sakagura

Okay, so the real reason I started this blog is to extol the yumminess that is Sakagura - an izakaya located in the basement of an office building in midtown. Sounds strange, and actually, it looks strange from the outside. But once you pass through the weird staircase/hallway and into restaurant, it’s another world – one that’s out of a vacation video of Japanese tranquility.

My friends and I called for a reservation earlier that day and were shown to our table as soon as we arrived – even with one of our friends missing – a rare phenomenon in the city. Usually you cringe under the hostess’s evil eye and start to break out in sweat because you’re about to lose the table you waited 45 minutes for. Not Sakagura, don’t think I’ve met nicer servers/hostesses anywhere else.

We ordered about 10 dishes for the four of us. Can’t remember the dish names due to my inability to recall foreign pronunciations and the unnecessary fourth bottle of Sapporo I consumed. But here are the highlights…

My favorite was a chilled soup with uni (sea urchin roe) dotted with salmon roe and topped with a poached egg. The broth was deliciously cold and fragrant with bonito and kelp. The salmon roe popped softly in my mouth, gave bursts of saltiness to the delicate uni and broth. The complementary texture of poached egg and uni was offset by the salmon roe. The soup was both light and rich at the same time.

Another outstanding dish was a thinly sliced radish salad with dressing made with Japanese mayo and flavored with seaweed and shiso. Radish tends to be spicy when eaten raw. But the pungentness cut through the heavier mayo, keeping the dish light and refreshing. Cod fish roe added that lovely crunchy texture and salty sea flavor to the dish.

Being the biggest (piggiest) supporter of anything pork and pork fat related, I had to try their stewed fatty pork – and was not disappointed. The pork, stewed in a sweet soy sauce marinade, melted in my mouth, sweet silky fat lined the tender meat... mmm…

Another notable was rice balls wrapped in mackerel and then grilled. The naturally sweet rice was enhanced by the mackerel.

You can’t go to Sakagura without trying the innovative desserts and truffles. Black sesame crème brulee. Need I say more?