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Naka – Seattle, WA

September 28, 2015
Capitol Hill, Japanese, Seattle
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Naka – Seattle, WA

When my husband and I went here last month, we had the choice of two menus, the a la carte menu or the kaiseki menu (a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner).   With the kaiseki menu we then had three choices, the Tasting Menu (5 or 7 courses I can’t remember), the Naka Kaiseki (10 course tasting menu) or the Chef Kaiseki (15 course menu which requires a weeks notice).  We went with the Naka Kaiseki because why not?!  We were also told that the chef’s intention was to eventually limit the menu to just the kaiseki one and have the a la carte become the bar menu.  Looking at their site right now I see they’ve made that transition.  I hope this doesn’t discourage people from trying this restaurant because the tasting menu was outstanding.  When you hear 7-15 courses, I think most people think that sounds like a lot but some of the courses were just one bite.  Very simple clean food so we both left feeling satisfied and not the least bit full, refreshing actually.

The presentation was stunning and the flavors were outstanding.  I highly recommend Naka if you appreciate great Japanese cuisine.  The bill can get a little steep so it’s the perfect place for a special occasion.  I should also mention that we enjoyed the wine pairing as well and the pours were very appropriate seeing there were 10 courses to be had.

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Sugarfish – Beverly Hills, CA

July 6, 2015
Beverly Hills, Japanese, Los Angeles, Sushi
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Sugarfish – Beverly Hills, CA

BEST. SUSHI. EVER.

My mouth is salivating as I think about my meal at Sugarfish.  Honestly, it was the best sushi I’ve ever had.  I may not know everything about sushi but I will tell you that I’ve eaten it around the world.  From The Tsukiji Market in Tokyo to Seattle, I’ve sampled a lot of “the best” and this by far is THE BEST out there!

There are three menus to choose from: Trust Me/Lite, Trust Me and The Nozawa.  Think of it as small, medium and large.  You can order a la carte but price-wise, you get more for your money with the prefix menus and you will most definitely want to add more to it once you’re done.  I chose the Trust Me and my husband got The Nozawa.  Each included edamame, tuna sashimi, albacore sushi, salmon sushi, yellowtail sushi, halibut sushi, a toro hand roll and a blue crab hand roll.  The Nozawa also included a “Daily Special” as well as a few more pieces of the sushi.  My favorite was the tuna sashimi and the albacore sushi.  The sushi is served nigiri style (fish on top of the rice) and the rice was warm (I’ve never experienced that and it was such a great surprise).  The fish couldn’t have been better quality.  It seriously melted in my mouth.  I remember 1) being speechless as I ate it, 2) telling my husband that you wouldn’t even need teeth to eat this sushi and 3) that if I had to choose my last meal on Earth this would be it!  They don’t take reservations so go put your name in and have a drink or walk around.  Worth the wait for sure!

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Matsuhisa – Aspen, CO

July 2, 2012
Aspen, Japanese
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Matsuhisa – Aspen, CO

On our recent trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Festival, I made sure to secure reservations at top restaurants in town to ensure an amazing culinary adventure from morning to night.  On our second night there we ate at Nobu’s Matsuhisa which was PACKED!  And full of culinary celebrities which was a fun treat.  Our meal was incredible from start to finish.  I would definitely order everything we had that night if we went back!  Earlier in the day when we went to see Bobby Flay do a demonstration we happened to sit next to Nobu himself so I leaned over and told him we were eating at Matsuhisa that night and he couldn’t have been nicer.  Talked to us for a while, even showed us photos of his granddaughter.  Needless to say he was so friendly when he saw us there that night and even sat down and chatted us up for a while.

Shishito peppers

Rock shrimp tempura with creamy spicy sauce

Mixed mushroom toban-yaki

King crab tempura “Amazu” sweet ponzu

There were so many different mochi flavors to choose from but we settled on root beer (amazing!), mango and green tea. Perfect dessert!

How cute is Nobu?! Love him!

 

 

Morimoto – Napa, CA

June 18, 2012
Japanese, Napa
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Morimoto – Napa, CA

My husband and I were lucky enough to have Morimoto do the sushi for our wedding welcome party but we had never been to the restaurant in downtown Napa itself.  I recently went with a friend and I’m already dying to go back.  I didn’t even have any sushi!  I started with the Spicy King Crab with tobanjan aioli and micro-cilantro…wowzers!!!  I can see why my friend had me order my own and didn’t want to share:)  It was rich but not too crazy of a portion if you go with a lighter entrée which we did.  Otherwise it would be a great starter to share with a group.

For our entrée we split the Tempura Calamari Salad which was perfect!  The calamari was cooked perfectly and not too heavy considering it was fried.  Yum!

To end the meal we splurged on the “S’mores” which I think was new to the menu.  Definitely a great choice…I don’t think there was a morsel left on the plate:)

Zen – Hakuba, Japan

March 16, 2012
Japan, Japanese
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Zen – Hakuba, Japan

Although Zen is known for it’s Soba, their Japanese small plates are a great option as well, especially for larger groups.  Reservations are recommended although not necessary.  Typically tatami mats can be a little uncomfortable but here they have seat backs to help your back and make it a little more comfortable.  Below are my favorites dishes of the night.  The menu is quite large so if you have a good group you can get away with ordering a lot of dishes for everyone to try.

Sashimi – Salmon and Tuna Sashimi

Tataki Kyuuri – cucumber with spicy Japanese sauce

Chicken Karaage – Fried Chicken

Agedashi do-fu – deep fried tofu in soup

Yanaimno – yanaimo and spicy roe pizza

Tako no peperonti-no – octopus with spicy olive oil and garlic sauce

Assorted Tempura

Gobou no Karaage – deep fried burdock

Robataya (Roppongi) – Tokyo, Japan

March 14, 2012
Japan, Japanese, Tokyo
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Robataya (Roppongi) – Tokyo, Japan

This is by far the best meal I’ve had in Tokyo.  I honestly couldn’t be more enthusiastic about this place!  The experience was so fun and entertaining and the food couldn’t have been fresher and more delicious.  There isn’t a menu because the ingredients are bought in fresh everyday and gone through every night assuring that nothing is old and needing to be sold off the next day.  I don’t think you can make a bad order here.  All the ingredients are recognizable so just order based off of what you like and you’re safe!  The preparation is simple…lightly seasoned and grilled right in front of you.  I highly recommend this place.  There are only about 20 seats in the whole place and reservations are necessary!

The amuse bouche – tuna sashimi with fresh tomatoes, onions and a light vinaigrette

The sashimi plate

Fresh asparagus

Waygu beef – seriously the best I’ve ever had!

Fresh grilled peppers

Whole fried snapper (if I remember correctly:))

Cinnamon and sugar mochi that was made right in front of us!

Maeda – Hakuba, Japan

March 5, 2012
Japan, Japanese
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Maeda – Hakuba, Japan

Every year we go back to Hakuba my husband and I make this restaurant a must for lunch.  It usually happens on our first day in town because we’ve been thinking about it for a year and just can’t wait any longer.

The katsudon is to die for.  The breaded pork cutlet is so tender and with the egg on top and the perfect rice underneath, this dish disappears fast!  Another favorite is the tempura udon and most recently for me the tempura soba…same dish just with buckwheat soba noodles instead of the udon noodles.

I’m not sure what this was but it was so tasty.  Some sort of pickled or fermented vegetable.  That’s a vague description but I really have no inkling as to what it was.  Most likely a veggie we don’t have in the states.

This was some of the BEST Kimchi I’ve ever had!  I could have eaten this whole plate by myself.  Next time:)

My tempura soba…DE-lish!  I couldn’t eat even half the noodles but I loved everything about this.  You could tell the noodles were made fresh…they were incredible!  I’m probably going to be dreaming about this until the next time we get back here.

My husband’s tempura udon…you can’t go wrong with this one!

Mmmm…the katsudon…this is unbelievable – that is assuming you eat pork.  I’m afraid to try this dish in the states assuming it might not live up to my expectations.  I don’t want to ruin it.

Momiji – Seattle, WA

October 22, 2011
Japanese, Seattle
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Momiji – Seattle, WA

We heard about this new sushi restaurant from an acquaintance and just had to try it.  It’s owned by the same people that own Umi Sake House in Belltown.  The space is warm and minimalistic.  There’s a very serene vibe about the place which I love.

All of the servers are very friendly and are helpful in suggesting rolls if you don’t know where to start.  Our food came out quickly (in a good way…not rushed) and everything we ate was so delicious.  Each roll tasted so different and was complex in it’s own way.  I have to say, this is by far one of our favorite sushi spots in Seattle, if not our favorite now.  The location is great, parking isn’t horrible and they’re open from 4pm-2am daily!  The fact that we went 3 times in the span of about 10 days should say something:)

*Pardon the photos…as the night went on I lost a lot of light so they’re not that great but I think you’ll get idea

Beautiful little courtyard in the middle of the restaurant

Madai Jalapeño – snapper sashimi, jalapeño, garlic & cilantro with citrus-yuzu ponzu…one of the specials that night…so fresh and flavorful

Crunchy Seattle Roll – salmon, avocado, cream cheese fried and drizzled with teriyaki sauce and sweet chili aioli…best roll I’ve had like this!

007 Roll – spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber & cilantro, wrapped with yellowtail, lime, shishito peppers and jalapeño

White Tiger Roll – spicy yellowtail, cucumber & asparagus topped with wild white king salmon, lime, tobiko & yuzu citrus sauce

Denenshi – Hakuba, Japan

March 10, 2011
Japan, Japanese
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Denenshi – Hakuba, Japan

My fiancé and I were in Japan this March when the 9.0 earthquake struck.  We honestly couldn’t have been in a better place at the time considering the magnitude of it.  We were sitting on an airplane on the runway in Tokyo getting ready to take off for Sapporo when the plane starting violently shaking.  Long story short we were fine but as you can imagine it changed the rest of our travel plans a bit.

Leading up to it though we had a wonderful few days in Hakuba, skiing our brains out in the backcountry and eating the most delicious food during the day and night.  A favorite of ours in the area is Denenshi.  We had one of the best meals of our lives the year prior and made the effort to go back this year.

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife duo out of their charming French inspired home.  There are two set menus to choose from; Japanese and French.  We always choose the Japanese as we should when in Japan.  If you’re ever in Hakuba this place is a must.  You’ll be so thankful you discovered it.

Baked mushroom marinade

Cold pasta with sliced bream

Curried flavored crab and vegetable gratin

Deep friend yellowtail with brown rice sauce

Roast beef with miso sauce

Green tea ice cream

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