The Rundown: Another Binghamton Restaurant Week has come and gone! This one was probably the biggest one yet, with 24 official participants (plus one unofficial participant, but we’ll get to that soon). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to two of the poll winners during Restaurant Week proper, so I won’t be able to comment on their menus during such. However, I will be doing reviews of those two establishments in the very near future, with the hope that it’ll present a more accurate view of them.

Remlik’s, like most of the poll winners, is a restaurant that I can only really afford during Restaurant Week. In fact, this wasn’t my only experience at this particular establishment–I’d been there once before, during the Fall Restaurant Week in November 2011. I was suitably impressed with the food that night, and vowed to return at some point in the future.

I opted for lunch this time around, and brought Scott and Amber along with me. Both times I’ve gone, I’ve been seated in the bar area, which is something I definitely recommend–they have plush, couchlike benches, with pillows and all. It’s a different, more laid-back experience than the formal dining area. I believe they also have their deck open now that the weather’s warmer, too.

The soup that day was Potato & Leek, which my dining compatriots both ordered. I (having suffered potato overload due to St. Patrick’s Day having just happened) didn’t try it for myself, so I can’t really give an apt description, but they both said it was very good. Scott was slightly disappointed, however, as he heard “leek” and thought “scallion”. For the uninitiated, while leeks and scallions are similar, leeks have a milder flavor, and aren’t quite as “oniony”.

I opted for the Garden Salad as my starter, and I was also pleased with my choice. The salad consisted of a spring mix, red onion, grape tomato, and julienned carrots and cucumbers, and was topped off by a house-made Italian dressing. All the ingredients were fresh, and though I thought the Italian could have used a little more seasoning to it, it was rather good.

For her entree, Amber opted to go with the Linguine Primavera. In an interesting twist on the usual preparation, Remlik’s serves their version with julienned strips of yellow squash, zucchini, and carrots, so that when you twirl the pasta, you get the vegetables too. I thought it was a rather clever way to integrate the vegetables into the dish, and the little pops of color add a lot to the presentation. Unfortunately, however, the pasta was unevenly cooked, to the point where I’m fairly certain it came from two different batches. There was also a lot of wine in the sauce, to the point where it was a little overpowering over the rest of the ingredients.

Scott and I both chose the Signature Sliders as our entree selection. The burgers were served with melted bleu cheese, applewood bacon, and a balsamic fig reduction on potato bread rolls, with a side of house-made kettle chips. I don’t recall being asked for a temperature on the sliders, but they were cooked well (which is my preferred temperature anyway). They weren’t dry, however, which definitely reflects well on the kitchen staff. The balsamic fig reduction had the same sweet, vinegary taste as ketchup, and I probably wouldn’t have known it wasn’t if I hadn’t been told. I also wasn’t really able to taste the bleu cheese, as the reduction and the bacon kind of overpowered it. All in all, I was pleased with the burgers, however. The house-made kettle chips, however, didn’t appear to have any seasoning on them, and were fairly bland.

Amber’s dessert, the Coconut Cheesecake, wasn’t bad. I’m not a big fan of cheesecake in general, however, so you can take my opinion of it with a grain of salt. There was a raspberry swirl through the cheesecake itself, as well as a drizzle of raspberry syrup on the plate, both of which Amber thought were a nice compliment to the dessert.

The Turtle Brownie, which Scott and I both chose, wasn’t what I expected. My last visit to Remlik’s, I’d had their “Ganache Brownie”, which was basically a flourless chocolate cake, and quite possibly the best thing in the history of ever. I was hoping for the same deal with this brownie, but alas. This was more of a traditional brownie, and although it was excellent for what it was, it couldn’t hold a candle to the one they used to serve. This is not to say it was bad, however–quite the contrary. I especially loved the glazed nuts that adorned the top, which I thought were a nice touch.

The Verdict: Though Remlik’s is far, far more affordable for lunch, I really like their ambiance better at night. They’re definitely a special occasion restaurant, no matter how much they don’t want to be pigeonholed in that regard. They’re well worth a stop, however, so you should try to find a reason to go.

This is the first Italian recipe I’ve posted on the blog, but it certainly won’t be the last. Pastiera Napoletana (AKA “Pizza di Grano”, AKA “Grain Pie”) is a dessert that’s traditionally served at Easter. It’s kind of a hybrid of a pie and an Italian Cheesecake, with quite a lot of citrus flavor to it as well. The traditional recipe calls for Orange Blossom Water, which I could not find for the life of me, and instead had to improvise a mixture of oils and extracts. The traditional recipe also doesn’t use mascarpone cheese, but I didn’t have a cheesecloth so I could strain the ricotta. The end result came out beautifully, though–everyone who had it said it tasted just like it came from an Italian bakery. Not bad for my first time making it!

Pastiera Napoletana (Grain Pie)

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 4 oz. whole milk ricotta
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup candied citron
• 5 drops orange oil
• 5 drops lemon oil
• 5 drops tangerine oil
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup wheat berries (can substitute pearl barley, but skip the first soaking)
• 2 cups milk
• 9 in. prepared pie crust (or use your favorite pie crust recipe)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the wheat berries in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to boil over medium heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Drain; return to pan. Add milk; reduce mixture (uncovered) for another hour. Remove from heat; add everything except the pie crust; mix well.

If using a prepared pie crust, allow it to come to room temperature before handling. Press the crust into a deep dish pie plate; the crust should not come over the top, but should just about touch it. Pour filling mixture into the crust. Protect top of the crust using a pie shield or aluminum foil. Bake for about an hour, or until a knife/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (filling should still be wobbly). Let cool and set before serving.

The Rundown: First, a quick note: this week’s going to have a fair amount of activity on the blog. First, there was yesterday’s “State of the Blog” post (hard to imagine I’ve been doing this for a year now!), and since Thursday is Pi(e) Day, there’ll be a post about that, too. The first Restaurant Week review (which starts today) will probably be up next week.

Anyhow, review time!

Basha’s is one of the newer restaurants on the Parkway, having opened late last year. In fact, I think they just barely hit my “3 months open” requirement. Located next to Panda III, in what used to be D.P. Dough’s old spot, their location isn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best. Their signage makes them pretty hard to miss, though, so that’s a point in their favor.

Basha’s, much like Binghamton Hots, has clearly gone with the “Quick Serve” model of restaurant. You go up to a counter and place your order, and they serve it to you on a plastic tray. However, like Binghamton Hots, they will bring your order to you once it’s done.

Basha’s menu is fairly limited, which is a good tactic for a restaurant that’s just starting out. Food costs are a huge part of a restaurant’s overhead, and it’s prudent to try and keep those low. It also allows the restaurant to focus on perfecting a few dishes, rather than a boatload of them. Quality tends to fall if a cook or chef has to prep for a whole lot of dishes, as well.

If you haven’t had Lebanese food before, it falls under Levantine cuisine. In other words, you’ll find classic “Middle Eastern” dishes such as Baba Ghannoouj and Taboule here. Basha’s seems to be more oriented toward “grab n’ go” type foods, which befits its concept. In other words, they’re much more suited for a quick lunch than a leisurely dinner.

Though I had initially planned on getting some Falafel (which I love to pieces), I changed my mind when I took a look at their menu. Basha’s, to my knowledge, is the only place in the area which offers Shawarma, a dish made popular by this scene at the end of The Avengers:

For the uninitiated, Shawarma is classic Levantine street food, made by roasting meat on a spit (usually vertical, though not necessarily so), then shaving it off and rolling it up with an assortment of vegetables and some kind of sauce in a pita or a flatbread. It’s similar to Turkish Doner and Greek Gyros, though the preparations vary somewhat. In fact, Basha’s also offers their version of a Gyro, if you want to see the differences for yourself.

Basha’s advertises their Shawarma as being marinated in “7 spices and wine”. Some of those spices are sweet spices, such as cinnamon, clove, and cardamom; the others seem to be fresh herbs thrown in after. I was able to pick out parsley and cilantro among the latter. The meat is also tossed in a tahini sauce, which I initially mistook as a yogurt sauce, due to the tanginess of the wine. The whole thing is wrapped up in something similar to a flour tortilla, with lettuce and chopped tomato.

I found the meat to be a bit stringy, but it wasn’t at all tough. I’d say it was about on par with your average cut of stew meat. By now, it should be no surprise that I’m a fan of red meat dishes seasoned with sweet spices, and again, it works well here. The veggies were all nice and fresh, and the acidity of the sauce gave another dimension of flavor to the dish. A couple of notes here, though. First, it is rather messy–expect to look like Bruce Banner up there when you’re finishing this thing off. Second, it is huge.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this thing is at least 10″ long. Granted, that’s the general standard for Shawarma, but it’s still worth a mention. The only other thing I could say about this dish was that I wish that the meat were shaved a bit thinner. I think it might help with the stringiness a bit.

I opted for a side of fries with my Shawarma, which believe it or not is traditional, even in Lebanon (they were under French rule for a while, and this and a few other European dishes became commonplace there). The fries themselves weren’t anything special; they’re the same Simplot fries that most locally-owned establishments serve. Basha’s seems to cook theirs blonde, though, so if you want them crispier, I’d tell them when you’re ordering.

I finished my meal with a piece of Nammoura, a Lebanese cake made with semolina and coconut, then soaked in a floral syrup and garnished with a walnut half. Though I’m generally a fan of floral-flavored things, this didn’t really resonate with me. The semolina reminded me too much of cornmeal, and the texture was very reminiscent of Hush Puppies. Because of that association, every time I bit into a piece that wasn’t positively loaded with syrup, I tasted a fishy flavor. I don’t think it was actually there, mind you–I think my brain was inserting it due to the association. I also thought that the flavors that were present lacked depth–the Nammoura just felt too one-note to me. Some more spices likely would have rounded out the flavors a bit.

The Verdict: If you’re looking for a sumptuous, elegant, relaxed dining experience, then I’d look elsewhere. That’s not Basha’s wheelhouse, and they know it. If, however, you’re looking for a quick, tasty alternative to the fast food joints that litter the Parkway, then I’d give Basha’s a shot. I myself am looking forward to returning so that I can try the Falafel.

<insert party hats & noisemakers here>

Of course, with the celebration, there comes a little reflection. Namely, how did I do in meeting the goals that I set for myself a year ago?

Well…let’s say there’s definitely some room for improvement.

For starters, I’ve drifted almost completely away from my goal of sharing “things familiar to me”, in favor of mostly doing reviews of new products and restaurants that I hadn’t been to before. While I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, it does count as me not holding up my end of the bargain. This may or may not change, depending on my financial outlook for the rest of this year (it should be a no-brainer that eating out all the time = expensive), but rest assured that those of you who come here strictly for the reviews will not be disappointed.

The bigger issue, however, is post frequency. The four month gap in reviews between September and January should not have happened. The major contributor to this, oddly enough? Binghamton Restaurant Week. For both Restaurant Weeks in 2012, I pushed myself really, really hard to get all of the reviews out before it ended. Both times, I hit complete and total burnout in doing so, not to mention that I just didn’t have the time to write 4 reviews in the span of a week and a half. September’s was compounded by the flurry of reviews that I powered through before Martini Walk, less than a month before Restaurant Week hit.

With Spring 2013′s Restaurant Week starting tomorrow, I feel it prudent to lay out how the Restaurant Week reviews will be structured going forward. Namely, I’m going to keep to the “once-a-week” format of the blog, and only publish one review at a time, instead of trying to get them all out at once. This way A) I don’t get massively burned out, then feel guilty about not producing content and B) I’ll be able to get a backlog going, in the event that I fall behind again. It’s a win-win, really.

It’s easy to see where my shortcomings were. But what goals, if any, did I meet this year?

Well, I did accomplish my primary goal of trying new things and getting out of the house more. So, y’know, go me. I’ve also kept a steady stream of reviews going since coming back in January, so that’s also an improvement.

One of my primary goals going forward, in addition to maintaining an actual update schedule, is to build more of a community here. Looking at my analytics, the reasons that people happen upon the blog is scattershot at best (to the person looking for places in Endwell: please tell me how you got here when I haven’t posted anything about there until now), and I’d like to become more of an actual destination, and less of a crazy random happenstance.

So yes. 2013. May the journey continue…

-Mari

Let me explain.

A few weeks back, a water main burst at Loft @ 99, damaging a fair chunk of the restaurant and forcing them to close temporarily. While they anticipated having all of their repairs finished in time to reopen for Restaurant Week, they announced yesterday that it was taking longer than they hoped to get everything up and running, and that they’d have to bow out this time around. Since Loft was tied for second in the poll, this affected the results greatly. And with a four-way tie for what was now fourth place, this presented a bit of a problem.

With no time to hold a runoff poll, and me not wanting to pick a venue at random, I’m opting instead to take the top 3 results, with a surprise addition as my fourth and final choice: P.S. Restaurant in Vestal. Though not an official participant in Binghamton Restaurant Week (since they’re, y’know, in Vestal), they are “crashing” the event and offering their own Restaurant Week menu, priced the same as the other top-tier establishments.

So, without further ado, here are the Top 3 Results:
3) Remlik’s
2) Tranquil Bar & Bistro
1) Czech Pleeze

Thanks for voting!

The Rundown: Yep, this is the second review of a Vestal restaurant in as many weeks. Expect to see quite a few more of these (excepting the upcoming Binghamton Restaurant Week reviews, of course), as I’ve been spending more time than usual out there lately.

Though chain locations tend to dominate the Parkway (or at least are much more visible), there’re quite a bit of locally-owned and operated eateries along the strip, as well. Fuji San is one of two Japanese restaurants on the Parkway (the other being the well-regarded Kampai), and is the more recent of the two. I wouldn’t call it a young restaurant, though, as they’ve been open for at least a decade.

Located right near Binghamton University, almost directly across from the Vestal Denny’s, visibility has never been a problem for Fuji San. The restaurant sits at the corner of a very busy intersection, even by Parkway standards. It’s attached to what is currently the Quality Inn, which I’m sure also affords them a fair bit of business.

This wasn’t my first time out at this particular establishment; I’ve been here a couple of times before for birthdays, and got hibachi meals both times. This time around, however, I was here with friends for a low-key lunch.

There are a lot of people that I know that don’t really distinguish much between Kampai and Fuji San, or think that Fuji San is somehow a lesser version of Kampai. Having been both places, that’s not really a fair comparison. They both have their strengths and their weaknesses, and one of Fuji San’s big strengths over Kampai is their much more varied menu–specifically, they are the only place in the area where I have been able to get my absolute favorite meat that doesn’t only serve it sashimi or sushi style.

I’m talking, of course, about eel.

Yep. Ugly as they may be, eels, or unagi, are freakin’ delicious. The Japanese have a word, bakauma. Loosely translated, it means “stupid delicious”. Unagi wa bakaumadesu. 

Fuji San carries unagi 3 different ways–as an appetizer, as sushi/sashimi, and broiled over rice, a dish called Unagi Don. All three of us that went that day went for the sole purpose of indulging in some of the latter. Each of our entrees came with a side salad and a bowl of Miso Soup; we all also got an appetizer. Scott got a Kani roll, his girlfriend Amber opted for a Tuna & Avocado Roll, and I got some Haru Maki, or Spring Rolls.

The Haru Maki weren’t exactly the most spectacular ones I’ve ever eaten, but they were certainly leaps and bounds over (saké-tūmi)’s horrible excuse for Spring Rolls. They were slightly soggy on the inside, but at least it was possible to distinguish the ingredients from one another. The outside wrapper (which was very crispy, by the way) must’ve been big enough to wrap around the contents twice, because they seemed like they were double-walled. The presentation was nice, and I’d call the rolls adequate.

The salad, like most others, was pretty typical. Iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, and cucumber were topped with a Ginger Dressing. The dressing was all right, although it seemed like it was more of a puree than anything else. Also, similar with what happened at (saké-tūmi), the salad was rather overdressed.  The salad’s ingredients were all fresh, though, so I can’t complain much. It’s really hard to screw up a salad.

The Miso Soup is where things began to get dicey. Not necessarily with the quality of the food, mind you. No, this is where my lunch began trying to kill me. You see, I had been running late, and had asked my friends to order ahead for me. However, they neglected to mention my serious allergy to seaweed to the server. Therefore, when my Miso arrived, it had rather large pieces of nori floating in it. I ended up passing it off to Amber, who enjoyed it, but didn’t say anything for me to write down about it.

I’m including Scott and Amber’s sushi appetizers here for their presentations. Both rolls are pretty basic themselves, but they’re arranged nicely on the plate. The fish seemed to be as fresh as you can get in Binghamton (so likely frozen). While it’s rather pretty, I’m a bit off-put by the technicolor appearance of the pickled ginger. I don’t know if it’s dyed using natural or artificial means, though. The roll pictured above is Scott’s Kani…

…and this one’s Amber’s Tuna & Avocado. The avocado seems like it could be a bit riper, but maybe that’s just me.

When the Unagi Don came out, I got another small surprise. Though not advertised as such in the menu, it was served with an assortment of vegetables. There was a pickled root vegetable (which I’m pretty sure was taro), some caramelized red onions…and yep, you guessed it–seaweed. Le sigh. Luckily, Scott helped me get it off of my plate, but that entire section basically became off-limits to me.

The eel itself was rather good, however. A little fishier in flavor than I remember it being, but still good. The accompanying teriyaki sauce was a little sweeter than I like, but it didn’t detract too much from the flavor of the eel. The taro was okay, but not really my thing (I’m not really into pickled vegetables too much), but the onions were quite good, and a nice compliment to the eel.  The rice was well-cooked and perfectly sticky, but being white rice, didn’t have much flavor of its own.

After we’d completed our meal, the waitress brought over another small surprise, this time a good one–a dish of complimentary orange wedges.

By the by, I don’t hold Fuji San responsible for continually exposing me to my allergen (it’s mostly my fault that it happened), but it should serve as a caution to diners with allergies to inform the restaurant of them, even if you don’t think you’ll be served anything with that particular ingredient. The menu may have a wrong description or omit things, so you have to stay on your guard.

The Verdict: Having been there for both lunch and dinner, I can definitely say I like Fuji San better as a lunch spot. The restaurant itself is clean and bright, and the service seems to be a bit brisker. Also, the prices are cheaper for lunch, but the portions are roughly the same as they are for dinner, which makes it a much better value.

The Rundown: As you may or may not know, the GrubHouse Cafe recently closed its doors. In a kind of tribute, we’re going to take a look at another local restaurant with a “Modern Greek” concept–Vestal’s Mediterranean Gyro.

Mediterranean Gyro is housed in the University Plaza, the same complex as Tully’s and Moghul. As such, their primary clientele is likely the BU Students who live in the adjacent apartments. However, unlike most restaurants that cater to a younger demographic, they have elected to go with a slightly more traditional feel, as opposed to the “hip and trendy” vibe that has become seemingly de rigueur.

Honestly, I like the “tried and true classic” approach a lot better. It feels much more genuine, and not like they’re trying to pander to their customer base. It also has the added effect of not alienating those outside their desired clientele. However, the decor is still fairly modern, and doesn’t look like they’re “stuck in the past”, so to speak. Though the usual trappings of white and blue (the colors of the Greek flag) are still clearly evident, they’re used in such a way that feels fresh and updated. It’s a nice balance of elements.

On the night that I went, Mediterranean Gyro was offering a few different specials featuring baked casserole-style Greek dishes (e.g. moussaka). I opted to try the Pastitsio (here spelled phonetically as “Pastichio”), a dish that I had seen on GrubHouse’s menu, which both refused to actually tell the customer what it was, and boldly claimed that it could only be made by “a skilled artisan”.

Each dinner special came with a Greek salad and a choice of Lentil or Avgolemono soup; I opted for the latter, since I’d never had the chance to try it before (though Lentil soup is one of my all-time favorites).

The Avgolemono, which I’m pretty sure literally means “egg lemon”, is in fact a chicken, vegetable and rice soup in an egg and lemon broth. It was a good, if fairly basic soup. The creaminess from the egg broth and the flavor of the lemon were both nice touches, and worked well here. It probably could have used a bit more seasoning to it, but it was good nonetheless.

The Greek Salad was also fairly simple, but good. It was served without a choice of salad dressing, as all of the tables in the restaurant have cruets of red wine vinegar and olive oil on them. Made on a bed of Romaine lettuce, it also had cucumber, tomato, white onion, a whole pepperoncini (banana pepper), cubes of feta cheese and Kalamata olives (which are not pitted, so be careful). All of the ingredients were fresh and worked well together, and I discovered that while I don’t like regular black and green olives, Kalamatas are rather tasty.

The Pastichio was nothing short of fantastic. Sort of a combination of baked ziti and lasagna, it had penne pasta in a meat sauce with an impressively thick layer of Mornay sauce (a thick cheese sauce, similar to an Alfredo) on top. There were sweet spices in the meat sauce (definitely at least cinnamon, allspice and clove), the flavor of which was reminiscent of Binghamton Hots‘ sauce, though not nearly as spicy. Though the flavors were excellent, the pasta was a bit on the dry side, and could have used a bit heavier sauce.

The accompanying rice pilaf was nice and fluffy, but a little bland, and could have used some kind of seasoning boost, if nothing more than making the rice in chicken broth as opposed to water.  The side of Marinara sauce, though it helped with the dryness of the pasta, was not a good addition overall. It was definitely canned or jarred, and its cloying sweetness completely overpowered the flavors in the meat sauce.

The Verdict: Mediterranean Gyro isn’t a strictly Greek restaurant (they also have things like burgers and chicken tenders), but the Greek options on the menu are very well done (I’ve also had their Souvlaki before). Many of the meals also come with bonuses, including dessert if you’re dining in. I definitely recommend checking them out, whether for dine-in or delivery.

As you may or may not know, Binghamton Restaurant Week is coming up soon. However, I’m in a bit of a quandary. The list of participants this year is at an all-time high, and I’m having a tough time deciding where to go.

That’s where you come in!

Below is a poll with all of the restaurants on the list that I haven’t yet been to. You may notice a couple missing that don’t have reviews currently; there is a reason for that, as you will see over the next couple of months. As I tend to hit multiple stops over the course of Restaurant Week, I ask that you choose more than one (but try not to choose more than five, as that’s stretching the bounds of what I can reasonably get to).  Thanks much!

Edit 3/7: Loft@99 announced today that they would not be able to finish vital repairs before Tuesday, and so would not be participating in this Restaurant Week. If you voted for Loft, please choose another venue from the list. Thanks!

This is a pretty easy recipe. It’s actually more of a guideline–you can adjust most of the ingredients up or down to suit your tastes.

Spicy Cheddar Black Bean Cornbread

• Cornbread mix of your choice, plus required ingredients (milk, eggs, butter, etc. I used Betty Crocker; you could easily substitute a favorite from-scratch recipe)
• 8 oz. Black Beans (about 1/2 a can), drained and well-rinsed
• 2 Tbsp. Sriracha
• 1/4 cup fresh salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I like to use extra sharp; you could also use pepper jack, if you’re a spice junkie)

Preheat oven and prepare cornbread mix according to package directions. Stir in all other ingredients until well blended. Pour mixture into a greased 9″ x 9″ square pan. Bake according to package directions. Cornbread is done when toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

The Rundown: Those of you have been reading the blog for a while might wonder why, if I’m so partial to Asian cuisine, I’ve never once reviewed a Sushi place. The answer is simple: I’m deathly allergic to seaweed. And as nori is a key ingredient in most types of sushi, this puts me at a distinct disadvantage when trying to review a place that’s known for the sheer variety and creativity of its sushi rolls.

(saké-tūmi) offers more than sushi, however. Billing itself as an Asian Fusion restaurant, they have a full menu of other dishes, as well as a bar/lounge area downstairs from the main dining room. Will and I were rather impressed with the skill of the bartender during Martini Walk (they earned the top spot in our review), and were eager to see if the skills of the kitchen matched up.

(saké-tūmi)’s logo is red & black, and their interior also matches this color scheme. Their decor is definitely going for a hip, understated vibe, with black and white photo prints on walls, bamboo ring curtains, and in a rather strange design choice, an unsettlingly creepy Geisha mouth photo over the sushi bar. This thing legitimately has to be seen to be believed, and I really want to know the thought process behind the selection of this piece. I have a feeling that they were trying to go for sexy and provocative, but this photo is just not either of those things.

Will and I both ordered the Iced Green Tea to drink. We both found it to be syrupy sweet, with just a touch of citrus. The tea also had a very, very predominant honey note, and while not explicitly bad, was more than a little cloying.

Instead of doing the usual appetizer/entree/dessert options for lunch, (saké-tūmi) instead did two courses: an App Trio, consisting of a Spring Roll, Miso Soup, and a side salad with Ginger dressing; and a choice of entree. Due to my aforementioned allergy, I switched out the Miso (which traditionally has strips of nori in it) for a second Spring Roll.

App Trio. From left to right; Spring Roll, Miso Soup, Side Salad

The salad was fresh, with Romaine, red onion, cucumber, and tomato. The dressing was sweeter than expected; definitely sweeter than any other dressing I’ve ever had of that type. While, again, I wouldn’t necessarily call it bad, the salad was way overdressed, as you can see by the pool of dressing left in the bottom of the bowl.

Will was rather underwhelmed by the Miso Soup. While he liked the fact that the chunks of tofu were firm and fresh, he felt that the flavor of the miso itself could have been stronger.

The Spring Rolls were also a total letdown. While they were crispy and perfectly fried on the outside, the inside could best be described as a soggy mess. I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what was in them; everything blended together in a bland mush. It’s very likely these were shipped in frozen, and not made fresh. They were arranged in pool of sweet chili sauce, which did absolutely nothing for them, and would have been better served on the side.

For my entree, I chose the Cashew Chicken, and I was very pleased with my choice. The chicken tasted like it had been grilled, with a  slightly smoky flavor. This was accented by the addition of  caramelized red onions and roasted red peppers. However, the sweet chili sauce had no flavor to it other than heat, which was a disappointment but didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the dish. I felt that the ingredients matched well together, for the most part, and was more than satisfied.

Will was much less thrilled with his entree, the Pad Thai. While the shrimp in the dish were cooked perfectly, both the rice noodles & the sprouts were overdone. The dish was also sorely lacking in flavor, color and visual interest, just kind of sitting on the plate like a beige blob. It needed more oomph in general.

Though it was not a part of the Restaurant Week deal, we allowed the waiter to talk us into splitting a Cheesecake Egg Roll for dessert. I’ve seen these around at other places, and I’m well aware that they get shipped in frozen from a distributor. While it’s definitely an interesting concept, and the presentation here was simply beautiful, it didn’t match expectations. It was rather bland, even with the syrups for decoration, and was a real pain to cut. Will and I both thought it would have been much better if a variety of mini rolls, similar to spring rolls, were offered. Possible flavors could be Matcha, Adzuki Bean, Sweet Potato, Citrus…basically any flavor found in a typical Asian dessert would be fair game.

The Verdict: I think, as it stands, (saké-tūmi) has a lot of promise. However, they really need to buckle down and focus on what they’re serving. A restaurant at this price point should not be content to throw frozen, mass-market appetizers in a deep fryer and call it a day, especially when said appetizers are completely subpar. While sushi is definitely their bread and butter, it’s not a dish for everyone, and they need to make sure that their other offerings are up to snuff so that they can focus on making all of their diners happy.