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A Year Ago Today...
Mr. Broad and I got hitched! And a day after that (because I was super crazy) I moved to New York City. As I told my father, it was the best going away party ever...
Mr. Broad and I have big plans for our first anniversary. In 6 weeks we are going to Brazil! Don't worry you'll hear plenty about that. But time to celebrate in the meantime.
And on a "smaller" scale we decided to go out for a nice sushi dinner. Mr. Broad and I haven't found a good quality sushi place. Suggestions?? And because we have yet to get a gift card to Masa (at $500 a person I'm not holding my breathe...) we went to one that is just as good and more practical. And actually Frank Bruni, New York Times food critic, in his last post commented on it as some of the best sushi to get in the city.
It's been a year and Mr. Broad and I are so ahead of the times here.
204 E 43rd Street
We sat down and the attentive waiter asked us if we would like to pick out our own sushi or would we like the chef to plan our meal for us. Umm. I looked at Mr. Broad and gave myself a "Just try it" pep talk. We went with the omakase (chef's choice!) option. We gave the waiter a run down on our likes but moreso our dislikes. Me- no mushrooms. Mr. Broad- no oysters! (He's allergic.) And definitely no cream cheese. Our waitress laughed. Have no fear, this was definitely no place that served a salmon/cream cheese roll.
So what did the chef provide us with??
Flash fried soft shell crab
On the side was green onions and a sweet sauce to dip it in. Or sea salt and lemon if you preferred. Oh we were in business.
Next up sashimi.
From top left to right.
Clams. Yellow tail. Fatty tuna.
(2nd row) Scallops. And Yellow Tail (again).
Holy freshness. This was awesome. I put on my brave face and went for the clams first. A bit tough but pretty good. The scallops were a bit on the crunchy side surprisingly. They were from a different part of the scallop than what I am normally used to. Mr. Broad was way into this. The yellow tail was hands down amazing. Followed by the fatty tuna which made Mr. Broad close his eyes so he could savor it all.
And here we go. Sushi.
Two of each, starting at the top left.
Eel, Mackarel, Red Snapper (imported from Japan), Super fatty Tuna
Bottom Rows- Sea urchin, What WAS that?? Mr. Broad informed me later Tasmanian Trout, and Yellow Tail
Okay. While I have far graduated from the california rolls of sushi I was a bit nervous for some of these rolls but tried them all. And could not get over how much I enjoyed every. last. one.
Starting with eel. Really?? I equate eels to snakes. And snakes scare me. So I don't like eel. Well, wrong. I love eel. I HEART eel. Note. I still do. not. like snakes.
Other highlights included: the mackerel (it's not fishy!), the "super" fatty tuna. Apparently the tuna is done in grades and this was a Grade A. No really, that's what they told us.
The sea urchin- was one of Mr. Broad's favorite and from what we were told it's soo good that they export this sea urchin to Japan!
Okay we get it it's quality stuff.
And another picture of the pretty fish. Don't they all look alike after awhile?
The waitress stopped by again. "Would you like the chef to prepare you a couple more rolls? Maybe 2 - 3?" It was like my Jewish grandmother trying to get us to eat more chopped liver. Oh chef. We'll take two.
Artic Char in the front. And in the back. Sardines. I gave a gulp but my brain pushed my stomach ahead to try it. So I tried a bite of the sardine and it wasn't that bad. I still gave the other bite to Mr. Broad though. But the artic char, which might I remind you is not salmon. Was just awesome.
We were completely stuffed but I might have told our waitress that it was our anniversary. And nothing like blowing out a candle on your anniversary.
Kiwi, pineapple, and payapa.
Hmm does even the fruit taste better??
Review
Well, Mr. Broad and I finally found a top notch sushi restaurant. The fish was extremely fresh and the sticky rice was like little pillows that stuck to the fish. Mr. Broad couldn't stop talking about the uni (sea urchin) and I now have a whole new appreciation for eel. If we were to go back- which we will- we'll definitely ask for a reservation at the sushi bar. But we'll still let the chef pick our dinner, without a doubt. As long as they hold the mushrooms.
Rating 10
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Oh... and because we decided to keep the night going strong, we went to a tequila bar. Talk about really pushing myself to try something new. Tequila and I don't get along that well. Outside of the occasional margarita, there was this one night when we got into a really bad "fight." I was in Atlantic City and let's just say that black escalade never knew what it had coming. And no I'm not referring to driving.
304 E Sixth St.
This is one of those bars where everyone wants a table to sit. And because of it, there was a 30 minute wait. We finally get in (after a quick starter drink) and survey the menu. I'm easily overwhelmed. There are some food items but really the main highlights revolve around tequila. I let the waitress know that I would like something fruity. And floral. That's my way of saying girly.
Mr. Broad went straight for a tequila which came with a shot of sangrita. Sangrita is pretty much like non alcoholic bloody mary that cleans your palette. Mr. Broad was a fan all around.
My drink was amazing. And quickly one drink turned into two... And tequila and I made amends.
Review: After talking with the bartender I exposed my tequila naiveity and told him I'm only aware of Petron. Why is it not on the menu I asked?
Bartender: "Because we don't serve crap tequila." Well said. A schooling on the different varieties of tequila later ("If you want an awful hangover with a crazy night- go get yourself some Cuerva), Mr. Broad and I were big fans of this bar.
Rating: 10
Until finally one of these were uh, maybe ordered later at night.
Oh corn dog, How I heart thee.
PS- Happy Anniversary Mr. Broad!! To my favorite eater of all things weird. I love you.
5 comments:
First of all, what's wrong with a Philadelphia roll?! Second, I like to pretend Arctic Char is salmon...that is when I'm not confusing it with Swiss Chard. Happy 1st Anniversary you crazy kids!
While your write-up for the sushi was very telling and selling I still think I would have opted for the corndog and tequila drinks :)
Sounds like you had a great anniversary!
Yasuda is pretty good. I used to live a block over on 44th and hit it up a few times.
However, if you want the BEST sushi in the city, you need to try Tomoe on Thompson Street.
A few things to note though:
They don't take reservations, so you need to just go and wait. And they have weird hours, so it's worth calling ahead. Combine those two items and my recommendation is to show up about 30 minutes before it's supposed to open and wait in the newly-forming line.
That said, take it from a sushi lover when I tell you that it is phenomenal. And they have a fair amount of odd items, so Mr Broad can try his usual stuff-I've-never-heard-of-before-is-going-in-my-mouth routine.
Let me put it this way: we moved away from NYC 2.5 years ago, and I still keep their business card in my wallet (with the hours printed on it), just in case I end up in the city and need to check what hours they are open.
ooh Tomoe!!
I will put that on my list G Wolf-- sounds awesome! Thank you :)
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