International Sake Day

One of our favorite local restaurants, PABU, is celebrating International Sake Day all through October. On Tuesday, October 1st, they'll kick off Sake Month with the launch of a month-long Sake Happy Hour, featuring complimentary abbreviated Sake 101 classes taught by sake sommelier Tiffany Soto, as well as complimentary sake tastings. The restaurant will also highlight signature sake cocktails like the Cobra Kai and the Super X, and offer special pricing on sake by the glass and bottle. If you're not familiar with sake, these are great introductions to the world of this traditional and delicious Japanese spirit.

Executive Chef Jonah Kim will introduce a sake-influenced version of their award-winning Satori tasting menu to be accompanied by various sake. On Thursday, October 10, PABU will host a Kubota Sake Dinner with limited seating. Kubota has been brewing sake for more than 400 years, and their Senshin, an ultra daiginjo and competition batch sake, will be part of the dinner pairing.

We had the regular Satori tasting menu a while back, and highly recommend it. Here are some photos to whet your whistle.

"happy spoon" & izakaya appetizers
oyster, uni, ikura, ponzu creme fraiche, lotus root, seaweed salad, "goma-ae" with sesame

pabu wing "nagoya style" & pork spare rib
red chili glaze, japanese mayo

skewers grilled over japanese binchotan
tsukune "chicken meatballs," negima, skirt steak, sweet garlic, eringi mushroom

michael's "chicken noodle" soup
ramen noodles, rich chicken broth

And if you don't know what "daiginjo" and "competition batch sake" is, then you might want to enroll in a Sake 101 class. This month, Tiffany Soto will be holding them on October 5th and 12th. For those of you who have already taken the Sake 101, there will be Sake 102 classes held on October 19th and 26th and will cover the art of sake pairings with food.

For more information visit www.pabuizakaya.com or call 410.223.1460. To make reservations for sake education courses or the Kubota Sake Dinner call Shannon Toback at 410.223.1464 or email her at shannon.toback@fourseasons.com.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - September 28, 2012

A friend recently asked for restaurant recommendations in the Times Square area of New York City. I immediately thought of Sake Bar Hagi, the site of a delicious and rather inexpensive meal with Mr Minx and our friend, blogger David Dust. This post was originally published on September 22, 2009.
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Sake Bar Hagi

A couple of seasons ago on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he visited a hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant in Times Square called Sake Bar Hagi. I filed that away in the back of my head for a future trip to NY. When Mr Minx and I went up for Fashion Week, I thought it would be the ideal place in which to dine with my friend, the somewhat-infamous, always-entertaining, and fabulously snarky Mr David Dust.

Sake Bar Hagi is an izakaya, or a watering hole that also serves food, comparable to Spanish tapas. It's a very popular place, and from what I read on teh innernets, it's best to get there early to avoid waiting in line. So we decided to meet when the doors opened at 5:30. Even at that early hour there were several tables filled. (When we left around 7, there was a line out the door.)

David didn't have much experience with Japanese food before, and what I hadn't eaten I had at least read about, so I did the ordering. We started off with the kushiyaki (things on skewers) sampler: beef, pork belly, garlic, chicken meatballs, and chicken...

...an order of gyoza and an order of fried calamari.

The skewered tidbits were all delicious, particularly the steak. The gyoza were good/standard, and the onion ring-like calamari were a little chewy, but they tasted fine.

The specials menu offered corn dogs, so we tried two. They were actually seafood sausages dipped in standard corndog batter, and served with ketchup and mustard on the side. Good, but somewhat weird. Tasted better than tofu pups though.

Next I ordered some more unusual fare: fried gobo (burdock) chips. They had that essential starchy/greasy/salty thing going on and tasted a bit like dark-cooked potato chips, or maybe even plantain chips. The accompanying dip was a creamy honey mustard.

I've always been curious about takoyaki, or octopus balls. Ok, they're not octopus balls, but balls of starch with octopus meat inside. Kinda like round, squishy pancakes. They were topped with a preponderance of dried bonito flakes that moved around eerily as if they were alive. The red stuff is pickled, non-sweet ginger. Interesting, I can say I ate them, but not a big favorite at the table. David wouldn't even try one. I think the bonito freaked him out a bit. :)

Because the first round of skewers was so good, we went for a second, this time asparagus wrapped in bacon, duck, and beef. So good.

Finally, we ordered a noodle dish from the specials menu. It was stir fried with bits of pork, onion, and green beans. I thought it would be somewhat like the Chinese "ants climbing a tree" but it was far richer.

We washed everything down with glasses of very apple-y apple sake. And lots of ice water (one needs to stay hydrated in NY).

All-in-all, a pretty great selection of stuff, and I would definitely eat there again and again. Plus, everything is cheap - the noodles were the most expensive dish at $9.50, and the skewers were about $2 apiece. We ordered a lot (and had trouble finishing), but someone with an average appetite could probably get out of there for under $20, not including alcohol.

Sake Bar Hagi
152 West 49th Street (between 6th and 7th)
Manhattan
212-764-8549



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - August 24, 2012

This post was originally published on September 22, 2009. Sake Bar Hagi was the reason why we were so excited to have Pabu open at Harbor East. Izakayas are delicious.

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Eating New York - Sake Bar Hagi

A couple of seasons ago on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he visited a hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant in Times Square called Sake Bar Hagi. I filed that away in the back of my head for a future trip to NY. When Mr Minx and I went up for Fashion Week, I thought it would be the ideal place in which to dine with my friend, the somewhat-infamous, always-entertaining, and fabulously snarky Mr David Dust.

Sake Bar Hagi is an izakaya, or a watering hole that also serves food, comparable to Spanish tapas. It's a very popular place, and from what I read on teh innernets, it's best to get there early to avoid waiting in line. So we decided to meet when the doors opened at 5:30. Even at that early hour there were several tables filled. (When we left around 7, there was a line out the door.)

David didn't have much experience with Japanese food before, and what I hadn't eaten I had at least read about, so I did the ordering. We started off with the kushiyaki (things on skewers) sampler: beef, pork belly, garlic, chicken meatballs, and chicken...

...an order of gyoza and an order of fried calamari.

The skewered tidbits were all delicious, particularly the steak. The gyoza were good/standard, and the onion ring-like calamari were a little chewy, but they tasted fine.

The specials menu offered corn dogs, so we tried two. They were actually seafood sausages dipped in standard corndog batter, and served with ketchup and mustard on the side. Good, but somewhat weird. Tasted better than tofu pups though.

Next I ordered some more unusual fare: fried gobo (burdock) chips. They had that essential starchy/greasy/salty thing going on and tasted a bit like dark-cooked potato chips, or maybe even plantain chips. The accompanying dip was a creamy honey mustard.

I've always been curious about takoyaki, or octopus balls. Ok, they're not octopus balls, but balls of starch with octopus meat inside. Kinda like round, squishy pancakes. They were topped with a preponderance of dried bonito flakes that moved around eerily as if they were alive. The red stuff is pickled, non-sweet ginger. Interesting, I can say I ate them, but not a big favorite at the table. David wouldn't even try one. I think the bonito freaked him out a bit. :)

Because the first round of skewers was so good, we went for a second, this time asparagus wrapped in bacon, duck, and beef. So good.

Finally, we ordered a noodle dish from the specials menu. It was stir fried with bits of pork, onion, and green beans. I thought it would be somewhat like the Chinese "ants climbing a tree" but it was far richer.

We washed everything down with glasses of very apple-y apple sake. And lots of ice water (one needs to stay hydrated in NY).

All-in-all, a pretty great selection of stuff, and I would definitely eat there again and again. Plus, everything is cheap - the noodles were the most expensive dish at $9.50, and the skewers were about $2 apiece. We ordered a lot (and had trouble finishing), but someone with an average appetite could probably get out of there for under $20, not including alcohol.

Sake Bar Hagi
152 West 49th Street (between 6th and 7th)
Manhattan
212-764-8549



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Yokozuna

When Mr Minx and I go to Ocean City, we always make a point to stop at Yokozuna for some terrific sushi. Despite its location in the somewhat cheesy Gold Coast Mall, Yokozuna is an oasis away from the Boardwalk fries, greasy pizza, and drunken teenagers that make up much of the OC experience. An especially nice touch is the faux-shoji screen treatment on the windows, which completely blocks the view of any ugly-shorts tourists in Big Pecker t-shirts buying hermit crabs in the mall.

We usually start out with bowls of miso soup and go on to sushi, but this time we also tried the okonomiyaki, a pancake with vegetables and seafood. It was full of shrimp and shredded cabbage, plus a nice dose of fresh ginger, and topped with a mayonnaise sauce and bonito flakes. The texture was somewhere between a pancake and an omelette, and completely delicious. More, please.

We also enjoyed some very fresh nigiri sushi with salmon, "white tuna" (escolar), and tuna, plus two rolls: the "Princess Di" (Avocado, tamago & sushi rice, wrapped in soy paper, lightly fried & topped with shrimp tempura, orange tobiko & spicy mayo); and a special of the evening called the "Skydiver" with soft shell crab, avocado, eel, and scallions. The former was rather like a spring roll, and served quite warm. The latter was very rich, and the soft eel and crisp soft shell made for an interesting play of textures.

While we have always found all of the seafood to be impeccably fresh and delicious, not to be missed is the chocolate Kahlua cake, served warm with whipped cream and fresh fruit. It's especially tasty with a scoop of green tea ice cream.

Yokozuna Restaurant
11403 Coastal Hwy
Ocean City, MD 21842
www.yokozunaoc.com
(410) 524-7412


Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Eating New York - Sake Bar Hagi

A couple of seasons ago on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he visited a hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant in Times Square called Sake Bar Hagi. I filed that away in the back of my head for a future trip to NY. When Mr Minx and I went up for Fashion Week, I thought it would be the ideal place in which to dine with my friend, the somewhat-infamous, always-entertaining, and fabulously snarky Mr David Dust.

Sake Bar Hagi is an izakaya, or a watering hole that also serves food, comparable to Spanish tapas. It's a very popular place, and from what I read on teh innernets, it's best to get there early to avoid waiting in line. So we decided to meet when the doors opened at 5:30. Even at that early hour there were several tables filled. (When we left around 7, there was a line out the door.)

David didn't have much experience with Japanese food before, and what I hadn't eaten I had at least read about, so I did the ordering. We started off with the kushiyaki (things on skewers) sampler: beef, pork belly, garlic, chicken meatballs, and chicken...

...an order of gyoza and an order of fried calamari.

The skewered tidbits were all delicious, particularly the steak. The gyoza were good/standard, and the onion ring-like calamari were a little chewy, but they tasted fine.

The specials menu offered corn dogs, so we tried two. They were actually seafood sausages dipped in standard corndog batter, and served with ketchup and mustard on the side. Good, but somewhat weird. Tasted better than tofu pups though.

Next I ordered some more unusual fare: fried gobo (burdock) chips. They had that essential starchy/greasy/salty thing going on and tasted a bit like dark-cooked potato chips, or maybe even plantain chips. The accompanying dip was a creamy honey mustard.

I've always been curious about takoyaki, or octopus balls. Ok, they're not octopus balls, but balls of starch with octopus meat inside. Kinda like round, squishy pancakes. They were topped with a preponderance of dried bonito flakes that moved around eerily as if they were alive. The red stuff is pickled, non-sweet ginger. Interesting, I can say I ate them, but not a big favorite at the table. David wouldn't even try one. I think the bonito freaked him out a bit. :)

Because the first round of skewers was so good, we went for a second, this time asparagus wrapped in bacon, duck, and beef. So good.

Finally, we ordered a noodle dish from the specials menu. It was stir fried with bits of pork, onion, and green beans. I thought it would be somewhat like the Chinese "ants climbing a tree" but it was far richer.

We washed everything down with glasses of very apple-y apple sake. And lots of ice water (one needs to stay hydrated in NY).

All-in-all, a pretty great selection of stuff, and I would definitely eat there again and again. Plus, everything is cheap - the noodles were the most expensive dish at $9.50, and the skewers were about $2 apiece. We ordered a lot (and had trouble finishing), but someone with an average appetite could probably get out of there for under $20, not including alcohol.

Sake Bar Hagi
152 West 49th Street (between 6th and 7th)
Manhattan
212-764-8549