Nobu

As a huge fan of Japanese food, one restaurant has always been on my short list of places I must eat at; Nobu. Recently, I finally had the opportunity to get a taste of what I had been missing.

Upon arriving at the Tribeca restaurant, we were sitting at our table within minutes (with a reservation). After placing our order, our first course arrived between 5 and 10 minutes later. From there, it seemed like the following courses arrived just as we were cleaning the plate on our table. Our 8 course meal was completed in just over an hour and a half!

The menu is a little intimidating. I can hold my own when it comes to ordering sushi, but Nobu is known for their hot and cold dishes. We relied on suggestions from our waiter for most of the selections we made.

Fresh Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno

Great way to start the meal. The fish was incredibly fresh and the jalapeno complemented it very nicely.

Salmon Tartar

This really impressed me. The fish was mounted in the center of a bowl and was surrounded by some sort of wasabi and soy-based sauce. Truly outrageous flavor combination.

Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing

If you had asked me last week what I might expect to order while at Nobu, the last thing I would have told you was a salad. However, I am extremely glad that I did. The dressing was amazing and perfectly complimented the seared tuna and fresh greens. Wow.

Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce

This dish wasn't bad in the slightest. I enjoyed it very much. However, it wasn't anything I couldn't get at any other Japanese restaurant. I was hoping for more.

Squid "Pasta" with Garlic Sauce

Intriguing. It's been almost a week since I had this meal and I still can't decide how I feel about this dish. It was good, but it was the first dish of the night I wasn't racing to finish. I think I enjoyed the mushrooms more than the squid. If anyone else has had this, please comment and let me know what you thought of it.

Broiled Black Cod with Miso

Unreal! This was easily the best dish of the night. The fish was tender, flaky, and incredibly flavorful. I could eat this dish everyday. It was that good. Does anyone know a fish monger in the city that carries black cod?

Sushi - Red Snapper, House Special Roll

It would have been very weird to have a Japanese meal and not have at least a little sushi. So we had to indulge a little bit. We got the house "special" roll. The waiter said it included 5 different fishes. I would guess this includes salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and a few others. It was good. Not the best roll I've ever had, but the quality of fish definitely lived up to my expectations. In addition to the roll, I also ordered a piece of Japanese Red Snapper sushi. The waiter said it was only available for a few months during the spring. This I really enjoyed.

Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Soup

The bowl arrived with a mound of peanut butter crunch, ice cream, and chocolate mochi. The waiter poured the warm chocolate over it at our table to fill the bowl. This was the perfect way to cleanse our palettes and finish the meal. The mochi was a little strange. It has the consistency of jello, yet tastes like chocolate. Overall, I loved it. Maybe I'm just a sucker for chocolate. But who isn't? This dish was gone before I could get my camera out to snap a picture.

Report Card

Food: A-

Atmosphere: A (beautiful restaurant and great ambience)

Price: C (overpriced)

Overall: B+

Nobu

105 Hudson Street

New York, NY

212-219-0500

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Momofuku Noodle Bar is officially my new obsession. I was already on the David Chang bandwagon after having tasted his asian fusion cuisine at the NYC Locals Only event on the corner of Houston and Broadway. Now, having been to two out of four of Chang's East Village hotspots, I am a believer. Perhaps, what I love most about the Noodle Bar is that the menu changes daily. The prix fixe meal that I indulged in tonight will never return, but will instead be supplanted with something equally, if not more delicious. 

During our recent visit to the Noodle Bar, I was lucky enough to sit at a bar in front of the open view kitchen, spending the meal schmoozing with the chefs about all things Momofuku. But most importantly, no question went unanswered. Anything I wanted to know about what I was eating was met with a quick and informative response. It was a great insight into the workings of a busy kitchen and its staff.

Okay, lets get to the good stuff. The prix fixe option consisted of a four course, one night only, orgy of super delicious and interesting dishes. We also ordered a couple things off of the permanent menu. Lets start with the June 22, 2009 specials. Before any of the menu items arrived, we were treated to a complimentary amuse boushe. The moment I put it in my mouth  I knew I was about to embark on a wild culinary adventure. Atop a japanese soup spoon was a fresh strawberry with a reduced greek yogurt, cilantro, and some sort of spicy honey. (Sorry, I was too excited to snap a photo) It was the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and savory. Let's just say I was very ready for the next dish.  The appetizer was an Octopus Torchon with sorrel, mustard greens, and furikake. I can't be certain, but I believe that Torchon is a play on words, being that it is a style of lace, and a method of cooking fois gras, by poaching it in a towel. I say that because the octopus was cut razor thin and beautifully plated, and certainly delicately cooked. It was accompanied with some really fresh micro-mustard greens. It was terrific, really light and fresh. It fully awakened for my pallatte for the next dish, which fucking blew my mind. 

About ten minutes later the waitress brought out my favorite dish of 2009. It was a Duck Tsukemen, with a chilled dipping broth, pickle salad, and sesame. Tsukemen noodles are similar to Ramen noodles, but are a bit thinner and are meant to be dipped into a broth. The duck was outrageous. It was smoked with several different kinds of wood, and conveyed a powerful campfire flavor along with its super crispy skin. Dipped in the broth with the noodles, it was a five alarm foodgasm. I know I throw that term around a lot, and it is the name of this blog, but this wasn't just any foodgasm. It was a sophisticated explosion of complex flavor and texture. This wasn't Megan Fox or Kim Kardashian, it was like fucking Natalie Portman. Oh, the pickle salad rocked, and you know me, I love me my pickles. 

The last savory dish of the prix fix was Roasted Diver Scallops with fennel puree, baby rainbow Swiss chard, and lemon. What can I say, this was great. The scallops were flavorful, with a perfect crust on the top and bottom. The fennel puree was also outstanding, providing a nice bed for the scallops. My only problem with the scallop dish was that it came out when I was face first in a bowl of ramen. 

I have always loved ramen. In fact, Top Ramen, you know, the one that costs 25 cents in the grocery store, was the first thing I ever learned to cook on my own. In grade school, I think I had one a day, until I realized I was slowly poisoning myself with sodium. Thanks to David Chang, I don't think I'll ever be able eat store bought Ramen again. This blew my mind. Momofuku Ramen has a rich and hearty stock, which provides a great home for some perfectly cooked Ramen noodles, pork belly, pork shoulder, scallions, mushrooms, nori, and a poached egg. The chef disclosed that they use a super high tech steam oven to slow poach the eggs in the shells. Pretty nifty. I'm pretty sure at one point I had my entire head in the mega-sized bowl, only coming up for air when I reached the end of a very long noodle slurp. These asian fusion noodle joints are all the rage in New York's food scene, but it is safe to say Momofuku Noodle Bar is the kingpin.  

The prix fix also came with with Momufuku's famous ice cream flavors, but I think that's better left for the forthcoming Momofuku Milk Bar review. Stay hungry. 

Report Card:

Food: A+

Service: A

Atmosphere: A-

Price: A-

Overall: A

Wechsler's Currywurst and Bratwurst

It's two in the afternoon on a Saturday, and I just time traveled into my bed from Wechsler's Currywurst and Bratwurst, where I had been drinking last night. I was drinking beer, lots and lots of really great beer. I suppose I should take you back in time. You see, not so long ago, as I was walking down First Avenue, something caught my eye. It was a resturaunt that I had never seen before. One with a big open window that displayed a small but cozy bar, built around a piping hot grill, loaded up with sausages. I didn't even have to look at the menu to know that I'd be returning to here some time in the near future. 

Since that day, I've made two visits over to Wechsler's. The first was primarily an eating excursion, and the second, well, that was last night's beer tour of Germany. Before I divulge in the details of the food and drink, let me say something about the ambiance, if you will. Inside Wechsler's, you are immediately transported to a small bar somewhere in rural Germany. Wechlsler's family crest is adorned on the walls, along with portraits of various German's, likely to be Wechslers from the late 19th century. Its the kind of place you would expect men with leiderhosen to come and drink you under the table. Its the kind of place you find hidden somewhere in Bavaria, not in downtown Manhattan. At the same time, it's emblematic of modern Europe. Wechsler's is filled with Germans visiting New York, or those of have recently moved here. Why? Because of the currywurst.

In Germany, currywurst is king. I can't pretend to be an expert in the wonderful world of currywurst, but I can tell you why it rocks. Wechsler's currywurst is a pork and veal sausage, grilled till its hot and snappy, and then cut into bite size peices. Its then smothered with a tomato curry sauce, and sprinkled with some curry powder. Its tremendous. The curry sauce is such a great compliment to the sausage. For those who enjoy ketchup on your hotdog, but long for more complex and exciting flavors, this is for you. 

The bratwurst is equally terrific. Its served on a rectangular cardboard holder, meant to be eaten with your hands. It comes with a delicious roll, which I used to make little bratwusrt sandwiches. I'm all for authenticity, and eaten things with my hands, but that brat was smoking hot, and the American in me really wanted it nestled on some sort of bread holder. It comes with some spicy mustard, which is great, but once you have the hot mustard at McSoreley's Old Ale House everything seems to pale in comparison. We also ordered a wild boar sausage and a lamb sausage. I wasn't going to not try the wild boar, but in the end, it was mediocre at best. The lamb sausage was good, but very "lamby" if you will. If you love lamb, go for it, but if you generally aren't crazy about lamb, well, dont. 

The currywurst comes with pommes frites, and they are out of this world. I'm not quite sure why so many swoon after Pommes Frites on Second Avenue. They aren't even frites really, they are more like the chips you get in England. Sure, they have a plethora of fancy dipping sauces, but the frites should speak for themselves. These frites are no joke, and are by far some of the best I've ever had. Frites should be thin, like McDonald's fries, thinner actually, like matchsticks, but not so thin that they are tasteless crisps, like those god awful shoestring fries. They should be salty as hell, and fried until dark they are golden brown. They are of the sort you would expect from a top tier French restaurant with an order of Steak Frites. You can get an entire order for 2 dollars, so don't be shy. 

During my first visit, I ordered a beer to go along with all of that delicious food. I asked the bartender to help me with a selection. You see, this isnt the sort of place to get a Heineken, or a Stella Artois even. The entire beer list is in German, and are likely regional beers from Germany. What I was given was a monster sized beer-stein of Hofbrau, a delicious golden lager. I immediately thought of Broken Lizards's hilarious film, Beerfest. This was the secret recipe beer, the beer that I wanted to freeze and ice skate on it in the winter. It was a beergasm. It was so good, that I decided to go back to Wechsler's last night, and get bombed on it. 

This is the sort of place where each beer has its own glass, only to be used for that one particular beer. The bartender was kind enough to help us choose. After a few cold ones, mumbling "weissenbraukrackenfranzenhammer" didn't get us very far on our own. I must say, the "weisse" or wheat bears were great. The bartender, obviously a savvy businessman, kept recommending beer, and we kept knocking them back. I was glad to do it. We tried some of this, and some of that. I would tell you what they were called, if I could remember, let alone pronounce them. The next thing I remember was the bartender asking us if we wanted something a little special. With you good readers in mind, I gladly indulged. What he brought us was bacon smoked beer. I was happier than a little schoolgirl at the very thought. After one sip, I was in heaven. It's a dark and rich beer, that powerfully conveys the aroma of burning beachwood, and the unmistakable flavor of bacon. After a few more sips, I decided that I could never again drink that in my life. Its not that it wasn't outstanding, its just was too much and too rich. It didn't just "remind me" of bacon, I was drinking liquid smoked cured pork belly. 

At that moment, suddenly I awoke at my apartment. With the taste of bacon beer on my lips, I knew one thing. I had to pee, a lot.

Stay hungry folks, most posts are coming soon.