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.

Sushi Yasuda

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.

Mayahuel

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.

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Sushi for Experts

One of the many restaurant rewinds to come... I've been taking pictures of our food long before I started writing, but with the intention of posting about it eventually. So bear with me as you hear about some of our past restaurants we went to in the next posts ahead.

Soto
357 6th Ave (between 4th St & Washington Pl)

Mr. Broad: Where would you like to go to dinner tonight?
Me: Hmm, I'm feeling in the mood for sushi.
Mr. Broad: Ooh, there's this sushi place I've been wanting to try in Greenwich Village.
Me: Perfect!

And enter the most unlikely sushi place I've ever been to.

While they had your typical sushi rolls it was clear due to the placement on the menu that this was not the highlight of the menu. Chowhound boards gave this place high reviews so we were eager to try it out. And I definitely knew why Mr. Broad picked this place out as well- one of their specialities was uni (sea urchin), his favorite.

And so we ordered. The waiter told us we had to order lots of food because they have small portions. Umm, okay. Of course you do.

Anyway. We ordered several dishes most of which I don't remember. But WOW for presentation. And yes, it was sushi in that there was raw fish in there but if you wanted say a California Roll? HAH! I laugh at your sushi ignorance!

May I present to you:

Uni Ika Sugomori Zukuri- sea urchin wrapped in thinly sliced squid and shiso served with quail egg and tosa soy reduction

And Chyu Toro Tar Tare chopped fatty part of big eye tuna with avocado coulis, garnished with caviar, chive, served in sesame ponzu sauce

And I was craving an actual sushi roll, so I got a - Tuna Tartar roll

And trust me because the plates were so small there was plenty of room for dessert- my favorite; mochi! (Japanese ice cream made with rice) I think it was strawberry, green tea, red bean, mango, and banana. Sounds about right.

Review:

Overall the meal was really good. While probably not the sushi meal I had expected, it definitely was "interesting". The plating itself was gorgeous and we had many other dishes than the ones above. The portion size was small and more expensive than I think either of us realized heading into it. Was it good sushi? Yep. Would we come here again? Probably not. It's not your everyday sushi place (mainly due to cost) and besides that- there are too many sushi places to try out!

Rating: B (Mr. Broad gave it a B+)

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