Dining Month: Biwa
Not entirely fair to put this here, as we didn't actually have the Dining Month version of the Omakase. Because we discovered that for $6 more you got at least one extra course (I actually think it was more, but we lost track).
I am always sad that I didn't take pictures and notes after I eat one of these absolutely stunning meals. Biwa remains the finest meals I've ever had the pleasure of eating, and I continued the streak of excellent food, excellent company, and delicious delicous sake pairings.
Some highlights:
Best. French fry. Substitute. EVER. Oh my god. Fried sweet potato that was cut a little bigger than steak fries, in honey and sesame seeds and something else I'm forgetting because it was so good. So. Good. Go to Biwa and get daigaku imo. Would be a great drunk food, too, though we had it fairly early on in the meal.
Fried Kimchi. Spicy and fried at once! Delicious.
Escarole sashimi with beet salad and wasabi. There's a reason it's called Butterfish, and oh, it was good. As I mentioned to Taranhero, apprently 'raw' is a really good way to go with me, food-wise, because:
The one dish I had had before in the Omakase was the steak tartare, which remains one of my absolute favorites. It's quite spicy, though the quail's egg can cool it down just a touch if you get enough yolk (but I love the spicy, so). It comes with lettuce to wrap it in, but I don't see why anyone would want to dilute that flavor at all. Taranheo agrees. Fantastic dish.
Kimchi Pork Stew with Rice Cakes. Good (here that means excellent), but not as much of a standout as the above.
Pickled mackerel salad - good, but again not a highlight for me. Listing it here so I can remember I had it.
There was another salad, and another soup, and it was all very very good, but Taranhero and I got the sake pairings.
OH, THE SAKE PAIRINGS, PEOPLE.
I like sake, but this meal really makes me appreciate the art of pairing. I wish I could remember more about my favorite sake than "It had the giant bottle that looked like it was from the 50s". The one that followed was much stronger in flavor, but held up against the pickled mackerel in a way the other wouldn't have.
And then, dear friends, there was dessert.
Dessert was chocolate mousse with a dollop of whipped cream, and was very good. But it was paired with a spicy plum wine that made it divine. I do not have the words to adequately express how brilliant those two things were together. The plum wine was quite spicy, even by my standards, but the mousse was so creamy and cooling that you just happily went from one to the other in a cycle of utter foodie bliss. It was fantastic.
Special thanks to Taranhero for being such a great excuse to go back to Biwa!
I am always sad that I didn't take pictures and notes after I eat one of these absolutely stunning meals. Biwa remains the finest meals I've ever had the pleasure of eating, and I continued the streak of excellent food, excellent company, and delicious delicous sake pairings.
Some highlights:
Best. French fry. Substitute. EVER. Oh my god. Fried sweet potato that was cut a little bigger than steak fries, in honey and sesame seeds and something else I'm forgetting because it was so good. So. Good. Go to Biwa and get daigaku imo. Would be a great drunk food, too, though we had it fairly early on in the meal.
Fried Kimchi. Spicy and fried at once! Delicious.
Escarole sashimi with beet salad and wasabi. There's a reason it's called Butterfish, and oh, it was good. As I mentioned to Taranhero, apprently 'raw' is a really good way to go with me, food-wise, because:
The one dish I had had before in the Omakase was the steak tartare, which remains one of my absolute favorites. It's quite spicy, though the quail's egg can cool it down just a touch if you get enough yolk (but I love the spicy, so). It comes with lettuce to wrap it in, but I don't see why anyone would want to dilute that flavor at all. Taranheo agrees. Fantastic dish.
Kimchi Pork Stew with Rice Cakes. Good (here that means excellent), but not as much of a standout as the above.
Pickled mackerel salad - good, but again not a highlight for me. Listing it here so I can remember I had it.
There was another salad, and another soup, and it was all very very good, but Taranhero and I got the sake pairings.
OH, THE SAKE PAIRINGS, PEOPLE.
I like sake, but this meal really makes me appreciate the art of pairing. I wish I could remember more about my favorite sake than "It had the giant bottle that looked like it was from the 50s". The one that followed was much stronger in flavor, but held up against the pickled mackerel in a way the other wouldn't have.
And then, dear friends, there was dessert.
Dessert was chocolate mousse with a dollop of whipped cream, and was very good. But it was paired with a spicy plum wine that made it divine. I do not have the words to adequately express how brilliant those two things were together. The plum wine was quite spicy, even by my standards, but the mousse was so creamy and cooling that you just happily went from one to the other in a cycle of utter foodie bliss. It was fantastic.
Special thanks to Taranhero for being such a great excuse to go back to Biwa!