EN JAPANESE BRASSERIE.

So..in the battle between East Side vs. West Side...the one argument that I will let the East Side have is that they have really great JAPANESE FOOD...and usually for CHEAP. If only St. Mark's Place moved over 2-3 avenues...then the West Side could be considered no less than PERFECT.


However, now that I have discovered EN Japanese Brasserie a few blocks from my apartment, I am no longer quite as jealous. Although a little more on the expensive side, the food is absolutely amazing and the atmosphere is quite wonderful. There is an open kitchen where you can see piles of Japanese ceramic dishware waiting to be used. In the center of the main dining room is an extremely large center piece of branches that extends to the ceiling. A communal table surrounds the center piece on all four sides and there is also seating on the outer perimeter of the room.


Dinner started off with a good note because I ordered the Seppun - which means KISS in Japanese (how cute!!!). It is shochu with yuzu citrus, fresh grapefruit juice, and shiso. The waiter described it as a mojito...it totally wasn't but I don't care because the drink was absolutely delicious!!! Strong yuzu flavors evened out by the sour grapefruit.


EN Japanese Brasserie is very well known for their homemade tofu. It is made fresh just about every hour during the dinner service and it is absolute heaven. It comes in large creamy, milk blocks.


You scoop it into your bowl and top it with some wari-joyu, which is soy sauce that is spiked with a bit of fish broth. The creaminess of the tofu is sensational!!! This is the ice cream of the winter season. The mildness of the tofu picks up the flavor of the wari-joyu so well!! Each spoonful makes you melt inside.


Next up was our order of the Nama-Fu Sanshoku Dengaku - three different varieties of wheat cakes (sesame, yomogi, and classic) spread with miso and grilled. It is a traditional dish from Kyoto. Basically very lightly flavored mochi...I wasn't in love with the gritty, dense texture.


But not to worry because our Clay Rice Pot of salmon arrived soon after!! Make sure to allow 40 minutes for this dish to be prepared. Salmon sat gently atop a bed of rice inside the clay pot. Our waiter came over and mashed the elements together (I LOVE salmon mashed into rice - this happened to be one of my favorite dinners as a child) and scooped it into our bowls.


We were then allowed to top the rice and salmon mixture as we wished with salmon roe and some sort of green, herb thing (that was NOT seaweed). This was such a simple, comforting, delicious dish. The rice was soft and warm and just wet enough to congeal easily around the salmon bits. The refreshing pops from the salmon roe added interest to the warm mixture. And the little herb tasted familiar, but could not be identified.


Our Kani Chawamushi (snow crab egg custard) arrived along with the clay pot. I happen to LOVE steamed egg (another favorite dish of mine was mashing steamed egg into rice...notice a trend?) and I thought it could only be improved upon by the addition of crab. My one complaint about this dish was that the consistency was a bit too watery for my liking. Otherwise, the flavors were great and the crab definitely worked well with the egg.


And finally, my dessert of Flourless Chocolate Cake with a scoop of green tea ice cream. A perfectly sweet way to end an overall salty meal!!! The flourless cake was just a tad melty and fudgy in the middle. The subtle (but great) green tea flavor of the ice cream could not be tasted when eaten with the cake, but the dessert was still yammie overall.

I enjoyed EN Japanese Brasserie very much - definitely pop in for a warm, comforting Japanese meal during the winter time!!!