Back to Takesushi: No Fluke (food)

Pun sort of intended.

After proclaiming Takesushi to be "the best value for quality seafood in New York with a cheap entry price," it was clear a revisit was in order to confirm that it wasn't a fluke. I would have been back sooner, but this ridiculous cold weather has made be a bit anti-social of late. After last night's meal, I definitely stand by my previous claim.


ANKIMO (MONKFISH LIVER) $7
AMUSE: CHILLED EGGPLANT SIMMERED WITH GINGER
The meal began as it did last time with some simple and delicious eggplant and an order of monkfish liver. I thought the texture was better this time around, and the condiments were noticeably spicier which worked well.


TORO KAMA (GRILLED FATTY TUNA COLLAR/CHEEK) $10
Yellowtail collar was also listed on the menu, but they ran out, so we ordered two of these so that we each got one. Similar to the tuna belly last time, this was a sizeable piece of moist, fatty flesh, cooked through but still juicy and tender. The bottom had a thin layer of complete char, which may have been necessary to achieve the excellent crunch on the top. As long as you take note of it when digging in with chopsticks, it won't have an adverse effect on the rest of the deliciousness.


FUGU (BLOWFISH) SET - SASHIMI AND TEMPURA $15
I ordered the set both because it was great value and because my friend had never had fugu before. While it was all delicious and done well, I much prefer the meatier tempura and will probably order only that next time instead of the set.


MAINE LOBSTER SASHIMI AND SUSHI SET $27
The set consisted of a lobster soup made with the inside of the head and legs, sashimi of the tail meat, and the claw meat cooked and made into an 8 piece sushi roll topped with scallions and tobiko. The soup was on the mild side, but still had some nice sweet umami. The sashimi, while not the sweetest lobster I've ever had, was cut very well, retaining the meatiness and the crunch of the flesh. The cooked lobster roll was simple but good.

OMAKASE SASHIMI ("B" PREMIUM SET) $59
If the slices pictured above seem thinner than what you would normally expect, please note that the picture above was HALF of the omakase sashimi. At this point in the evening, we'd already eaten a good amount of food, so we opted to get one omakase to split between the two of us. The chef was nice enough to give us exactly duplicate plates of the diverse selection. Kumamoto oyster, hotate (scallop), aji (horse mackerel), bluefin toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), mirugai (geoduck giant clam), iwashi (sardine), Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin), and tai (sea bream). Everything was excellent, but the pieces that stood out to me were the scallop (very sweet), aji (fresh and not too strong), iwashi (the sardine wrapped around shiso and cucumber created an interesting and pleasant flavor), and toro (see below). The uni was nice and creamy but not as crazy sweet as some others I've had.

TORO SUSHI $9 EACH
The toro was so buttery that we decided to order a piece of sushi each, which used up all their remaining toro (sorry to whoever ate after us). Even though it was a whole slice of fish, it melted in my mouth as if it was chopped up toro.

If we did not splurge for the extra toro sushi, the total damage for 2 would have come in under $200 including tax and tip, with 2 bowls of rice, and 2 large Kirin beers. I'm not saying that the fish here rivals that at 15 East, but the overall quality was still very good and tremendous value given the sheer variety and amount of food we ate.

Takesushi
43-46 42nd St
Sunnyside, Queens

Midseason Thoughts on the 2013-2014 NBA Season (sport)

With the NBA All-Star weekend coming up, this seemed like a good time to share some thoughts now that we're a little past halfway through the season. I specifically want to talk about a couple of stories that I don't think are getting enough press.

Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio

Minnesota is an astounding 1-12 in games decided by 4 points or less. There was some mention of this streak when it got to 0-11, but people seem to have forgotten about it once the Wolves won their first close game. I believe the biggest reason for the Wolves' poor performance in close games is Ricky Rubio's poor decision-making. He's their best ball handler, so the ball is almost always in his hands to start possessions late in the fourth quarter. But while he is a tremendously skilled passer, his game management skills leave a lot to be desired. He reminds me a lot of Jason Williams (aka White Chocolate).

Now, Rubio is young and decision making tends to improve with time. Many forget that there was a time when Tony Parker was frequently benched in fourth quarters. Even the aforementioned Jason Williams became a valuable piece of a championship team later in his career. But it's also looking less and less likely that Kevin Love will continue to wait for Rubio to develop. While management picked up Rubio's 2014-15 option, the fans have to be worried about a future Wolves team without Love and with Rubio on a max contract extension.

Can the San Antonio Spurs turn it on before the playoffs?

While the Spurs currently have the 2nd best record in the West and the 4th best record overall, one can't help but be worried about the fact that they haven't been able to beat a single top tier team. San Antonio has already lost to Houston three times, and their only win against the other top 6 teams in the league was a home win against a Clippers team without Chris Paul. It's often been said that a veteran team just needs to get hot in time for the playoffs, but only two games separate the 2nd and 5th seeds in the West right now. Given their performance against the other top teams, it wouldn't surprise me if the Spurs don't end up with home court for the playoffs, or get upset in the first round even if they do.

Team likely to make a run in the second half

I really like the Golden State Warriors to sneak into the upper half in the West and maybe even go deep into the playoffs. They currently have the 4th best point differential in the West, despite having played the most road games and the fewest games against the Eastern conference among the playoff teams in the West. They are also one of only 4 teams in the NBA to average over 100ppg on offense and under 100ppg on defense. Their ability to play lower scoring, defense oriented games make them a dangerous team in the playoffs when the pace is often slower. I think they are definitely a team to keep an eye on after the all star break.

Update: Revisiting the EMP Bar (food)

When discussing the tasting menu at Eleven Madison Park, much of the focus is often on the elaborate, interactive, shared courses such as the carrot tartare or the smoked sturgeon (both of which have been replaced with new courses on the tasting menu). However, many of the individual courses throughout are still updated fairly frequently according to the season, and are available on the bar menu. In fact, even though I was there only a few weeks ago, many of the dishes I'm writing about may already be off the menu.

The ability to have dinner at the EMP bar is great for those unable to do the full tasting menu in the dining room, whether because of cost, time commitment, or the difficulty in getting a reservation. The menu set up was pretty much the same as when I last ate at the bar, although there were only 3 starters, 4 mains, and 2 desserts to choose from. However, the smoked sturgeon course from the tasting menu was available for 2 or more people at $75pp.


CHARLES DE GAULLE: CHARTREUSE, SALTED HOT CHOCOLATE, ANGOSTURA MARSHMALLOWS
HOT TODDY: ISLAY SCOTCH, BLENDED SCOTCH, BENEDICTINE, HONEY, LEMON, AND SPICES
With the record cold winter, hot cocktails were the perfect way to warm up. Both were delicious takes on classics, with the CDG rich in chocolate and the toddy delicate and soothing.

PAPPY VAN WINKLE 20 YEAR BOURBON WHISKEY
EMP is also one of the few restaurants in NYC carrying Pappy, with the 20-year coming in at $45. I believe their sister restaurant, the NoMad, also carries Pappy, but I don't know the price.


BREAD AND BUTTER
The bread was still excellent, although I thought the crust was firmer this time around. The new hybrid butter, however, was extraordinary. As we had ordered the venison entree, the butter served was mixed with venison fat and chicken liver. It tasted like an amazing chicken liver pate with a rich aftertaste that was somehow even worse for my health because it was mostly butter.


FOIE GRAS; SMOKED TERRINE WITH POTATO, GREENS, AND BLACK TRUFFLE
Pretty much exactly the same as when I had it a year and a half ago, although the shape has change a bit.

OCTOPUS; SALAD WITH PUNTARELLA AND PEAR
While the flavors were all there, my friend thought that the octopus itself was too uniformly soft, and would have preferred a char on it for some texture contrast.


SQUASH; ROASTED WITH CRANBERRIES, PUMPKIN SEEDS, AND SOURDOUGH
This was one of the shared interactive courses for the winter tasting menu which they generously offered to have us try. One of the chefs presents the squash whole, then lifts the lid to reveal a delightful aroma through the puffs of steam. The dish itself was delicious and featured different preparations of squash, providing a great snapshot of the best of fall/winter.

VEAL; ROASTED WITH CAULIFLOWER, CHESTNUTS, AND SMOKED BONE MARROW
The veal dish seemed simple in concept, but the flavors and textures were well put together. The smoked bone marrow was a unique and excellent touch.

VENISON; ROASTED WITH PEARS AND SUNCHOKES
Even before I took a bite, this dish won me over with its aroma. I haven't had a lot of venison, but I'd never encountered a venison dish that had such an amazing aroma of meatiness. The meat itself was very tender without being too soft, and had a very clean taste with just a hint of gaminess/muskiness.


APPLE; SORBET WITH BAY LEAF, CREME BRULEE, AND HIBISCUS
MINT; SORBET WITH FERNET BRANCA AND CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Both desserts were delicious and featured an array of textures. I thought the mint sorbet and the presence of actual mint was standout and a great way to highlight a classic pairing in mint and chocolate.