First up: hot edamame, sprinkled with sea salt, fun to squish the beans inside out and into your mouth, a nice light bite to start the meal. 

Next up: gyoza that tasted housemade as the frozen ones tend to be shaped slightly differently.  Though the one on the end was clearly a little burnt, these were crisp and very tasty.  I enjoyed them. 

The inside was a little flat but juicy and flavorful. 

Then our sushi platter arrived! We’d picked out a bunch of rolls off the menu and added some sashimi.  First of course, on the top in the left pic or on the right in the right pic, the Marilyn Mon-roll (basic California roll topped with raw scallop and chef’s sauce, and tobiko) – which they finally renamed, which made me happy (it used to be Marilyn Monroe Roll, which I shortened to Marilyn Monroll because I am HILARIOUS).  Then under that or to the left of that, the Yellowstone Roll, which is lightly fried fish, cucumber and chef’s sauce.  Toro and scallion in the rolls closest, then some sort of root (I want to say burdock, but that’s not what it was on the menu), and a piece of uni and toro each.  Given the choice between $6 or $10 toro, we chose the $10 toro. 

I’ve had the Marilyn Monroll several times now, and always enjoy the way the flavors work together.  This was DLS’s first time, but he seemed to really enjoy it as well.  The Yellowstone Roll, which I hadn’t eaten in the past, was lovely – I really enjoy crunch in my sushi, to contrast the softness of the rice – and I could definitely see ordering that again.  The two smaller rolls didn’t appeal to me much, though the toro and scallion roll was better than I’ve had in the past (I really tend to dislike ordering toro in rolls because it’s usually scraps and not very good at that, but the fattiness – to me, the sign of quality toro – definitely was still evident in each bite).  I just don’t like the seaweed on the outside because it can be tough to bite through, and this was no exception; I found the seaweed a little chewy. 

The uni was very fresh and the perfect bite for me since I love uni.  But the toro?  I mean, was it worth the $10 a piece?

OH HELL YES.  A few things: I love that they HAD the toro, which a lot of places will list on the menu but then tell you they are out if you ask for it.  And not only did they have it, they had TWO DIFFERENT KINDS.  That speaks volumes to me about the business they intend to do and the business they run.  And it was GLORIOUS.  Run through with the best possible kind of fat, it literally melted in my mouth as I fought not to moan too loudly.  My eyes rolled backwards in my head and I almost cried from how delicious it was.  So.freaking.good.  Toro like that is a gift to the world; that tuna did NOT die in vain.  It brought intense pleasure to my mouth and belly, I was so, so happy after eating that.  Joy, pure unbridled joy that not only am I blessed enough to be able to enjoy such lovely things, that I’m able to do so in my own neighborhood.  I know not everyone has that luxury! 

Surprisingly, DLS wanted to order dessert.  Fried green tea ice cream was chosen and it arrived fairly quickly.  He seemed surprised that the ice cream was still cold and hard… I mean it was rock hard.  It tasted OK – this is not one of my favorite desserts, I usually take a bite or two and then give up eating, so I’ve got very little point of comparison, but I thought it was good enough.  A little weird that the exterior wasn’t hot; I sort of expected it to be hot.  Maybe they buy it by the box – commercially made fried ice cream – and just took it out and put it on the plate?  I suppose that wouldn’t surprise me. 

Yvo says: I’d heard that there were service problems in the new expansion, but we encountered no issues – pleasant service and fantastic food as usual.  Honestly, the place was shockingly empty, but this was a Monday night, and I think a lot of people are used to Sushi Yasu being closed on Mondays & Tuesdays.  I’m glad they’re now open every night of the week, though part of me wants them to open during the day for lunch… and I don’t think their sushi bar was open for seating yet (a few days before Thanksgiving).  I will definitely be back, over and over and over again… yum yum yum. 
highly recommended – yes, I would even say you should travel from other boroughs to check it out

A week or so after the above visit, I returned with a friend to eat more sushi.  Since we ordered all the same things I’ve ordered many times, I didn’t take photos, but at the end, we ordered the green tea flan, which our server informed us was made by a pastry chef ‘from one of the top French restaurants’ – I didn’t ask more questions though.  The green tea flan was bitter, balanced with a smooth caramelly sweetness… it was just right, and perfectly sized for sharing a few bites after a sushi dinner that more than filled me up.  Yum!

Also, this visit showed me another reason I love going to Sushi Yasu: we sat at the sushi bar, and everyone who works there is so friendly… and kept coming over to tell me how pretty I am.  How do you not like a place where people tell you you’re really pretty?!  … and has super fresh raw fish.  That’s important too. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, gyoza, Sushi

I recently had the pleasure of dining with my friend Melissa at Hatsuhana, a rather nice sushi restaurant in midtown that I must have walked by a few times but never noticed.  She said she’d read good things about it, and I was more than happy to accompany her there – I’d not had real sushi in a while. 

While we sat and browsed the menu, Melissa noted how cute the chopstick rest was along with the teeny tiny bud vase, and suggested I take a photo.  It was hard to snap, so here is my artsy attempt. 

We chose to order a few things to split; one of which was the sashimi dinner set.  Given the choice of soup or salad, a salad was clearly easier to split so we opted for that.  Fresh greens with a fairly standard ginger dressing, nothing special here. 

We also ordered the salmon carpaccio to start, because the description was so whimsical: raw salmon, avocado, minced onions, black pepper, chives, salmon caviar and ‘thoughtful Japanese touches’.  We were rewarded with this lovely dish. 

And honestly? each bite was very lovely.  Topped with shaved bonito, a bit of dried seaweed, and on the bottom, what I tasted to be a miso reduction of sorts… creamy avocado, salty salmon roe, and the salmon slices itself – just perfect.  I really enjoyed this dish – it was a good sign of things to come. 

The sashimi platter came with a pretty standard array of fishes – salmon, tuna, yellowtail and fluke, along with Spanish mackerel in the small bowl.  The Spanish mackerel was tossed with a sort of vinaigrette of sorts, on top of seaweed salad, and we both enjoyed this greatly.  All of the fish was very fresh, and very tasty. 

One of the reasons Melissa had picked this place, though, was this menu item: the “Box of Dreams” – described on the menu as “nine miniature bowls arranged in a lacquer box; each bowl contains one kind of raw or cooked fish fillets and sushi rice; a culinary marvel sure to please the senses.”  Funny enough, I was going to make a comment about the rice in each bowl…

Toro (fatty tuna) & scallions with a piece of seaweed over rice – fresh tasting and light, but I really dislike chopped toro (because I know it’s the scraps, haha). 

Shrimp & tamago – I didn’t eat the shrimp because I’m not a big shrimp fan, but the tamago was pretty good. 

I’m going to say yellowtail – I always confuse this fish with another fish, but both were in the box, so no big deal – again, very fresh. 

Fluke. 

Tuna. 

Salmon – I loved the lemon, emphasizing the fresh bright taste of the salmon. 

Salmon roe, which I love. 

Grilled eel. 

Uni (sea urchin gonads).  This was a little softer than I expected – I’ve had uni in the past and love it, but this one was a little… not ‘off’ but not quite what I wanted.  No big deal, still tasty. 

While I liked the idea of the box, and it was indeed very pretty, I didn’t think the rice was sushi rice – it lacked that characteristic vinegary tang that I look for in sushi rice – which was the major downfall.  Otherwise, I’d have enjoyed this box of dreams even more.  Also, $41 for that seems more than a bit overpriced… there is a section of the menu called “mini bowls” where you can choose each bowl yourself, ranging from $5.75 – $11… maybe I’ll try that next time. 

The sashimi set dinner also came with dessert – fruit or ice cream, and of course we chose ice cream.  We luckily agreed on green tea and set about taking that down, then wandered into the night, stuffed and happy. 

Yvo says: While I felt the Box of Dreams could have been improved with sushi rice (or sushi rice more suited to my tastes), overall, the experience and the food was fantastic – very fresh fish, attentive service – I don’t think either of us ever took more than 2 sips of the very good green tea before it was refilled – just a really great place.  I would definitely go back without hesitation. 
highly recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: sashimi

Sushi Yasu sits on Yellowstone Boulevard, an easy, quiet walk from Austin Street or what some may call “Forest Hills proper” – which helps set it apart both in style and those who are willing to go ‘off the beaten path’ (uh, not really) for some delicious food.  It is sandwiched between a laundromat and a Chinese takeout restaurant whose menu looks moderately more interesting than your standard takeout place, and another door down is Da Silvano, which you may recall I visited when Sushi Yasu was closed, as it always is, on Tuesdays.

But I finally got to try it with BBE a few weeks later, when I plotted a return.  BFF/LTS had insisted that it was wonderful, and while I was semi-skeptical that truly fantastic sushi – the real kind, people, not California rolls and bento boxes and the like – could be found so close to my home, I had to check it out myself.

I was delighted to receive this as my soy sauce dish.  I love bunnies, something that may escape notice until you hear me squee’ing at their sight.  Ahem.

I suggested sitting at the bar, because I love watching my food being made; the expertise and skill exhibited in order to properly make a piece of sushi is just incredible, something I can only watch in awe.  The display case housed many types of sea life, some I recognized and some that I didn’t.  Off to a good start.

The menu was simple, offering some rolls, sushi by name, and soup or salad (green & seaweed).  I began to get really excited.  Menus like this – where less is more – speak volumes.  The focus here is on raw fish and some specialty rolls.

After a brief discussion, I talked BBE into getting the omakase with me; starting at $35, it starts with soup or salad (either, your choice).  The seaweed salad was light, and clearly not the star attraction here.  That’s to say it was tasty but nothing mind blowing.

BFF had mentioned the Marilyn Monroe Roll several times, which I think should be renamed the Marilyn Monroll… so I decided we should add that on as well.

Despite his less than adoration of certain seafoods, I was indulged.  Krab and avocado topped with raw scallops and the chef’s special sauce, the roll is rather large and comes with a $13.50 price tag.

It’s … sort of like a fancy, dolled up version of a California roll.  I found it very tasty, and really liked it, while BBE enjoyed it but probably a bit less than me.  I like the sauce a lot, and the texture the raw scallop imparts along with its unique taste.  It could become a go-to roll; just one of those would definitely fill me up.

And then the fish parade began.  Sadly, I must tell you that I had no pen&paper, and it’s been almost 5 months since I went, so you will have to suit yourself with looking at pretty pictures but me not knowing the names of everything.  And we got one each for the fish; if there’s only one in the photo, that means I only took photos of my plate.

This almost certainly looks like fatty tuna to me.  Please note that no matter what I ate, it was all very fresh and tasty.

Chef Yasu also made sure to tell us how to eat each piece – one of the bonuses of sitting at the bar.  “With soy sauce,” he might suggest.

“No soy sauce,” another time.  Not sure if it was for this one though.

He expertly pressed each piece together and laid them proudly on our wooden plates.

This is a piece of tamago, or rolled egg omelet slightly sweetened.  I wasn’t too fond of their version but I’m very iffy on this type of sushi – some places make it phenomenally (I used to always get this at this one place in Manhattan Mall when I was in high school… ah, memories!).  Some places don’t.  This was just OK – like eating a piece of cold egg, and I’m not that fond of cold egg.

Oh, and a bit of an octopus salad, which I enjoyed greatly.

This is the same exact picture with a slightly different tone given by tweaking in LightRoom.  This fascinates me.

Same salad, but just a piece.  I loved the pickly taste mixed with the briny octopus.

This one, Chef Yasu told us to eat in one bite.  You don’t have to ask me twice!  Considering this contained some of my favorite things to eat – salmon roe, raw salmon, avocado – there was no way I couldn’t enjoy the very fresh salmon that melted in my mouth like butter, along with the creamy avocado and the salty roe.  Oh, heaven, how I love you.

I really don’t know names – but I know this piece or the next piece, Chef Yasu had a story to tell.

One of these is a super rare fish that isn’t easy to get in the US, but he’s ‘got a guy’ who helps him.  Chef Yasu was really friendly, and asked me a couple of questions when he saw my camera.  Apparently he likes to take photos too, though of birds, not food.  He was amused by my shutter clicking, but made sure several times to give me the ‘prettier’ piece (not that BBE received ugly food, but maybe not quite as perfect).

We ended our meal with this piece, again I apologize sincerely because I can’t tell you what it is.  But I know I enjoyed it, and BBE and I both walked out, happily stuffed for $35/person (before tax/tip).  Note that Sushi Yasu is BYOB and we noted many people enjoying this policy, bringing their own beer, and that it gets quite full after 6pm.  We were lucky to get the last two seats at the bar, and thoroughly enjoyed our experience.

I may have even convinced BBE that dinner in the ‘burbs can be quite fantastic… and so can sushi

Shortly after that visit, I wanted to return.  BFF/LTS was available, so I tagged her and we went to get sushi (and ice cream afterwards, haha).  We started off with miso soup on the rather cold day (remember this was 5 months ago! Do you remember what it’s like to be cold?).

I decided to follow BFF/LTS’s lead and order like her.  She ordered tuna and salmon, so I doubled the order.  This is “two” pieces each – generous with the fish, and look how gorgeous they are.  Well-marbled, fatty, delicious, melt in your freakin’ mouth fish.  LOVE.

We opted to order the Marilyn Monroll and another roll that we realized later … was just a salmon avocado roll.  Hahaha.

Funny enough, this was placed in front of us and we both looked confused.  Someone had ordered something similar to us, and I snapped a photo before we realized it.  It looks delicious though – I think that’s a rainbow roll.

Either way you cut it, I thoroughly enjoyed both visits and now mark this among my favorite sushi restaurants.

Yvo says: Excellent omakase with an even better price, fantastic chef, fresh fish, and just an all around great place.  I am thrilled that this place calls my neighborhood home, and I will be (and have been) back many times as I possibly can!
highly recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: omakase, sashimi

As this is rather close to where the Beer Boor lives, he joined me to beat the all you can eat.  The sign out front boasts about the all you can eat sushi, but also mentions a hot sake special: you can add on a flask of hot sake for $3.50 if you’re getting all you can eat.  Not bad, I suppose, if you like hot sake. 

Oddly, the back of the menu goes on and on… and on about tipping be unnecesssary and unallowed.  I can understand ‘unnecessary’ – insomuch if they pay their servers enough, fine – but to declare it not even allowed seemed a bit excessive.  I shrugged it off, but I found it interesting and a bit weird that they dedicated that much space to saying “No tips, please.” Guess a lot of people ask why when they’re told that?

You’re given a card to mark off what you’d like – and I took a photo of each one before handing it over, but the pics seem uninteresting and solely for the purpose of remembering what we ordered – and the card is turned over to the adept sushi chefs. We actually wound up sitting at the bar, so I was able to watch our plates being made. First up: salmon, salmon tataki, and spicy tuna. Beer Boor had to go get cash since it turned out to be a cash-only establishment, so I took the liberty of ordering the first round for both of us.

The salmon was fresh, and the slices weren’t super thin with tons of rice, a problem I’ve had at some other all you can eat sushi places. The tataki, lightly cooked salmon, was also very tasty. Spicy tuna was ordered for Beer Boor as I’m not generally a fan, but I think he enjoyed it. 

Also in our first round was my first mistake of the night. Trying to be ‘fair’ or nice or just trying for symmetry (I have weird quirks when it comes to numbers of things), I ordered two each of the crab salad hand roll and the squid and soya bean paste hand roll (it sounded interesting!).  I like those things, but I totally forgot that Beer Boor isn’t too fond of certain types of seafood – including squid.  

I also ordered the crab salad hand roll, which I recalled liking from rereading my last post before I came. It was moist, fluffy, and tasted like crab lightly tossed with some sort of sauce to keep it moist, and a slice of cucumber in it for good measure. I’m not sure what makes the crab this color – even kani (imitation crab that’s found in California rolls here in NYC) isn’t all uniformly that color – but it tasted good. Well, I liked it, anyway.  It was very well seasoned, with a lot of ‘juiciness’ to it – it wasn’t dry by any means, and the rice served as a nice carb vehicle for it. 

As for the squid & soy hand roll, it was interesting, but not something I’d want to order again. The squid was a little too chewy for me in this format.

Our next plate was focused more on sushi. Two pieces of eel, two pieces of salmon, two piece of white fish, two pieces of tuna tataki, and two pieces of mackerel.  Again, the fish was fresh, and they didn’t load us up on rice while skimping on the fish, something I appreciated greatly.

Next up, I returned to the crab salad hand roll, while Beer Boor decided to try his luck with the tuna salad hand roll. I warned him but he said “They wouldn’t… would they?” And yep, they did: basically cat food in a hand roll. Awful. The roll was salmon skin, which was pretty tasty – crisp pieces of salmon skin stuffed into an inside out roll. 

For our final round, we returned to the salmon tatatki, I got a piece of eel nigiri, we each had a piece of mackerel, and Beer Boor got a regular tuna hand roll.  I think at this point we were both completely stuffed, happy, and ready to call it quits. 

Yvo says: For $20.95 each, we both walked away very satisfied and stuffed with lots of yummy sushi.  It’s true that the sushi menu that’s included for the all you can eat is rather simple and unexciting, but the pieces are well-executed, they don’t try to skimp you on fish or fill you up on rice, and the place is has a nice laidback vibe.  I would definitely come here again and be happy with dinner!  (There are rolls you can order for an up-charge, but we decided not to do that in order to embrace the spirit of all you can eat sushi!)
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: all you can eat, Sushi

A friend of mine gifted me with a Groupon to Katsuno a while back, knowing how much I’d enjoyed it when I went the first time.  I was finally able to make the return journey – with the same friend – and I eagerly wanted to try a few things I’d missed the first time, along with some sashimi.  I’ve been craving fish like no other…

Last time, I’d been unable to try ankimo (monkfish liver) because they hadn’t had any in the dead of summer.  This time, the woman – who I am almost positive is the owner - seemed really excited when I asked if they had any (it’s not on the menu).  When she brought it out, I was pleasantly surprised that it was so much – I don’t know how big a single monkfish liver is, but this was quite a lot of liver.  I’d really enjoyed monkfish liver at I Love Sushi in Seattle, but as we dug in eagerly to this dish, I noted that this was simply monkfish liver, while in Seattle, I’d been able to enjoy it complemented by scallops and cucumber, with a miso reduction.  While this was still good, I couldn’t help but think blasphemously that it might be even better with some bread to spread it on, or some rice crackers – wasabi flavored, perhaps? – to counter the rich, creamy texture.  I liked it a lot, but it was was quite a large portion for two people to finish, especially given my friend’s less than love of all things offal.  I’ll know for next time to only ask if I have more people with us… or perhaps order a side of sushi rice to go with it  

Given my craving for sashimi, my friend obliged and we ordered the sashimi platter for two ($58, seasonal price).  I was extremely pleased to see what they offered, though once again, I’m reminded that I know enough about my own preferences and tastes that I really should stop ordering platters and just order the different fish I like by the piece. 

Do you see that?

Hello, toro!  Fatty tuna belly is prized amongst sashimi lovers for its fatty, fatty, creamy texture, and this was no exception.  I’ve rarely seen this on a sashimi platter, and I have eaten them at a handful of upscale restaurants.  Hmmm.  This was wonderfully fresh, and I tried valiantly to not eat more than my share.  Yum!  (Also, I’ve hardly been able to find toro at non-upscale Japanese restaurants.  I think most smaller places find it cost-prohibitive to keep in stock, so they might have it on the menu but they won’t always have it available, as I’ve tried ordering it a few times.) 

I believe this was yellowtail in a ponzu sauce – really tasty mix. 

I think this was tilefish, slightly cooked on the outside, and very tasty.  The salmon is hiding behind it, which I also enjoyed a lot – salmon is one of my top 3 sashimi fish – and everything was super fresh. 

There was both ika (squid) and tako (octopus) on the platter, which I ate happily enough, though eventually the texture wears on me and I stop enjoying it.  This was the point where I realized I should just order the fish I like, as my friend didn’t like the tako all that much, but tolerated the ika.  Ah well – lessons learned, my food journey is never ending   Still, very fresh, and if you’ve never eaten raw octopus, each bite is like a burst of ocean water in your mouth – pleasantly briny and very tasty. 

There are also flavored sakes at Katsuno, though I didn’t partake that night. 

And here is the odd moment of the night: when we’d ordered, I’d asked for ankimo, the sashimi for two, and duck udon.  After the sashimi platter was cleared, we waited for our udon patiently.  No one rushed us with a check or bothered us, and we lingered over our green tea even as the place emptied and appeared to be readying to close.  Finally, I asked about our duck udon, and the owner apologized profusely that there must have been a mix-up and it wasn’t ordered.  I was ready to just say no worries, pay the bill and leave – it wasn’t that big of a deal and I thought the kitchen was closed – but she insisted that it was fine and that it would be out in no time.  I thought that was really awesome of her, and it really took hardly any time to bring out.  I am still fairly certain that the kitchen WAS closed or near to it at that point!  I wouldn’t have starved if we’d skipped it, honest. 

Unfortunately, it might have been better if we did skip it – and I’m going to blame this small inconsistency on the kitchen being near to closing – the broth was overwhelmingly salty, and I adore salt.  The udon itself was bordering on overcooked, and the duck was definitely cooked too far into ‘well done’ territory.  It still satisfied my desire for udon, but it was not a good dish.  Since I’ve had the duck soba at Katsuno before where the broth was perfectly fine, not too salty, and the noodles were cooked perfectly (yes, different noodles, but soba cooks much quicker than udon), I am going to completely hang this failure on the dish being an afterthought.  Not a big deal at all, because it certainly doesn’t prevent me from wanting to return. 

Yvo says: Katsuno remains high on my list of best Japanese restaurants in my neighborhood.  Though it’s a bit of a walk from my apartment, in nice weather it will be a pleasant walk to build up an appetite, and I definitely intend to return to Katsuno to try more items on the menu.  I think the prices are reasonable for authentic Japanese dishes, and the service is impecabble with great people and a nice neighborhood vibe to the place.  I’ll be sad when it becomes overrun with more people, but this is definitely one you shouldn’t miss. 
highly recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Groupon, noodles, sashimi, udon