sakagura

new york, ny

website

CR is queen of finding hidden little japanese gems in midtown east. this time, jenny and i joined her at a difficult-to-find restaurant with a tiny little sign outside. walk a few flights down to the basement and you are transported to japan. the decor, complete with a wall stacked with sake bottles, reminds me of restaurants i visited in kyoto. love it. menu reads somewhat like a standard izakaya menu, but with a few more entree-like choices. the sake menu is massive and a little overwhelming. CR, jenny, and i decided to go with the daily special, advertised to taste like "snow" - and it was bright, fresh, and crisp, all the things clean snow should taste like. both bottles. or did we get three? i don't remember.

i do remember that the food was amazing. pictured are the soba noodles soaked in a uni broth topped with huge pieces of uni. uni-tastic. uni-licious. it's really a miracle that i didn't immediately dunk my head into the bowl, but managed to let jenny and CR try some before devouring the rest. uni-rrific. one note - if the waitress recommends that you each order a "buta kakuni" - do not believe her. order one to share for the table. it's incredible stewed fatty pork and it's delicious. but eating an entire portion by yourself might kill you.