I tried out Banzai sushi last night because we called ahead to Maguro and it was out of uni. Guess what, Banzai was out of uni, too! I'm going to try back later in the week for that, when I pay yet another visit to Edokko II for the purposes of my article (they are a block from each other). Can someone explain the complicated pedigree of Banzai? How is it related to Edokko? Regardless of pedigree Banzai is a big dog that should not stay on the porch. An exciting discovery for me. The menu is massive, but unlike Mikuni it does not contain obnoxious ads with wacky pictures of the chef. It's massive because they do it all, everything from all the new style rolls (with the obligatory rip off of the signature Mikuni dishes) to traditional nigiri, to ramen, udon, and curry. So that's at least two places with curry. I want to write more but I feel I'm treading on my Midtown Monthly review so I better shut up now.
Has anyone ever had pasta with sea urchin? That sounds insane but I found a recipe in the Steingarten book and I guess Taylors can get me the sea urchins. If I got it right, this place has the best in the world. The picture definitely looks like what it should ideally look like.
I forgot to post that a while ago I finally got to eat at Cafe Soleil, one of the many businesses with limited hours that I only get to try on days off. I really liked it. It was a pleasant dining experience from start to finish. There were interesting specials, they were super fast, and the weather was beautiful as we sat outside. Does anyone have any favorite dishes there?
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11 comments:
I've eaten there many, many times during my different stints as a downtown employee, and for my $3 you can never go wrong with their daily soups. Delicious.
Jana.
Gorman told me about an uni pasta that he made! It does sound crazy, but I bet that it was good. I can't remember if he said he got the idea from this one restaurant or not, but there's a Japanese/Italian restaurant in Brooklyn that combines the two cuisines. I've always (well lately anyway) thought that Japanese and Italian cooking have a lot of similarities. Like simple basic ingredients that have to be top-notch, a tradition of raw seafood (sushi/crudo), delicately frying food (tempura/fritti). And then french and chinese cuisine are similar, because they are both more elaborate and baroque.
Anyway, make the uni pasta!!!
-Michele
I only know Steingarten from "Iron Chef America", where he is frequently a judge and always a TOOOOOOOOTAL d. The textbook moment was when he admonished another judge, "You know, you don't have to praise every single dish. That said, that is delicious."
i'm not a vegetarian, but my favorite dish at Cafe Soleil is the vegetarian lasanga. ymm!
-lily
I agree with DB regarding Steingarten. I meant to tell you that last night. I also saw him on Iron Chef and was pretty bummed that he was so rude in real life. I felt bad for his co-judges, it was awkward.
-Anna
Tempura came from Portugal.Also the japanese word for bread is pan and is spelled in katakana(foreign loan words). Try mixing your soba with curry cause it`s awesome!!! It`s also the new menu item around Kumamoto..Udon Curry and Soba Curry!!! Hanami is upon us which means lots of work parties.One featured an upside drunken yoga master singing karaoke!!! Other than I`m on O-yasumi(holiday)today heading to an onsen in Aso san..Yattane--jay
Steingarten is rad on that show. I think he's funny and most of the time he is rude to the most annoying judges, and he's willing to call the chefs on their sometimes overbearing pretentiousness. The culinary world desperately needs people like him to keep chefs and food critics egos in check (of course, he feeds his own ego at the same time, but....)
JD
That is a little disappointing to hear, but I imagine that 99% of dudes who have ever written for the Harvard Lampoon are total dicks yet collectively they make up a big portion of all American humor and some of the best of it. I lowered it to 99 from 100 cuz Conan O'brien used to write for it and I'm sure he's not a dick.
"Can someone explain the complicated pedigree of Banzai? How is it related to Edokko?"
---------------
It's convoluted and goes something like this:
1) Some people open Edokko at Florin and Riverside.
2) They sell it and open another restaurant on Broadway, using the same name.
3) The one on Broadway is sold and the original owners open Banzai, across the street from their first Edokko.
The changing of ownership of the various Edokkos was chronicled in one of the restaurant review blogs (one of the Bee writers, I believe) not too long ago. I think I'm missing a few openings/closings between steps 2 and 3 but that's it in a nutshell.
Pres,
SASSF
I'm a regular at Cafe Soleil... I'm addicted to their fish tacos, their carnitas tacos are pretty good (although ADK disagrees), and their sandwich/potato salad combos are always fresh. Their coffee is no good, you're better off going to nearby Temple for that.
Dining outside is certainly a plus too when the weather is good, and then when it's farmer's market day in cesar chavez park in the summer, it's an added reason to spend your entire lunch hour out there.
-Erik
I love J. Steingarten's books and I think he's absolutely HI-larious on Iron Chef. The chefs and judges take themselves way too seriously sometimes and I like it that he's kind of an obnoxious ass. Keeps 'em on their toes.
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