F: Its about 7:30pm, and I'm getting ready to leave my house when I decide to drop a line "Hey, is it rainig bad over there? It's pretty bad over here.
B:"No, it's not raining "bad"
F:"Ok", I say and I jump on Orange Ave, and blindly start driving to damn near Georgia it seems. 408 East, 417 North, 417 North, 417 North, wait a minute, this is way further than what I expected. "This place better be worth it". "Am I heading the right way bud?"
B:It's easy, 417 to Redbug, make a right, pass one traffic light, and it is in a plaza on your right. You will see the big pink sign that says "
Sushi Pop," ironic...don't you think? O, and I know I lied about the rain, but come on it has been like this all day. I ordered a warm sake for the table, it will be fine. Speaking of sake their list is quite impressive, sparkling sake, saketinis, wait I think I see you pulling in.
F: Forget the irony man, I'm soaked Lol. Yes, yes you did lie about the rain...oh look, Ponyo is playing on the flat screens. I'll take a Magic Hat #9 myself please, domo.
B:I can't get passed page one, I think I am going to stop here, if this place is good I will come back and hit up page two...decisions, decisions...here is what I am thinking. Although I am diggin on the Tako and the Bahamian Conch salads, it is raining...again, sorry, and I am going to hit up the "hot tastings" portion of the menu.
F: I'm literally "on the same page with you", if this place is any good, page 2 blog post is in effect. Impressive cold/hot appetizer selections, I think I will go with the hamachi crudo, can't pass up some pork belly tacos, and I guess ill try one of their signature maki.
The waitress approaches us, and little does she know, we are professional eaters, so the ordering takes place.
B:You have a pen? Because this is what we are thinking: Hot Rock, Shishito Peppers, Kurobuta Tacos, It's no Yolk, Godzilla, and Hamachi Kama. Oh, and whatever he is having.
.........."wow you guys really know how to order",
says the petite waitress in part shock, part excitement...........Just as fast as we placed our orders, they were flying out the window with them. She introduces each and every plate, and even lets us know about what makes each plate unique. She even impressed me once she started talking molecular gastronomy in a way that I knew for sure she researched her stuff.
B:"Hot Rock." Ok, they were not kidding, that river rock is no joke. I have to tell you, I am impressed with the sear the wagyu got off that rock. You know what? I would have to say that this is an acceptable medium of cooking for wagyu. If you are going to eat something so fatty, so rich, and so delicious, you do not want to confuse the product in the way of preparation. Sear it hard...enjoy it rare. Raw would be the only other acceptable way. The dipping sauce....appropriate for the touch of salt the beef could use.
F: You're right, those things are blazing hot. I would hate to drop one of those hot rocks on myself, although I'm sure my skin would instantly caramelize and it wouldn't feel a thing. Real interesting way of presenting this dish, everyone knows I like to play with my food. Back to the food, I'm guessing they lightly marinate the beef, as to not disrupt the natural flavors, and with that quick sear it does seem like its the only sensible way to go. A dip in the sauce, and like Houdini, the whole thing disappears into thin air.
B:"Shishito Peppers," lighter than I expected. Never had a shishito pepper before, it is like pepperoncici meets serrano, but without as much heat. Nice twist on the more popular "southern," jalaepno with cream cheese and bacon.
F: "Is it hot?" You see, I have to ask as I have a low threshold for spicy foods. I get the nod, and pop one of those little suckers. "Not bad at all". It's exactly like you described them, like a light serrano, with a real creamy filling and crispy batter on the outside. "I could definitely come back just for beer or sake and a ton of these".
(no photos for this one, they were the first to come out and off the plate before the plate hit the table)
B:"
Kurobuta Tacos," So first thought....I am looking at those shells and thinking that you can fit some more pork in there. I bet they get a lot of orders for entrée size tacos, which would explain the size of the shells. I would not want to keep two sizes in the restaurant either. The belly is cooked nice, and it is a touch on the sweet side for me, but damn tasty.
F: I'll agree, could've used a little more pork belly, but overall extremely tasty. I'm assuming they're curing their own belly because I noticed subtle Asian spices and flavors (hoisin, 5 spice, ginger, etc). Crispy yet tender, and gotta love that melt-in-your-mouth fat thats associated with the belly.
B:"It's No Yolk," Ahhh, some molecular gastronomy. That explains the name now. I can only assume the "egg," on my tartar is the coconut milk and mango puree...smart. The salmon has bite, so either they are putting a cure on the fish or it is marinated with some lime before service, but since it has no discoloration, my cards are on a cure. With the flavor profile they decided to go with, salmon would not have been my first pick for a fish, but after eating it...I stood corrected. It makes all the sense in the world and the seaweed rice cracker....again....smart.
F:"Hamachi Crudo." Although its kinda chilly outside, I wanted something fresh and light. Seemed like the perfect dish to order. Thin slices of hamachi, toasted garlic chips, dill, apples, and blue cheese powder. I know it sounds like a strange combination of flavors to pair up with fish, but it was quite good and I just gave up trying to figure it out and enjoyed it.
B:"Godzilla," Here is how I see this, and I am sharing with you why I ordered this particular dish. It is almost a sin eating sushi in Florida. I mean Japan is some 7,000 miles away, and fish were never meant to have a carbon footprint. They were thoughtful enough to put on something local so I ordered the gator. Pretty, and much props for the parsley and celery leaf salad. How many people do you know that lop off the head and tail end of a stalk of celery and throw it away in the kitchen? The salad is light and refreshing as well as the gator...tastes like chicken (had to say it.) I got to say, they have the art of frying down to a science here.
F: Oh man, it does taste like chicken, and surprisingly tender for gator. Sous vide maybe? Awesome combination of marinated hearts of palm, radishes, celery, parsley, and red onion. Perfect contrast to all the other heavy dishes we've had or yet to come.
B:"Hamachi Kama," This yellow tail proves a point for me. Find a reliable source for your product, apply the proper technique, and respect for the food. What you will end with is a simple, grilled, sweet, smoky, salty, juicy, fatty, succulent, piece of fish that no amount of smoke and mirrors of molecular gastronomy can hold up to. The ponzu sauce is just the right amount of acid to cut through the dish. Perfect,
absolutely...perfect.
F: I can only describe this as the "pork belly of fish". Salty, crispy and fatty, YUM!!
(ok this last section is not on page 1, but it was compliments of Chef Mike...thank you Chef! We also left out the Maki, want to save it for the sushi post)
B: Hey!.... Hey! Eyes off the Ponyo...dessert is coming.
"P.M.S. & Pina Banana," I love a good molten cake when executed perfectly. Cake on the outside, molten chocolate on the inside. Not pudding on the inside, not custard on the inside, but a flowing river of hot chocolate. The peanut butter powder makes for a great condiment if you use it as such. What brings it all together for me is that salted caramel ice cream, fo sho. The raspberry sauce, just let it sit there and be pretty, not needed.
As for the Pina Banana, they really nailed the banana spring roll, I'm telling you...these guys mastered the art of frying. Crispy on the outside and they maintained the texture of the banana on the inside. Creative way of letting a ripe banana speak for itself short of just sending a banana to the table. Oh look! Who needs agar when you have tapioca? Love it! The coconut "noodle" really has the same texture as the banana so it plays well. If you were to close your eyes and eat a spring roll in one bite, you would swear you were eating a coconut flavored banana. I am hesitating trying the ice cream, because I just do not like "shredded coconut," (its a texture thing.) Ok, ok, that is good, that is really good, and eat it with the banana and pineapple compote...even better. You know if you were to take this whole dish and throw it in a bowl, it would probably be the best fried banana split I ever had.
F: Going against my instincts, considering how full I am, I decided to dive into the "Happy Endings". (Love the casual/creative names on the menu by the way).
B: "Pho You!" (you'll see once you guys check this place out.)
F: The P.M.S. was outstanding. I think my favorite part of the dish was combining the salted caramel and the peanut butter, perfect if you're like me and you don't like to over do it with sweets.
Hands down, the piña banana was my favorite. The banana spring rolls won me over, and don't get me started on the coconut ice cream. Well executed dessert, and perfect amount to keep you interested in each and every bite. I was definitely digging on the tropical flavors throughout this dish
B: Ok, so really good find, and we definitely have to come back. In fact since we only really ate off the "tastings," portion of the menu, we should just write about "page 1," and make it a three part post. Next time we come it let's plan on eating our weight in sushi, then to complete the trilogy either do the tasting menu or order a few entrees from the kitchen.
F: I know,really good find. The menu has plenty to catch the eye, and please the belly. I'm down, as always. I can't wait to try some of the most creative maki sushi I've seen in a while, with the original/quirky name to match (choleste-roll, Bananarama, Hot Mess, and the Anaconda).
B: Food aside, I was really impressed with the service. I have never dined, or worked for that matter, in a place where the server knows so much about the menu. Come on, she gave us a history on wagyu, talked to us about molecular gastronomy and preparations, from what was being used (aka maltodextrin) in the dessert to foodie clubs she has found where they meet up to just play around with ideas and techniques. She knew where the restaurant procures all of their fish, when the orders come in, and how fresh the product is, and she could also carry on a conversation about the breed of Kurobuta pigs. Impressive to say the least.
F: If only she could clone herself into about 10, and come work with us. Real friendly and knowledgeable service, totally made the full experience come full circle. I will also add, the manga art and decor in this place definitely is an eye catcher. They clearly have put a lot of thought into the aesthetics of this place, I'm going to describe it as "modern Tokyo-ish".
B: Next stop, a seat at the sushi bar for some sake/beer and plate after plate of fish and rice.
.........to be continued.
