Fujiyama's Fantastic Eggplants and Sushi for Those Who Can't Eat Raw Fish

I am a huge lover of "mushy" vegetables. Among my absolute favorites are kabocha squash (more commonly known as butternut squash in the US) and eggplants, both of which I can get a most Japanese restaurants. On my solo trip to Fujiyama, a small Japanese restaurant in Yorkville, I ordered the Miso Eggplant ($6) without much reservation.

It took about 15 minute for my eggplants to arrive. I was slightly surprised by what I got on the plate: two huge slices of grilled eggplants with thick miso paste sauce on top.

Though the presentation was nothing delicate like you would expect at a Japanese restaurant, I couldn't wait to take a bite of the eggplant. The eggplant was mushy enough to cut with a fork, but I still used knife as well to avoid making any mess.

Wow, the taste of the eggplant was beyond expectation! It was grilled so well on the outside without losing the juice. The miso sauce was slightly too sweet and salty, but I used some of it to accompany my roll. I would seriously come to Fujiyama just to order this eggplant dish. It was phenomenal.

For my main course, I ordered one of the Specialty Rolls, Aurora Rolls ($15). I chose the most expensive menu on the item because I came here on Tuesday (?) during which the restaurant offers a special deal of $12 for all Sushi rolls.

The Aurora Rolls had steam lobster, shrimp, avocado, sundried tomato, mango, cucumber and cilantro inside. It was wrapped with pink soy paper.

Granted that I couldn't really tell the difference between shrimp and lobster, I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised by the amount of lobster in the roll!

The scent from the cilantro added a nice taste to the sushi. I also liked the addition of sundried tomato and mango! The duality between sweet and savory always works magic :)

The soy paper didn't have any flavor or taste...It's basically for people who don't like seaweed, but you still need something to wrap everything and that's where the soy paper comes in to play.

After I finished my meal, I realized I had consumed nothing raw...is that truly possible at a Japanese restaurant? Essentially, Aurora Rolls is a great entree for those who can't really eat "real" sushi ;)

Seo Restaurant in Midtown East: Cold Soba to Keep the Heat Away

When you live in the greatest [culinary] city in the world, you are inclined to try as many different restaurants as possible. However, there are some restaurants that are worthy of second, third, or even fourth visits.

One such restaurant is SEO Restaurant in Midtown East. I came here during Spring Break due to its proximity to my friend's NYC apartment and fell in love with its chewy Inaniwa Hiyamori Udon. For my second visit, I came with a big group of 8 people. We started off with a bunch of appetizers. The first to arrive on the table was Steamed crab dumpling ($10). The mustard sauce was really spicy...probably had a bit of wasabi in it. The shumai isn't as heavy as most shumai at Chinese restaurants, yet still maintains rich crab flavors.

The Calamari Salad ($10.50) came in a plate with iceberg lettuce (sort of disappointed by the choice of greens), lightly sauteed calamaris, and lame slices of tomato surrounding the whole thing. I really liked the vinaigrette that resembled a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar.

Jidori Karaage ($8.50), or fried marinated free range chicken, was quite greasy and fatty. I opted for the bitter greens on the side. The chicken didn't look crispy enough for my liking anyways.

We also had some kind of seafood broth/soup with clams, seaweed, scallions, and calamari. The broth had very deep, ocean flavors from all the clams in the bowl.

For my main course, I opted for Tenzaru Soba cold soba ($17) with cod dipping sauce and shrimp and vegetable tempura. Admittedly we had a big party, but it took forever for our noodles to arrive! Also, one person in our group didn't get his entree until I was half way done with my meal. I was disappointed that the soba only had scallions on the side to put in the dipping sauce and no grated radish.

The soba lacked any interesting, unique flavors. Instead, it just tasted like any other soba you would have. I suppose I should have stuck with the inaniwa udon. Oh well.

There were kabocha (my favorite!), shrimp, and portebello mushroom tempura. The mushroom tempura was the oddest thing ever...it was way too juicy! My second experience at Seo Restaurant was definitely not up to par with the first visit.

  

Carnivore's Heaven at Cook Out NYC

While looking for a fun event to enjoy with my brother this weekend, I came across Cook Out NYC, a second annual outdoor grilling event that features food samples from different restaurants in New York, unlimited beer, live music, and kimchi-eating contest. The 10-minute ferry ride to Governor's Island led us to the event location. Peaking at 103 degrees, it was the hottest day of the summer, but I could care less at the site of all the food under the tents!

The event sponsor tents were along the side of the venue. Normally, these would be crowded as well, but not at Cook Out NYC because people were more interested in getting cooked food rather than packaged KIND bars, Pop Chips, etc.

They opened the venue right at 11:30am. People swarmed in to try out all the food! Here, a grill master from Zio is cooking pork belly! I felt bad for him...he must be sweltering right next to the fire!

The event also included a food competition in which the visitors as well as judges critiqued the food items and chose their favorites.

Pork Belly and Fig. I don't eat pork, but my brother said the meat was really fatty and didn't enjoy it very much.

So many sausages!!! I wish they were bite-size instead.

Cajun Ken & the Penthouse Boys served BBQ Chicken and Sausage with "XXX" & Slap My Cajun Ass Creole Hot Sauces.

The chicken and the sausage was slightly dry without the BBQ sauce.

The burnt part from the grill was so delish!

...well, maybe not that burnt. Oops!

This is John Brown Smokehouse aka "Brisket King of NYC" Grilled Lamb Sausage with Spicy Slaw. The lamb sausage had denser texture than regular sausages.

Skirt Steak with Vinegary Slaw and Jalapeno Relish

Yum! I loved the slaw and the juicy, tender brisket.

Mama O’s Spicy Kimchi and Bar Bruno’s Taco served Spicy Kimchi Tacos.: Marinated hanger steak,grilled and served in a warm corn tortilla topped with kimchi,pico de gallo and grated radish. They really should have put a warning sign because even without the extra habanero or chipotle sauce, the taco was extremely spicy!

My mouth was absolutely burning for a long time...The tacos lost all of their flavors because the kimchi was extremely spicy. Good thing they were selling bottles of water ($2 each) right next to the booth! This taco won “The Food High Award” presented by two food writers.

Sliders from STK OUT, a burger establishment in Midtown West, were exiquisite! It took a while for the burgers to be served, but these treats were well worth the wait.

Medium-rare beef topped with cheese, a pickle, and a tomato are in between black sesame-topped buns. The patty was great quality, and the buns were toasted on a grill as well.

Another great burger! This is Alobar's Ground Wild Boar Burger with Green Salsa, which took home people's choice award for Best Slider. The burgers were full-size so my brother and I decided to share one, but it was so tasty that we both went for seconds.

I have never had a wild boar burger before. It tasted similar to turkey burger, but much more flavor and juicier. The green salsa definitely made the burger 100 times better.

Just really dry hamburger patty on a boring bun...not impressed at all.

Simultaneously happening with Cook Out NYC was a hot dog competition with six stations featuring Sabrett’s Hot &Spicy Hot Dogs with toppings from Sir Kensington Ketchup, My Friend’s Mustard, Sabrett’s Classic Onion Sauce, Chili from Lucky 777 Chili, a kimchi dog, and a special entry by Chef Josetth Gordon. The winners were decided by popular vote at the end of the event. This dog is from My Friend's Mustard: Sabrett’s Hot and Spicy Frankfurter topped with Tomatillo-Radish Slaw & Agave-Sixpoint IPA Mustard. It won 3rd place in the contest.

The Judge's choice award went to Rich Pinto Catering for its Vietnamese-inspired hot dog.

Not sure what this is...doesn't look too appetizing.

Chef Josetth's Piquant Celery Slaw with Currants won Best Sabrett’s Hot Dog topping on Saturday. People must have liked the cool, crisp texture of celery on such a hot day.

BBQ drumstick in some sort of sweet sauce. I try to eat chicken breast because it's healthier, but I have to admit that drumstick and thigh are the best parts of chicken :)

Pulled Pork Tacos with Cilantro, Tomatillo in soft corn tortilla. The meat was a little dry.

Jimmy’s No. 43's Sirloin steak with chimichurri sauce was the WINNER of "Best in Show." Hmm I can't agree with the decision at all because I thought the sirloin was flavorless and dry, while the green chimichurri sauce was plain oily.

Grilled Cheese...such a comfort food! Unlike other grilled cheese I've had, this one was not too greasy. Inside the toasty bread is a mixture of gruyere and other cheese with caramelized onions.

The heat from all the grilling probably raised the nearby temperature by 5 degrees...regardless, I really enjoyed the afternoon in the sun while dining out on lots and lots of grilled food!

Savory Chicken Meatball and Silly $20 Minimum Charge at Aburiya Kinnosuke

When most people think of Japanese food, they conjure up images of tempura, sashimi, or sushi rolls. But Japanese cuisine is quite eclectic, and it extends beyond raw fish.

A friend and I went to Aburiya Kinnosuke, an upscale izakaya style restaurant in midtown east. The restaurant specializes in robata grilling. Aburiya rivals another izakaya restaurant nearby called Sakagura.

The restaurant's menu was written entirely in Japanese with English translation written in handwriting that was very difficult to read. Per the waiter's recommendation, we ordered Tsukune ($9.50), or grilled ground chicken. There were original and teriyaki sauce, and we chose the latter because the waiter personally liked that one better.

Tsukene was definitely a hit! Tender, savory ground chicken meat was wrapped around an asparagus stick. The meatball had sweet teriyaki sauce that was fire-grilled to the exterior, adding flavors deep into the interior as well.

The dish also came with a side of semi-cooked egg that you could dip the chicken meatball. It definitely added richness to the grilled meat. My one complain is that the portion was extremely small for the price, and it left something more to desire.

The second dish that came to the table was Cooked Salmon & Salmon Roe ($12) over a bed of rice. I personally prefer raw salmon to cooked ones because it preserves the rich, fatty taste of the fish. Besides, salmon gets really dry when cooked.

The salmon roe was salty enough that it went well with the plain rice underneath.

The dish wasn't anything too special. I probably wouldn't order it again, especially because the salmon was overcooked and tasted dry.

The third dish is probably the least aesthetically pleasing, but tasted really good. It is Mushroom Kamameshi Rice ($16). The rice is cooked in a stone pot and different kinds of mushroom is tossed into it. I didn't really understand why this dish was so expensive compared to others...

My friend and I were quite full from all the rice dishes and was ready for the check. Then the waiter surprised us by saying that there is a minimum charge of $20/person, and that we would be charged $5 extra because we didn't spend enough money. Even though we were full, we decided to order one more dish rather than getting charged extra amount for nothing.

We chose Marinated Eggplant Topped with Grated Yam and Salmon Roe ($6). The dish had such weird textures! Soft, mushy cylinders of eggplants were surrounded by the gooey grated yam.

I couldn't really look at this dish because the eggplants resembled snake body. Yikes. I am a huge fan of eggplants, but I realized I prefer them much more when grilled because these were super slimy. Perhaps I didn't like this dish because I was "forced" to order it...

I would only come back for an order of Tsukene, but since I would have to spend a minimum of $20/person, I probably won't make my second visit. I also felt like I was hit in the back of my head for finding out about this "rule" only after I had all eaten my food and was ready to pay.