NAOE Review

// February 8th, 2011 // Food

This place is an experience like no other. You’re hosted by Wendy – the sweetest person w/ a wonderful smile. Then there’s the chef, Kevin behind the bar. That’s it. They have 2 seatings a day, one at 6:30 and one at 9:30 (which you must reserve via OpenTable). The experience is truly 2-3 hours long and if it wasn’t for the other 3 people next to us, it would feel like you have a private chef in front of you cooking the freshest authentic cuisine from Japan.

If you are a sake lover, then you’re in for a true treat. All the sake is served cold and is from chef Kevin’s family “wineries” in Japan. We tried the reisling-like sake which was delicious, light, crisp and on the sweeter side and we ended with a slushy-like sake scooped out of the bottle, served in wooden bowls and eaten with small wooden spoons. The sakes ranging from around $20 to $125 (the most distinguished).

First meal is a unique bento box which changes all the time at a cost of $26. Ours was: Daikon and Brown rice w/ sardines; seaweed salad w/ Baby carrots and sliced cobia; conch water snail w/ hog snapper tempura (spearfished that day by Kevin’s friend–or at least that’s what he told us) with soy bean paste on mountain yams; custard like soup of grouper and mushroom.

Next up was an all fresh nigiri sushi progression, most of it from Japan that gets shipped overnight everyday. The pieces ranges from $2-$8 each. It’s important to note that even the ordering “process” throughout the sushi progression is unique. If you would like to participate in the upcoming round, you are asked to place a wooden paddle in front of the chef or farther back (closest to you) if you do not. Here’s an example of ours:
Scottish Salmon Belly (melted in my mouth)
Poached Maine Lobster
Madai Sea Bring – a white fish.
Hiramasa – real yellow tail from Japan
Squid
Uni
Shrimp Omelet
Eel w/ Japanese Melon – pickled for 2 years and brushed with a bb q sauce at least 5 times before we ate it

Last but not least is dessert which is sponge cake w/ mystery ice cream. We were sworn to secrecy so I don’t want to ruin the surprise! However, I can say that it tasted like salted caramel.

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