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| - This place is brilliant.
I've eaten here a few times and each time I leave my belly and heart sing pure joy after experiencing flavor explosions in my mouth.
I was in this week with a big group of friends, including a 1 yr. old (who loved the soba noodles btw) and this experience was no different. The guest of honor was a visiting NYC foodie, so she was in charge of ordering. After being here on "date night" and group dinners, I prefer the latter because the gluttony isn't so obvious.
I love ordering a fu-fu cocktail to start and sampling sake throughout the meal. This time it was the Lychee Mangoo- pretty tasty but not as great as the Sweet Karma my friend ordered. We moved on to Pure Sake ($14/btl) from there so my details may be fuzzy...
Top picks:
Beech mushrooms wrapped in bacon (not sure of the official name)- I don't care how much you may love the one you're with, you will NOT want to give them the last bite
Red curry tofu claypot- order a side of rice with this to soak up that sauce. Johnny Chu has a way with tofu that is purely mystical.
Cold duck salad- I may have to update my last meal request from my mother's albondigas to this salad
Wasabi tofu- again, the tofu is mastery and even though I'm not a huge fan of wasabi, my friends are
Soba noodles- just solo as a side they add a great layer to the meal and the kid loved 'em! I recommend getting 2 or 3 for the table.
Things I wouldn't order again:
Shu Mai, Napa Rolls, hot rock beef- compared to the other items on the menu these were extremely bland...the sauce on the hot rock beef was a saver but the first two were buzz-kills.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars instead of 4 is because the service is hit and miss. I'm really partial to efficient, genuine service and sometimes it's pretty lackluster.
Also, the portions are generous for tapas and the price is reasonable but all those fun drinks and tasty tidbits add up, so watch out.
Overall, an amazing showcase of downtown talent and so worth the visit!
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