Riff and Roll

I've got a delicious appetizer for guests or main course for you and a dinner companion: Glazed Japanese Beef-and-Scallion Rolls. They're a riff on negimaki, the classic Japanese broiled strips of beef smothered with teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions. Add asparagus to the scallions; substitute miso, soy sauce, ginger and mirin for terikayi; and char the rolls over a hot grill instead of sticking them under the broiler, and you've got a more intensely flavored dish that's still true to the original.

I bought beef tenderloin at my local butcher, and asked him to slice it thinly. When I got home, Fork lightly pounded the beef to somewhere between 1/4- and 1/8-inch thickness. Turns out he could've pounded them even more (see the photo; the meat is definitely rare inside), but the dish still turned out well. You salt and pepper the beef slices, and roll them up with asparagus and scallions that you've blanched and seasoned with salt and sesame oil. A few toothpicks hold things in place, and then you marinate the rolls in a mixture of miso, soy, ginger and mirin (I used rice wine vinegar; not the same, I know, but still good). They need only a minute or two per side on a hot grill pan.

We ate the rolls with jasmine rice and broccoli. The asparagus and scallions were still crunchy, and the beef was tasty, bursting with savory-earthy, salty-sweet flavor (the Japanese supposedly call this 'umami'). We call it delicious.--S

Glazed Japanese Beef-and-Scallion Rolls

Makes 6 first course servings or two main course servings

6 thin asparagus spears
6 large scallions
Salt
About 1 t Asian sesame oil, for coating
6 thin slices of beef tenderloin, about 2 ounces each, very lightly pounded to a 1/8-inch thickness
Freshly ground pepper
2 T red miso
2 T soy sauce
2 T mirin [I used rice wine vinegar]
2 T sugar
1 T finely grated fresh ginger
Vegetable oil, for brushing

1. In a small skillet of boiling water, blanch the asparagus until bright green, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to a plate and pat dry. Add the scallions to the skillet and blanch until bright green, about 45 seconds; transfer to the plate and pat dry. Lightly season the vegetables with salt and lightly coat with sesame oil.
2. Set a slice of beef on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Arrange an asparagus stalk and a scallion lengthwise on the meat; trim them flush with the meat. Roll up the meat around the asparagus and scallion and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining slices of beef, asparagus and scallions.
3. In a small bowl, mix the miso with the soy sauce, mirin, sugar and ginger. Put the beef rolls in a shallow baking dish and coat generously with the miso mixture. Let stand for 20 minutes.
4. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Lightly brush the pan with vegetable oil. Add the beef-and-scallion rolls and cook over high heat until nicely charred all over, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the toothpicks.
5. Slice each roll on the diagonal 1 1/2 inches thick. Arrange the slices on a platter, cut sides up, and serve right away.

Recipe courtesy of Food & Wine

Local Fusion

JAPONAIS
111 E. 18th St.
NY, NY 10003
Tel 212.260.2020

THREE SPORKS

Tonight, my dad suggested we dine at either ribs mecca RUB or French-Japanese hybrid Japonais. More in the mood for fusion than righteous urban barbecue, we went with Japonais and had an unusual, delightful meal. (Even if my dad still thinks "fusion" is a racket cooked up by restaurant marketers.)

The meal began with a spicy octopus roll topped with sliced tuna and avocado- wasabi- tobiko sauce (amazing, spicy and sweet) and ended with homemade steamed buns with braised pork and scallions with hot mustard sauce (delicious). In between, we ate a sushi/sashimi platter which included some terrific toro; lobster spring rolls with mango relish and blood orange vinaigrette; and--the most fusion-y dish of the night--sirloin tip Wagyu beef cut with shishito peppers, mushrooms and Kirin light beer fondue, made with Brie cheese. And let's not forget the meal's most dramatic dish, "The Rock": thinly sliced marinated New York strip steak, which we cooked ourselves on a 450-degree rock (two seconds per side for medium rare; five seconds per side for medium). Fun!

Japonais is a high-concept restaurant that pulls off its scheme quite nicely. There's some major drama to the space, which is huge, with an Alice-in-Wonderland-type tree in the middle of the room. We wondered how long it'll be around, considering the square footage and the fact that it was barely half full tonight. But we wish them all the best. What neighborhood can't use a great French-Japanese restaurant that lets you cook your own meat on a sizzling rock?!--S

The Original

Takahachi
85 Ave A (6th Street)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 505-6524

GOLDEN SPORK AWARD

I moved into the East Village in 1990, sharing a small, $600-a-month illegal sublet with my friend Jon on 11th St. right next door to the venerable Italian bakery Venierio's. Every morning, I awakened to the smell of cake.

It wasn't quite as idyllic as it sounds. Many nights I was rocked to sleep by the sound of snapping rat traps in the courtyard. And the apartment was built like a bad Boy Scout project. The neighborhood, too, was far from the hip, expensive, boutique-laden neighborhood it is now. Back then, it was dirty, a little dangerous, and the further east you went, the more edge it had. Tompkins Square Park was still a homeless encampment. Junkies slept in our doorway. But compared to today's East Village, I have to say, it was awesome.

One evening, in 1992, Jon came home raving about a new sushi restaurant on Avenue A called Takahachi, and took me there the next night. We were blown away by the size of the sushi--indeed, they were the biggest pieces we'd ever seen, as well the quality of the fish, the best of any sushi we'd had in the city yet. The California rolls used only real crab. The chefs made their own soy. And the specials and deals were terrific, including a sushi-for-two plate that was so enormous it was often tough to finish, and came with a free handroll of your choice, all for just $22, perfect for a young, struggling writer.

Fifteen years later, I've been forced out to Williamsburg. But Takahachi remains, and Spoon & I are Takahachi regulars. We've befriended the chefs. I get bottles of plum wine from the restaurant at Christmastime. And as an OC (original customer), I received a 10th anniversary sake set from Takahachi in 2002. We've delighted in turning friends on to this place over the years, and they too have become regulars. Fifteen years is a long time for any restaurant to survive, much less one in the rapidly gentrified East Village. Takahachi has done it the old-fashioned way: with top quality ingredients, innovative chefs, great service, affordable prices, amazing consistency and a commitment to its customers, who since about 1994, have had no problem waiting outside for up to an hour to get a table.

You can't go wrong with anything on Takahachi's menu. Here's how we do it. First, we like sitting at the bar with the chefs. For one, they always try out new stuff on us, and we're all too happy to oblige. The fish is lovely to look at, and watching the chefs work is great entertainment. The specials are the way to go. Every night, the chefs throw out something incredible, and over the years they've really opened our eyes with the scope of ingredients they use without sacrificing the integrity of Japanese cuisine.

Tonight, we started with crab shumai, a staple on the menu, and a special dish called Tako Green; it's octopus on bed of red onion with a spicy green sauce. Tako Green isn't often on the menu, but the chef makes it for us--what a guy! We followed that with a special sashimi plate of chu toro, medium fatty tuna; and a special called Jala Hama (photo, left), yellowtail sashimi with red onion and shaved jalapeno with a soy ginger dressing. For our main sushi onslaught, we stayed with the hamachi/jalapeno theme of the evening with a special roll; and a few pieces of sushi: salmon, yellowtail and some uni for me. Takahachi has great uni. They won't serve the uni from Maine one gets at lesser sushi bars, only the sweet, California variety, one of my favorite flavors in the world. We had beer and Sake, and a banana spring roll dessert, all for $75. This wasn't our best Takahachi meal: some specials have defied description. But as usual, it was excellent.

For reference, Takahachi is not in the same league as, say, Nobu or Gari. The room and its woodplank/white plate service is pretty plain. But as far as the kitchen is concerned, it's not terribly far behind either, and you could eat four or five full meals at Takahachi for the price of one at either Nobu or Gari. If you like and know Japanese food in New York, the quality of the food is comparable to Tomoe, Yama and Hasaki, and much more affordable. The pieces are large, though not as large as they once were and not unwieldy like the slabs served at Yama. It's cheaper than Hasaki, which is also excellent. Tomoe is magnificent, sublime. And, worth the long waits. There aren't many rooms that Takahachi beats for decor but the cramped Tomoe is one.

It's not enough to say Takahachi is our favorite restaurant. We're proud of Takahachi. We're happy he's been successful enough to open a second restaurant on Duane Street, and grateful that ours has remained home to us for so long with such a high standard of excellence. How many restaurants can you say you've been going to for 15 years that still can surprise and amaze you with each visit?--F

Huge in Japan

Pioneering New York restauranteur and author Danny Meyer--the man who brought us the groundbreaking Union Square Cafe as well as upscale ribs with Blue Smoke, Americanized Indian at Tabla, high-end continental with Gramercy Tavern and killer dogs at Shake Shack, announced he will open a Union Square Cafe in Tokyo this March. He told the NY Post it would be reminiscent of the USC in Manhattan, with signature dishes like filet mignon of tuna, but that it would "cater to the Tokyo market." I'm not exactly sure what that means, though perhaps it means they'll serve their pan-seared sea scallops encrusted with some ginger wasabi ridiculousness. Like Hansel, that is so hot right now.

As a Meyer follower, I think Tokyo is a pretty cool step for him. The Japanese, with their fine culinary traditions, should enjoy having Meyer spread his restaurant gospel in Tokyo, especially through an offshoot of the Union Square Cafe, still one of New York's best, most comfortable high-end restaurants. Once Danny gets his crop of regular customers in Tokyo, he'll no doubt make them feel like they own shares in the joint. "When guests talk about a restaurant as if it's theirs," Meyer told me. "they can't wait to share it with friends."

I'm curious to see how he'll adapt the Meyer model to pull in a crop of regulars at USC Tokyo. No doubt he'll lay on the charm, uh, the hospitality, he's famous for. "Virtually nothing else is as important as how one is made to feel in any business transaction," Meyer told me over coffee this summer, explaining how valuable it was for him to develop habitues at USC, something he's executed brilliantly. The place, for example, is filled every lunch hour with publishing regulars.

I wish Danny all the best and hope to visit USC East someday to see first hand what the Tokyo regulars think of our latest culinary export.--S