Trying to catch a show at Inakaya New York

Watching fresh seafood, meat and vegetables grilled in front of you is one of the lures at Inakaya, a Japanese robata-yaki restaurant in Manhattan (a branch of the original in Tokyo).

But, as I found out at lunch today, if you sit at the counter around the grill or grills, a barrier prevents you from actually seeing your food being prepared (photo). 

You will see a display of fresh fish and other items -- on your side of the barrier -- but the grilling is out of sight. (The cooks deliver your food on long paddles they extend over the barrier or low wall.) To improve the view, the restaurant could install mirrors over the grills.

So we ordered bento boxes lunches. I had one with salmon sashimi over salad greens, shrimp and vegetable tempura, a juicy fillet of wild-caught red snapper, grilled mushrooms, okra and potatoes; and some sort of root in sauce with another piece of cooked fish ($18). 

My friend's bento box had pork belly and sashimi ($25). Each lunch came with a bowl of rice and unlimited house green tea.

The menu also lists grass-fed beef and free-range chicken. I left with a colorful brochure that, unfortunately, contains broken English. Here are excerpts:

"'Robata' is the Japanese term that stands for 'around a sunken hearth' and 'yaki' means 'grilling.' Fresh ingredients [are] grilled in proximity of guests' own eyes ...cooked miraculously on open-flame, its ancient but healthy grilling method of dropping excess oil has attained its popularity, and has spread throughout Japan. And now it comes to New York!"

Details

Inakaya New York, 231 W. 40th St., Manhattan
(in The New York Times building),
212-354-2195; open seven days.

www.inakayany.com

Back in the food-shopping game

Image via Wikipedia

I'm back to food shopping after a few days off and really enjoying it. I am going to try and avoid visiting a store just because it has a sale. See earlier post, "Are we sick of food shopping yet?"

We go through a ton of Halloween candy every year, so I headed to Costco in Hackensack for my weekly trip. I picked up 600 to 700 pieces of candy, plus 100% whole grain bread, smoked wild salmon, ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach, and organic salad greens -- all at great prices. That was yesterday.

Today, I drove to Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater for its autumn food fair, sampling ramen made by Master  Kenji Chiba, owner of a Tokyo noodle-soup shop, Chibaki Ya. I learned that ramen broth isn't always made with pork. This one takes six to seven hours to prepare from fish and chicken. The fair ends Sunday. Nice.

To take home, I bought one of my favorites, a log of smoked mackerel sushi imported from Japan ($29). It comes wrapped in a leaf, inside a box. I also bought two scrumptious, freshly made rice balls with fish roe, wrapped in seaweed. I wolfed those down as soon as I got home. My third purchase were Kobe-style pancakes stuffed with sweet bean paste, made on the spot.

After I left Mitsuwa, I stopped at Trader Joe's, which is just down the road, picking up drug- and preservative-free Applegate Farms cold cuts, two packages of uncured, preservative-free hot dogs; and sliced yogurt cheese with jalapenos.

I also purchased a T.J.'s five-gallon, reusable, insulated bag to replace one I lost, at a bargain price of $1.99. The store doesn't give you any credit for bringing reusable bags, but almost makes up for that with this low price.

Image via Wikipedia