; I’ve developed a hyperactive palate.

My cousin’s boyfriend also got a whole fish, whose name I forget, that was lightly seasoned then grilled (I’m guessing). He thought it was great, so I’ll take his word for it. I usually don’t eat cooked fish unless it’s from my mom’s wok. Have I mentioned that I liked raw fish?

The rest of the dinner was uneventful; I even forget whether we had dessert. Oh, wait! I remember having coffee, which was good. The check came and I was satisfied, being pleasantly full. My memories of the crudo and oysters made me forget the awful pasta, so all in all, I had a great time!

Yesterday, I went with 2 of my friends to Aquagrill in Soho for brunch. I actually work a block away from this restaurant but never went on a workday. I’ve been trying to plan a visit when conveniently, my friends wanted to go out to brunch.

If you look at the reviews for this restaurant, they’re pretty good. But I didn’t go there for the entrees. I went there for the oysters. This place is like heaven for raw bar lovers… and yes, I was in heaven. The three of us shared their “Oyster Sampler”, which is one of each oyster, a total of 22. When they brought up the huge plate with an assortment of shapes and sizes on a bed of ice, my mouth nearly watered. I think it’s an understatement to say that I love oysters. And I was not disappointed! The oysters were like madness. Absolutely beyond satisfaction. Each one was fresh and melted in my mouth. I couldn’t ask for more.

And if you’re not much of a raw seafood person, Aquagrill offers a variety of other options. First of all, their bread, which is more like homemade blueberry mini-muffins and lemon sugar shortbread (served with butter and warm strawberry jam), is to die for. I always love restaurants that give warm, freshly made bread than the dry Italian bread that can break my gums. I also had their mussel soup, which has a light cream base with saffron and leeks (I think). It was delicious. For my main entree (yes, I ate a lot), I had the grilled bass sandwich. That was not as good, but then again, I had already been half full. The bass was a bit too spiced up for my tastes and the bread wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Maybe I should’ve went with the omelettes or eggs benedict. They looked mighty good on other people’s plates.

We opted out for dessert, having been quite stuffed and about to go into a food coma. Although I should give special mention to their dessert (that we didn’t have). Apparently Aquagrill makes their own chocolate and they have a $15 tasting menu with one of each chocolate. That would’ve been a perfect end to an already wonderful brunch. The only damper was the fact that it rained on my way out (not their fault) and that the wait time between plates was a tad long. But neither was gonna convince me that Aquagrill was not a keeper. This one is a comeback for sure.