Sunday, September 28, 2014

Danji - NYC

Himachi

You know when you go to one of those places and they are all like "you need to order 2-3 things per person because portions are small" and you roll your eyes and think to yourself "pshh they are just trying to get me to spend more money" Yeah? Danji is NOT one of those places. You really DO need to order 2-3 things per person and honestly I would do 3 each.

I went with a big group of people and we clearly missed the little paper sign in the window that said their system was down so it was "CASH ONLY" Yeah for 7 people and a huge bill, not so convenient. A little sign in the window doesn't really cut it.

DECOR
Rustic and intimate...very romantic. Just some thoughts that come to mind. This place is small and does not accept reservations (they do only for parties of 6 or more). It also has a Michelin Star (Korean restaurant with a Michelin star? You heard me).

WINE
I had a glass of the Gruner veltliner der pollenhof-erwin at only $9 a glass. You betcha it was German. German wine? I think it was my first time trying German wine. She brought us some to sample before ordering and I literally asked "Was that water?" It was SOOO smooth. Honestly the smoothest wine I've ever had and so cheap. I am going to look into getting a case of wine for myself as I loved it THAT much. SUPER cheap too. $9 a glass? We aren't talking happy hour people.

FOOD - Tapas style
+ Yellowtail sashimi with spicy sauce - Holy crap. I LOVE me some yellowtail. This was a unique dish because it had a spicy sauce below the yellowtail but the yellowtail was wrapped around some daikon (same taste as a radish, yum). It's a very small portion as the 4 pieces are rather small so I would suggest you ordering this as your own dish and whoever you are with ordering this as well.
+ Calamari - This was actually my favorite dish. Calamari is calamari. It's fried and usually comes with a various array of side sauces and blahblahblah. Hard to really change it up or make it unique but this special blend of seasoning made this my favorite dish of the night. It was SOOO good. This was a bigger portion and can be shared between 2-3 people. Make sure you get the scallion pancake dipping sauce to accompany your calamari (in addition to the sauce they provide with the dish already). YUM.
+ Scallion pancake - Very delicious. It's hard to break apart with chop sticks and I probably looked funny attempting to break it into smaller pieces but yeeeeah. The sauce on the side with this is AMAZING. I asked them to bring me a side of this sauce to dip my calamari in (which I stated above).
+ "KFC" spicy chicken wings - These are spicy. Listen, I'm from Buffalo. We "invented" the chicken wing. I know me some good chicken and these were good. They definitely have my stamp of approval.

Then came the awkward ending when we were told it was CASH ONLY. Ugh. Disastrous ending to a wonderful evening. Definitely recommend this place!

Danji

346 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019
(212) 586-2880
DO NOT ACCEPT RESERVATIONS FOR PARTIES UNDER 6.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

15 East - NYC

Shrimp (omakase) 

The first day that I arrived to NYC (after moving back from Miami), I told a friend of mine to take me for good sushi. In Miami, we don't really have that many great sushi spots. We have several hole-in-the-wall type of places which are okay...we have the chains (for example, Zuma) which are amazing but not unique. However, we do have one which is called NAOE and it delivers an Omakase experience but honestly that is probably the only place. It has 8 seats total and you can only make a reservation through OpenTable. It's safe to say that NAOE is a very unique experience. The word "Omakase" means that you leave it up to the chef, sort of like a tasting menu. I didn't quite fancy the sushi that much at NAOE. I went twice and I really wanted to enjoy it but the flavors were just so unique and new to me (the fish is imported from Japan amongst other places) that it was hard for my tastebuds to enjoy it. Some pieces I did like but the majority were too fishy or just too new for me to fully love.

So...we walked into 15 East and my friend said one word: Omakase! Then of course we ordered wine & sake. Like magic, the hands behind the sushi bar got to work. The fish was beautifully presented and EXTREMELY delicious. I would even recommend this to someone who doesn't like sushi! I don't know what it was but this was a completely different experience than I had at NAOE. The fish was just out of this world. Maybe it was more local or just prepared better. I don't know...but I was absolutely surprised at how much I enjoyed the fish. The last piece presented to us was shrimp. Not just any shrimp. It was alive. Did I eat it alive?  No. However, you could definitely taste how fresh that piece was being that it was alive just 15 seconds before entering my mouth. I definitely will return. Maybe I will try the dining room this time and check out that aspect of this restaurant. I am very impressed.


To book a reservation at 15 East, the easiest way is through OpenTable


15 East

15 E 15th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 647-0015
www.15eastrestaurant.com

About Me

After graduating from the University of Miami with a BA in Psychology and a minor in marketing, I returned back to the Big Apple. My intense love of food started when I moved to New York City in 2008 where I worked for a fashion designer. After growing up in Buffalo, where, let's face it, food isn't exactly novel or unique, the ever changing food options in NYC exhilarated and captivated me. In Miami, it became official. I graduated to "foodie" status.

If I could have one last meal on earth it would have to be omakase (chefs choice) style sushi (at the sushi counter). I hope to share my love of both fashion and food with the world!