2 posts from May 2008

I have tried to describe the room as bare bones minimalist and funky, but I think the photos do a better job than just words. Notice the wine bottles on top of the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining area, the tatami screens that shield you from the other diners, the fluorescent lighting, the prints of Hollywood stars from a by-gone era and the exposed pipes.

 

Ashima, Kaz’s wife, is the only server and she graciously showed us to our regular table right next to the entrance of the kitchen closed off by a canvas curtain. We had brought our own wine as well as wine glasses.

Appetizer Plate – A potato salad on a thin slice of cucumber topped with a deep fried anchovy “wafer”, eel on a tofu cube, asparagus with walnut paste, melon and proscuitto, hard boiled quail egg half with caviar, vegetable gelee “terrine”, tomato with mozzarella cubes and seaweed, yellowtail sashimi, baby octopus and a smoked salmon roll wrapped in daikon with avocado.

 

Thinly sliced Beef Sashimi from the throat. Since there were 4 of us, this came from 2 cows instead of just one.

 

Beef Steak Tartar. I am not sure you can tell from the picture, but the beef was cut into thin strips about 1½ inches long and ¼ inch wide, which served to intensify the beef experience. As before, the tartar is mixed by the diner.

 

Beef Liver Sashimi. I am not a fan of liver and was expecting to not enjoy this. Was I wrong – the taste had no resemblance to liver as I had anticipated. It was luxurious, unctuous and in a word delicious.

 

Ashima then set the hibachi in the center of the table. At first, it was not hot enough, but with some adjusting from Ashima, all was right with the world. Now, it is beef orgy as platter after platter of beef is presented and the diner does his own cooking – rare being the optimum choice.

 

 

Some of the beef dishes are served in its pristine state and some are marinated. Depending on the cut as well as how it is “prepared”, we are instructed which sauce to use with each cut.

Beef Tongue – the only dipping sauce to be used is lemon.

 

“Regular” Ribeye with onions, mushrooms and peppers

 

Ashima then presents a marinated tomato salad and a plate of raw vegetables with miso paste (I think) that helps to cut the beef overload.

 

“Inside” of the Ribeye

 

Around this time a bowl of rice is presented.

Short ribs

Skirt Steak

 

Ice cream

  

I am not an expert on beef and the various cuts, but what is extraordinary about this meal is the marked differences in flavor from one cut to the other. Hopefully, I have identified the cuts properly. The quality of the beef is just extraordinary and does come from an American rancher. I also should mention that I am not a beef person and generally prefer fish and small amuse type dishes in the style of Keller or Kinch, but for some reason I find the experience at Totoraku very satisfying. It is not something that I would want to do on a weekly basis, but it is a spectacular way to fully appreciate beef in all its guises.

 

Wines for the evening

1.  '00  Boisson Renard, Puilly fume, Dagueneau...classic Dagueneau flavor, forward and assertive...clean, perfect finish.

 

2.  '00 Y. Gangloff, Cotie Rotie, La Barbarine--great, dense, full bodied Rhone.  It doesn't get any better.

 

3.   '97 Ridge Mataro, this classic Mudeverde, was very well made and perfectly aged in our cellars.   It was very fullbodied and assertive, great flavors.

 

All in all, a wonderful evening with great company, food, and wine.

 

 

 

 

At 6:45, John, a friend and I were seated directly in front of Hiro, completely ready for our adventure. I am hoping that I have identified most of the sushi correctly, but by the sushi portion of the meal, I had already had enough wine so please forgive me if I misidentify an item.The front of the house problems have been solved as Hiro’s sister, Yoshie, is now handling everything; she is wonderful. Hiro’s Korean sous chef has left and is now working at The French Laundry (Corey Lee spirited him away!) Hiro has enlisted his brother-in-law as his sous so Urasawa is truly a family affair.

Hiro-san was as friendly as ever – down-to-earth, warm and willing to explain each and every dish. (As I said earlier, any mistakes in descriptions are my fault entirely.)

Flower Arrangement

1. Okinawan Spring Seaweed with tiny, little shrimp and topped with Gold Flakes. This was to be consumed in one gulp – spring in a bowl!

2. Kinuta Maki – this was a very labor intensive preparation. Red Snapper and Shrimp is laid on nori with shiso and then very thinly sliced daikon encases the fish to resemble a traditional maki roll. It is topped with finely grated yuzu and a slice of pickeled ginger.

3. Goma tofu, Kyoto-style. Tofu made from sesame seeds, stuffed with sweet Uni (urchin "roe"), topped with freshly grated wasabi and gold leaf, served in a light dashi seasoned with shoyu and mirin. I love this dish.

4. Toro Tataki- Ohtoro, from Spain, lightly seared topped with Shiso no Hana flowers, Shiso buds, Radish and Gold Leaf

5. Uni Nikogori – absolutely unbelievable.  Fresh Uni, Small Shrimp, Red snapper, Fish eggs served atop Yama no Imo (Japanese Mountain Yam), topped with Pure Gold Flakes.

Hiro working on a sashimi

 Incredible Ohtoro.

His brother-in-law working on the uni

6. Sashimi served in a hand carved ice bowl. The Sashimi consisted of Ohtoro, Red Snapper and Santa Barbara Uni placed in a manila clam shell. The wasabi is freshly grated, Hiro’s soy sauce is made by him and the gorgeous Iris flower again defined the beautiful seasonality of this dish.

7. Asami Age, a tempura "sandwich" of Fresh Bamboo, Shrimp Paste and more Fresh Bamboo. Many tempura dishes can be greasy – never at Urasawa.

8. The next dish was absolutely amazing. Thinly sliced Hokkaido Beef was topped with Matsutake mushrroms, uni and shiso. Then Hiro rolled up the beef in a roll. We were then presented with a bowl to which Hiro added water so that steam immediately erupted. The beef was being steamed in front of us. The beef sat on a grate and obviously the stones had been heated to piping hot. It was served with a “radish” mixture and Hiro insisted that we use a generous amount of radish.

9. Hoba Yaki - On a giant Hoba Leaf was fresh shrimp, scallop and Hokkaido beef and miso sauce. The dish was being lightly roasted in the Hoba leaf for a couple of minutes over the coals. Yoshie removed the Hoba leaf from the coals to prevent overcooking. Unbelievable.

10. Shabu Shabu with Sweet Shrimp (the shrimp were alive and kicking minutes before), Boston scallop, Hokkaido Beef and Foie Gras. Our waiter did the cooking for us – the scallop took only a second with the foe taking the longest. We were given a soup spoon after the foie had been consumed and then had the Shabu Shabu broth as a soup course.

Sushi next. Hiro was very specific that he wanted us to eat the sushi within 10 seconds of plating. This became quite a challenge for John as he was snapping the photos and I was trying my best to keep up with the proper descriptions. Hiro also explained that he uses less rice than Masa, about 175 grains of rice per piece of sushi. (Again, if I have mislabeled the fish, I apologize.)

Toro

I wrote beef, but it sure doesn’t look like that.

Kanpachi

Tai with Sudachi

Spanish Mackerel

Squid

Uni

Razor Clam

Mushroom

Kohada

Needlefish

Abalone

Giant Clam

Scallop

Spanish Mackerel Tataki

Hokkaido Beef

Baby Shrimp

Eel

Tamago

My notes are a mess on this first dessert – all I wrote was Japanese Plum and Jelly

Sesame Ice Cream with Azuki (Red Bean) and Gold Flakes

Musha – Finely Powdered Green tea

It was an extraordinary evening– certainly not inexpensive, but an experience unlike any other.  

Wines:

1990   Champagne Krug