Surprised they didn’t use Brooklyn Kura sake kasu for proximity and freshness (as well as supporting local). What else was in the kasu jiru (what’s the stock they use and condiments?)
Midorikawa Junmai was my first entry into jizake, and what got me hooked.
Manzairaku is now available on the West Coast, they were pushing for a stronger East Coast presence for a while…just not a fun of the overseas packaging/label. I wonder who puts together the beverage list for Shoji?
I’ve been able to get a little kasu from Brooklyn Kura, but last I checked in they don’t officially sell it. They were offering to restaurants that buy their sake. I asked Chef Derek Wilcox about this and he said he wasn’t aware they were doing this. Shoji doesn’t stock Brooklyn Kura so maybe one other reason why they don’t get the kasu from there. To be honest, I’ve tried BK sake on a number of occasions and I just can’t get into it (or maybe I don’t get it yet). Tasting the moromi and shiboritate available at the tap room was fun. Does Den have distribution on the East coast yet?
Kasu-jiru was just kasu, dashi & some diced chives. Didn’t ask what the composition of the dashi was, but I would guess based on taste that it was classic kombu/katsuboshi. When you do 7 years at Kikunoi, your dashi game is bound to be strong. This soup was amazing. Seemingly simple ingredients showing incredible complexity and very satisfying. It tasted like there was miso in there, but chef said there wasn’t. Must have been some salt.
I think the initial beverage list was put together by the owner and the chef, most likely with some input from some other friends in the industry. They currently have a GM who is the effective beverage manager, and she has helped evolve the list. The wine list is short but sweet, with focus on natural wines. Wish they had more by the glass, but I bet most people coming in want sake.
Here’s the sake list from November, not much has changed since then.
Thanks for the sake menu, interesting selections!
Den does not have a presence outside of Northern California yet with the exception of Shibumi carrying them which seemed to be a bit of a stretch. But if you enjoyed Den more than Brooklyn Kura’s offerings, then that is very telling.
Interesting conversation between Japan Eats podcast host Akiko Katayama and chef of Shoji Derek Wilcox: Mastering Sushi and Kaiseki in Japan | Heritage Radio Network
Special dinner at Shoji last night. Chef Derek Wilcox hosted Kenya Sakai, who designed and, with Chef Wilcox, implemented a wonderful mid-Spring kaiseki meal using mostly imported Japanese ingredients. They previously worked together at Kikunoi. Course titles are my best guesses based on what little I know about kaiseki. Course descriptions are from a printed menu, augmented with what I learned from the chefs during the meal. Photos by me. If you want to see much better ones, go lurk on Instagram, where more talented food photographers hawk their wares.
Sakizuke (先附): appetizer
Hotaru ika (firefly squid), angelica and fiddle head ferns with chopped kinome (sansho leaf) and kinome jelly. Angelica is called tara no me in Japanese and fiddleheads are either warabi, zenmai or kogomi. But since these were all foraged locally, let’s call them by their english names. These squid are at their peak right now, chunk full of guts. The flavors of kinome were a great contrast.
Hassun (八寸): the second course, which sets the seasonal theme.
Clockwise from top: Tomato enveloped in a clam tosazu (vinegar dressing), aburaage (fried strips of tofu) & spinach, roe-bearing iidako (baby or just small? octopus), smoked mackeral summer roll, grilled beans marinated in saikyo miso. The octopus with roe tasted like a the firefly squid but with the flavor increased by several orders of magnitude.
Mukōzuke (向付): a sliced dish of seasonal sashimi.
Tai (red sea bream), katsuo (skipjack tuna), sumi-ika (squid), kinmedai (golden eye snapper) and chutoro from Iwate. The katsuo was topped with ponzu, the other fish could be dipped into either tosa soy sauce or a sansho oil with sea salt.
Maine uni served over rice with nori, daikon and chives.
bonus mukōzuke? another name for this course? dunno…
Futamono (蓋物): a “lidded dish”; typically a soup.
Takenoko (bamboo shoots) from Kagoshima, wakame and kinome.
Tasted like corn! Dashi game is strong.
Yakimono (焼物): a grilled dish
Amadai (tilefish) grilled with its scales, nanohana (rapeseed, like broccoli rabe), dehydrated hatcho miso and a sesame dressing.
Nimono (煮物): a simmered dish
Poached awabi (abalone), mushrooms, kuwai (arrowhead bulb), shungiku (chrysanthemum) and ginger in a thickened dashi.
Naka-choko (中猪口): a palate-cleanser; often a light, acidic soup
Asparagus udon, nasturtium leaf and flower, myoga and shrimp oil. I’m guessing again on the name of this course; it was very paradoxically packed with flavor but light and refreshing. The dashi was very smokey and united the asparagus and shrimp oil. People were asking for seconds.
Shiizakana (強肴): a substantial dish.
Grilled Omi-gyu beef tenderloin, soy sauce-preserved sansho berries, winter truffle-potato puree, spring salad with yuzu dressing.
Gohan (御飯): a rice dish made with seasonal ingredients. x2!!!
Sakura ebi, gobo and onion, fried
Anago and green onion “oyakodon” - eel ‘n’ egg?
Kō no mono (香の物): seasonal pickled vegetables.
Daikon, radish, napa cabbage and kombu. All made in house by Sakai-san during his weeks in NY leading up to this dinner.
Tome-wan (止椀): a miso-based or vegetable soup***
This was aka (red) miso soup, sorry no photo.
Mizumono (水物): a seasonal dessert
Fresh strawberries, strawberry-champagne granita, strawberry jelly and confit with mint and orange blossoms.
Chilled apricot kernal “tofu”. Ugly(?) but seriously delicious. Wow.
I was expecting mostly an almond-like flavor, like what you get from peach pits. This had a little of that, but also a very delicate apricot flavor.
Does this portend a shift from sushi/kappo to more formal kaiseki at Shoji? While this meal was fantastic, I love Derek’s sushi so much, I hope this was the kick-off to special events, rather than a harbinger of a major change in direction. Congratulations to Sakai-san, for pulling off an amazing meal and who literally just days ago became a father!
Postscript: certain people might be curious what was drunk…
Amabuki Omachi Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo - good to start, but I drank too slow, it warmed up and I’m wasn’t so enamored with its profile at room temp.
Tedorigawa “Kinka” Nama Daiginjo - this was very easy to like, thought it paired well with the tilefish, abalone and udon.
Mimurosugi Junmai Daiginjo - glad to have tried it, wished I had a junmai or something bolder for the beef and donburi dishes.
I do hope he does this more often, besides Okuda, not sure where else to go for this style of Japanese.
Great video on Shoji’s chef from the Eater Omakase series:
I went last night and enjoyed it. Haven’t had high end sushi in New York for many years (long gone are the days when I would hang out at Kurumazushi), so I have no idea how it compares to other higher end Japanese places in New York, but I found it a lovely experience for what it was.
Nice tranquil environment with jazz in the background. I had a seat right in front of the chef and found him very affable and it was interesting to hear him talk about his time in Japan and the differences between living in Kyoto versus Tokyo.
One dish that was interesting and which I had never had (because it’s a new thing) was Alaskan uni. Chef served that first and then Hokkaido uni. Vastly preferred the Hokkaido uni.
My favorite dish of the night was the fish bone broth. I complimented the chef on it and he said it is the hardest soup to master.
They have but a single wine by the glass — a white from France whose name I forgot— but it was quite good and went well with the food.
After paying $240 for dinner, I found it somewhat off putting to be charged $10 for a small cup of green tea. I actually wanted a second cup, but I was afraid they were going to charge me another $10, so I skipped it.
I’ve been very pleased with the recent higher end sushi options in NYC. Pleased enough that I’m less inclined to have sushi when I’m back in LA. Others I recommend in mid-high to high that I think you’ll enjoy
Mid-High
Juku
Omakase by Tatsu
Ash Room @ Sushi Noz
Lunch at Sushi Ginza Onodera
High
Hinoki Room @ Sushi Noz
Amane
Noda
Okuda (Kaiseki)
Dinner at Sushi Ginza Onodera
Chef Wilcox actually mentioned Okuda last night to someone who was asking him about kaiseki in New York. Would love to try all of them on the list other than Sushi Ginza Onodera which I feel I could do in L.A. if I was so inclined, although maybe the New York one is better.
I just happened to be down in Tribeca and the coronavirus scare allowed me to pop into 69 Leonard at the last minute. The first seating ended up being full except for one seat, but the chef mentioned that business during the week had really been down. Other people in the restaurant industry in New York also told me that business is really being affected.
So it’s a pretty good time to score last minute reservations and support your local chefs.
Had been planning a long overdue dine-in visit… alas this will do for now.
The Saba Bozushi (Kyoto-style?) was a highlight, especially the rice. Nice firm grains and not clumped together. As you can see in the picture each individual grain almost looks like its floating in unison. Nicely seasoned with chives and ginger too. Excellent!
Cool!
Very surprised that they are not selling beverage like sake by the bottle at least from their website, to go, to help increase their bottom line, that is allowed and done by restaurants in California (so long as food is purchased together). Is this not allowed in NY state?
Yes they’re all doing it. For Shoji you place the beverage order over the phone.
Looking at that picture was bittersweet as Shoji was my last pre-pandemic meal right before the shutdown. People were just starting to get scared and business was off, which was why they squeezed me in at the last minute after initially saying no.
Being able to dine like that now seems like a dream from a different world.
I hear you. The Japanese food scene in the city has really been on fire the last two years across various genres with more in the pipeline too. The one I was really looking forward to this year was Yoshino which was literally weeks away from opening before the shutdowns were instituted.
Sigh…
@PorkyBelly Aburi Sanma bozushi served with sanma liver sauce and sliced sudachi
Nice Kasutera tamago
how was the shari and neta to shari ratio?
Good ratio. Only complaint today - shari a bit too wet. Prior order shari had better moisture level.
Legit Gaijin!
RIP Shoji. Long live Shion.
