Memories of Spring Part 2: 15 East (food)

Even though sushi is now flash frozen and shipped from everywhere in the world, great sushi chefs still put an emphasis on what is fresh, with seasonal delicacies especially prized. My favorite sushi restaurant is 15 East, and on a visit several months ago, chef Masato Shimizu put together a wonderful Spring menu.

AMUSE: EDAMAME TOFU
Besides being green in color I didn't notice anything particularly interesting.

The signature slow poached octopus in all its glory. 15 East is not just about sushi. They excel at many different things, which is why I usually ask for a combination tasting menu of everything, including sushi, sashimi, and cooked foods.

SLOW POACHED OCTOPUS WITH SMOKED SEA SALT, JAPANESE CONCH SIMMERED IN DASHI, FIREFLY SQUID WITH EGG YOLK MISO
The octopus was tender as always, while the conch and firefly squid were items I hadn't had before and full of umami.

Sneak preview of the chef's cuts of tuna, featuring lean, medium fatty, fatty, and collar.

SASHIMI PLATE: CHERRY SALMON, SPANISH BLUEFIN OTORO, BOTAN EBI (SWEET SHRIMP), COLD SEARED ISAKI (GRUNTFISH), KAMPACHI (AMBERJACK), HIRAME (FLUKE), AWABI (ABALONE) AND FLUKE LIVER WITH PONZU AND SAKE.
Everything was delicious, but the side cup of liver cooked with ponzu and sake was especially unique and flavorful.

SAKURA SOBA
The house-made soba was a unique seasonal preparation, with sakura (cherry blossom) actually ground into the flour for the noodles. It gave the noodles a slightly softer texture.

KURUMA TEMPURA
Accompanying the soba was this huge shrimp tempura. The batter was a little thicker than regular tempura batter, making it in between tempura and katsu in texture. The batter was also seasoned, giving the whole thing great flavor.

After the cooked foods, the procession of sushi begins. Most if not all of the pieces were pieces I've had before and in the regular rotation. More detailed descriptions can be found by searching for my previous 15 East entries.

SHIMA AJI

SEA PERCH

SEARED KINMEDAI

CHUTORO

OTORO

SABA

BABY SNAPPER WITH EGG YOLK

SAYORI

IKA WITH SUDACHI

SHIRO EBI

There were two types of uni available that day, from Santa Barbara and from Hokkaido

SANTA BARBARA UNI

HOKKAIDO UNI

ANAGO

TAMAGO

After all that sushi comes dessert, another area which 15 East excels at because of their connection with Tocqueville. The pastry chef has experience from Jean Georges, so is adept at using Western techniques with Eastern ingredients.

STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA, MANGO SORBET, PINEAPPLE, AND BERRIES
A refreshing and light spring dessert

MIGNARDISES: PISTACHIO FINANCIERS, DARK CHOCOLATE CARAMEL, MILK CHOCOLATE PUFFED RICE

These meals were great tributes to Spring, but Summer is officially here and I'm looking forward to some great summer meals as well.

Memories of Spring Part 1: Kyoto Bamboo Tasting at Kajitsu (food)

With the weather changing frequently between an extremely hot summer to windy autumn-like conditions, I'm kind of longing for spring right now. So here are two wonderful, seasonal spring meals from earlier this year that I didn't get a chance to post.

This first meal at Kajitsu was one of the very last done by the recently departed chef. I don't know where he is cooking now, but I'm sure his star continues to shine brightly. I definitely enjoyed it when he created a menu around one special seasonal ingredient. In this case it was Kyoto bamboo shoots.

NAGAIMO HISHIMOCHI WITH SPRING VEGETABLES AND SWEET SOY GELEE
A colorful first course featuring the crunch of spring vegetables highlighted by a subtle sweet soy gelee.

GRATED KOHLRABI SOUP WITH GRILLED GOMADOFU
The thick, almost milky, soup seemed light in comparison to the earthy sesame tones of the tofu, which had just a bit of chew to the texture.

SMOKED SATOIMO WITH TOFU-YO SAUCE, BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH FUKINOTO PASTE, SPRING SCALLIONS WITH WHITE WOOD EAR MUSHROOMS, AND MUSTARD MISO PEACH FLOWER NAMA-FU
A assortment of different tastes and textures, including the very seasonal fiddlehead fern, which is only available for a short time in Spring.

HOUSE-MADE SOBA WITH KYOTO BAMBOO SHOOT TEMPURA
The lightly fried bamboo shoots were delicious, delicate yet clear in their flavor.

SHREDDED PHYLLO WRAPPED YOMOGI NAMA-FU, HOUSE-MADE WORCESTER SAUCE
GRILLED CABBAGE, ARUGULA SPROUTS AND WATERMELON RADISH
SNAP PEAS WITH PARSNIP PUREE
SAUTEED GLASS NOODLES, KINUGASA MUSHROOMS AND LEEKS IN CORN HUSK
Another assortment of many different items is one dish. The shredded phyllo was an interesting preparation, adding a crunch to the gluten nama-fu that was different than just frying it.

Inside the corn husk was the richly flavored glass noodles. This was my favorite part of the ensemble and I would have preferred more of it.

The table being set for the main course of the evening.

DONABE CLAY POT COOKED RICE WITH KYOTO BAMBOO SHOOTS, RED MISO SOUP, HOUSE-MADE PICKLES
The aroma from the pot was quite intense. This was a wonderful preparation of the fragrant bamboo shoots. In fact, I think this is a great preparation to feature any fragrant, earthy ingredient, such as mushrooms.

A bowl of the rice along with the pickles. The textures worked beautifully to give it some contrast. Everything was cooked just right, allowing the bamboo shoots to retain their delicate flavor while the aroma permeated the rice.

The red miso soup was hearty and a good way to finish the savory portion of the meal.

SAKURA MOCHI
I'm usually not that big on the whole sweet and salty combination, but the salty sakura leaf did add some depth to a nice, not overly chewy, mochi.

CANDIES BY KYOTO SUETOMI
I think those were meant to look like fiddlehead ferns, but can easily be mistaken for dog treat bone shapes.

MATCHA

It was a wonderful meal that celebrated the spring season, as one would expect from Kajitsu. I really should go there more often, as I always leave satisfied and the price is very reasonable.

The NBA Finals 2011-2012 (sport, gambling)

Defense wins championships. Good defense also takes a whole lot more effort than good offense. Which, in hindsight, is exactly what happened in the conference finals. Both older teams just couldn't keep up with their respective opponents. When the shots were falling, they were right in it. If you look back at the stats for both series, both the Spurs and Celtics only won quarters where they scored a lot of points. But these two teams, well known for their defense during their title runs, could not shut down their opponents when they needed to. They simply ran out of gas.

I don't foresee that happening when the Thunder and the Heat go at it in the NBA Finals. With fresh young legs, I expect stellar defense from both sides. Miami had one of the best defenses in the league all season, and an underrated Thunder defense matches up well against the Heat.

NBA Finals Bet 1: Bet the under, especially the games in Miami.


Everyone saw the impressive numbers that Rondo put up in the Boston-Miami series, but in many sports analysts' eyes, he was still not Boston's MVP. That's because of the pivotal role Kevin Garnett played on defense. I still believe that Bosh's return was the main reason for Miami's advance because he was able to keep Garnett from just defending the middle and helping. However, the Thunder have two big defensive players down low in Perkins and Ibaka, and I don't think Miami will be able to score enough over the course of the series.

NBA Finals Bet 2: Bet OKC to win the series, most odds are around -175.


Once I decided that OKC was my pick to win the whole thing, I began to think about how the series would play out. So I looked up the exact games odds and found these:

MIA Heat win 4 - 0 +1850
MIA Heat win 4 - 1 +615
MIA Heat win 4 - 2 +750
MIA Heat win 4 - 3 +725
OKC Thunder win 4 - 0 +1050
OKC Thunder win 4 - 1 +685
OKC Thunder win 4 - 2 +305
OKC Thunder win 4 - 3 +285

I was at first caught off guard by the big disparity between the Thunder winning 4-1 and 4-2, but then I realized that the NBA Finals are 2-3-2 instead of 2-2-1-1-1. This format change is really significant in a sport where home court matters so much. It's often said that this format favors the team with home court more than the usual format, because it is harder to win 3 in a row, even if they're all at home. This sounds reasonable to me, so my first thought was why they make this format change for the finals. After some thought, I think I have the answer. This format makes it much more likely that the series will go 6 games or more (and therefore more revenue for the league). Just as it is hard for even a home team to win 3 in a row, it is also very hard for a team to win 2 out of 3 road games. This makes it very difficult for the series to end in 5.

But there was something else about those odds that didn't seem to make sense to me. It felt to me that a 4-2 win was more likely than a 4-3 win in an uneven series. Looking back at past finals results, there are indeed more 4-2 series results than 4-3 series results. Given this and the previous information about it being difficult for series to end in 5 games or less, my final pick is:

NBA Finals Bet 3: Bet OKC to win exactly 4-2. Anything above +250 seems like great value to me, but lines like these vary a lot by sportsbook.

Either way, I expect a very entertaining series. One that I can enjoy even without any wagers.

Jungsik: A Restaurant in Need of a Hotel? (food)

Please note that this meal took place a few months ago, before it got reviewed in the New York Times. It's entirely possible that my comments and concerns below have already been addressed.

I normally don't go to high end restaurants for the first time until they've been in business for at least 9 months. I want to make sure that they are not just a flash in the pan, and I want them to work out any kinks in service so that I can get the experience that they really want to deliver. There are some exceptions, and this was one of them. I had heard very good things about the food from trusted sources, and given its unique cuisine, I wasn't sure it would last 9 months. Even after going and enjoying food that was at times remarkable, I'm still not sure about the restaurant's longevity.

The service was green to say the least, and that's being very kind. It's possible that our server was a trainee, but the lack of knowledge and skill was very conspicuous. I still remember a few of the errors. When we were served our black cod entree, it was described as cod, and when I asked to confirm that it was black cod (which is sable, and not actually cod), our server said that he would have to ask what kind of cod it was. Later, when I asked if our Korean green tea was loose-leaf picked, he had to go back and ask what brand the tea was. And then at the end, he flubbed around for quite a bit as he tried to transport our mignardises using two spoons as tongs.

The most glaring thing about our meal there was that during prime time on a Thursday night (prime business dinner night), half the restaurant was still empty. Of those who were there, only two tables had men in suits. If you're going to charge these kinds of prices ($120ish set meals), you just cannot survive (especially in Tribeca) if you aren't getting business/client dinners.

That's why I think the best solution for them is to find a nice hotel that they can partner with. The hotel staff can certainly help with the skilled server issue, while the built-in guest clientele is much needed for the restaurant. The restaurant that I feel it should draw the most comparison to is Asiate. Just like Jungsik, many will bungle the pronunciation of the name, but at least Asiate can simply be referred to as the asian restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Sure, the chef might have to do a few more "conventional" "asian-fusion" type dishes, but it would still be a great platform for introducing people to his unique style of cuisine.

Regardless of its durability as a business, the food is in fact delicious and at times quite remarkable.

The tasting menu begins with an array of amuse bouche. Pictured here are grape salad, tofu, sweet potato, and fried chicken. All very delicious bites of food.

For our friend with a gluten allergy, they made her grilled chicken instead of fried, and this mini version of their four seasons salad.

Bulgogi sliders. I do not know if that little sliver underneath the bulgogi was cheese, and I wonder whether they know that that's also a no-no for some Jewish diners they might have.

BIBIM - TOMATO, BASIL SORBET
For our first course, we all chose the signature bibim salad. When mixed together, this provided a wonderful array of fresh flavors, textures, and temperature contrasts.

SEA URCHIN - KOREAN SEAWEED RICE, CRISPY QUINOA

Here is the rice and quinoa ready to be mixed with the sea urchin. Mixing is a large part of some of the better dishes here, incorporating flavors and textures into unique combinations.

CHAMPS-ELYSEES - FOIE GRAS, KIMCHI
The power of mixing was most evident here in this dish, where the foie provided a very unique creaminess to the crunchiness of the rest of the ingredients. The dish was rich without being heavy.

ANCHOVY - TRADITIONAL CLEAR BROTH

ARCTIC CHAR - KIMCHI SABAYON

CLASSIC FISH - BLACK COD, RED PEPPER SOY

TRIBECA LOBSTER - BUTTER POACHED, KOREAN MUSTARD
The lobster was poached well enough, but I just didn't feel that the mustard sauce went well with it, even though I'm a fan of mustard.

CRISPY SNAPPER - SPICY CILANTRO SAUCE
A very unique preparation, with the crispiness coming from frying the scales.

FIVE SENSE PORK BELLY - SPICY, CRUNCHY, SOUR, SOFT, SWEET
Unfortunately, we felt that at least one of the senses fell flat as the pork belly wasn't crunchy enough, and I don't recall much sourness.

CLASSIC GALBI - BEEF SHORT RIB, RICE CAKE BALL
This had a very good flavor, but I wasn't able to determine that it was better than any of the myriad galbi/short rib preparations out there. I did like the rice cake ball, and liked the texture much more than say the rice cakes in Momofuku's dishes.

PREDESSERT
Don't recall, but nothing remarkable.

GREEN TEA CREMEUX - SWEET RED BEAN, ROASTED SOY ICE CREAM
Good assortment of "asian" dessert flavors, though I didn't find the textures to be special and would've preferred a heartier roasted flavor in the ice cream.

PUMPKIN PANNA COTTA - CINNAMON CRUMBLE, AMARETTO PANNA COTTA

APPLE RICE WINE BABA - CALVADOS CREAM
This was a rather interesting dessert in terms of texture and temperature, but the flavors are not my favorite.

MIGNARDISES

My favorites were the appetizer and rice/noodle dishes, where the power of mixing the ingredients created unique and remarkable combinations. The proteins were good, but not at the level of a restaurant with these kinds of aspirations. Which goes back to the main point. What does this restaurant aspire to be? If it aspires to be Per Se, it needs a reality check. If it aspires to be a very good restaurant that allows the chef to introduce people to his unique cuisine, I feel that it can be done. However, I feel that they cannot do it alone on the path that they are currently on.