Restaurant Roundup: Aozora at Montclair Restaurant Week

It's Restaurant Week all over the place - from New York to Jersey City to Montclair, NJ, the latter of which I partook in this past Saturday evening with Shaun and four of our friends for a long-awaited group dinner. The place? Aozora, a restaurant of the Japanese-European variety. And there's no better way to enjoy a meal with friends at a sleek restaurant that offers a real prix fixe tasting menu. Up front, I will say that I really, really appreciated the Restaurant Week menu at Aozora. Unlike its Manhattan counterpart, Aozora used this opportunity to showcase the best that they've got on the menu by condensing it into a three course feast that really gave me a sense of what this restaurant is all about. This is quite unlike my experience at Fig & Olive (check back for that review soon) last week, in which we fell into the trap of ordering additional items beyond the Restaurant Week menu since it didn't feature the crostini-heard-round-the-world that everyone has raved about. That's where they get ya. Anyhow, let's get down to the deets, shall we?

First up, we ordered some sushi for the table. Since the one appetizer offered didn't include a piece of sushi (don't worry, the main course did), and we were at a sushi restaurant, we felt it only necessary to partake in the signature cuisine and what a mistake it would have been to overlook it. Eel and avocado roll, spicy tuna roll and rainbow roll graced the table, and my palette has never been so thrilled with the results (this assessment does not take into account dining at Nobu). Fresh, delicate and delicious:

Next up was "the appetizer" - yup, quotes are necessary since there was only one option, but a tasting plate at that. Uni with jalapeno, seared tuna with avocado, marinated filet mignon comprised this mini-tasting plate. And isn't it fun to have an appetizer all to yourself? This one was delicious and pretty to boot:

For the main course, there were three options: angus skirt steak, wild sea bass, and a chef's sushi tasting menu. I had angus skirt steak with kalbi sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Though I had no idea what kalbi marinade was, I'm so happy I jumped right in with both feet, so to speak, as the sweet yet savory marinade (my favorite flavor combo) had all the right moves for my perfectly cooked, medium steak.

Who orders steak at a Japanese restaurant, you ask? This girl. What can I say? I'm just a meat and potatoes kind of gal. That's not to say, however, that I wasn't green with envy when this gorgeous plate of sushi came rolling over to the table...

I mean, really, isn't she pretty? And as I've mentioned previously, you can always find me stealing bits of deliciousness off the plates of my co-dinner goers, and this evening was no different. Luckily, my co-dinner goers were oh so generous, and I reaped the palette-pleasing benefits. From the sushi plate, with a closer look:

 

to the wild sea bass... 

...these dishes were all of equal fabulousness, in taste and presentation. Is there anything better than your food arriving, and you almost don't want to disturb it since it's so pretty? That was the feeling with all of the Aozora items. The only disappointment of the night? Dessert. Six plates of caramel cream, aka flan, that had little to no taste whatsoever let alone any sweetness that I so crave post-dinner. I only wish that the little rock sugar lattice-looking creation could have taken over the plate because that was the only part that I found to be enjoyable. I mean, really, where's the mochi?

The bottom line? The menu was overall fantastic, if you put dessert out of your mind, and inspired me to dine at Japanese restaurants more often. If you can get it, make a reservation at Aozora right now. Unfortunately, you'll have to go on my photos above as your RW menu guide since it was nowhere to be found online. Sadly, their website is a doozy. I'm sure it cost a fortune, and yes, it is sleek and chic and all of those things. But when I just wanted to find the menu, it took 10 minutes of searching through the super-Flashed site to find it, and they didn't even have the Restaurant Week menu up (a seriously un-ok practice in my book, and one that many Manhattan digs tend to follow). Even beyond Restaurant Week, Aozora is one that I will surely revisit - and that's the whole point of Restaurant Week, isn't it?

So what do you think? Have you ever dined at Aozora? Have you been trying any new restaurants with Restaurant Week menus?

A Cup of Teavana

I have always been a tea drinker. While a barrel of coffee is necessary to get me going in the AM, I drink tea simply for the delicious, delicate taste. Though I've grown up in a Red Rose black tea household and rarely strayed to herbal teas (and never of the green variety), I was recently introduced to the wonder of Teavana. A tiny store in my local mall with a wall of canisters filled with different varietals of tea, from black to white to oolong to herbal, there's a flavor for every palette. After hearing rave reviews from Catherine and Christine and taste-testing the Earl Grey Creme from Christine's stash, I was instantly won over and made my way over to the shop to get my very own unofficial tea starter kit.

The tea is sold loose, measured out and sold in 2 oz portions and the price varies by type of tea.

I also needed an infuser in which to brew the tea (and keep the tea leaves from floating around in my cup, and subsequently out of my mouth). While there are lots of different kinds, I got a metal mesh cup that sits pretty atop my tea mug and has a little lid to keep it warm, toasty and steeping properly. And please also note the sweet Harry & David mug that Kimberly gave me as a Christmas gift.

And since there were oh-so-many teas to choose from and I wanted to avoid spending a fortune on teas that I may or may not like, I kept it super simple and went with basic flavors that I was pretty sure I'd enjoy (and ones I had previously sampled from Christine's own stash since she was kind enough to share with me). In addition to the tea and the infuser, I also got sucked into buying the fancy schmancy rock sugar.

Could you use regular? Sure. But the super special rock sugar is delicately sweet and looks gorgeous to boot. Since I wanted to savor the pretty sugary colors, I opted out of the Teavana canisters and instead picked up a glass mason jar for $1.29 at the local dollar store.

For the actual tea, however, I did splurge for the Teavana canisters since I really had nothing else in which to store the tea. Since I was getting a limited supply of tea, I went with the 6oz canisters which ran $4.50 a pop.

In the end, I did spend a bit over my budget, but realized that the canisters and the infuser will last and last and only the tea and sugar will need to be replaced. Oh and I should also note that since only 1tsp of sugar per cup of tea is recommended, my hope is that it will last for a while. 

Teavana breakdown:
1 tea infuser
1 lb rock sugar
4 oz Earl Grey Creme - a vanilla-flavored black tea that works at any time of day. I already knew I liked this kind, so I went with 4oz, rather than 2.
2 oz Weight to Go - an oolong strawberry flavored tea that doubles as an appetite suppressant
2 oz Samurai Chai Mate - a cinnamony mate, which means it's the same caffeine level as coffee
3 Teavana canisters to hold said tea

After bringing it all home and testing them out, the clear winner for me is the Earl Grey Creme. It's an any-time-of-day tea and the flavor is impeccable.Coming in second is the Weight to Go. It's fresh and supposedly jump starts your weightloss. I highly recommend it if you're into fruity teas.left to right: Samurai Chai, Weight to Go, Earl Grey Creme

And in last place? The Samurai Chai. With this one, I just felt kind of 'eh' about it. It was just ok. But that's why you start small and then refresh with the ones you take a liking to. Next time I'll be filling up on Earl Grey Creme and trying out something new. Any recommendations?

So what do you think? Do you like tea? Are you a Teavana afficianado? If so, what do you recommend for those just starting out, like me?

It's Baa-ack! NYC Restaurant Week is Here!

Photo taken from nycgo.comThough it's the dead of winter and there's not a whole lot going on in the traditional sense, I'll admit that I do enjoy taking advantage of indoor activities. The Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, lots of movie going, and dining at restaurants that I've had on my list for months are at the top of my winter plans. Luckily, the restaurant industry agrees, as Restaurant Week starts this Monday, January 25 and runs through February 5. What is Restaurant Week, you say? It's a little ol' thing they've cooked up to get people like you and me into fancy restaurants that we otherwise wouldn't pony up the dough for, if you know what I mean. With a special menu in mind, diners get a $35 prix fixe meal, including a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. Booze not included.

In previous Restaurant Week's, I've feasted on aged steak at famed Smith & Wollensky and dined on exquisite sushi at Japonais. Let's face it, unless it's a special occasion, I typically stick to places more in line with my wallet...Places of the Land - Otto - Five Napkin Burger variety. I must mention here that some of the restaurants featured are just not worth it. If you're biting, do your due dilligence (say that three times fast...). Take a moment to compare the Restaurant Week menu with the real menu. I've found that at some establishments, the prix fixe just isn't worth it because a three course meal wouldn't necessarily add up to $35. This happened one year at Marseille...I ended up not even liking my dinner all that much AND it was more expensive than if I just ordered what I really wanted off of the main menu. However, some places are totally worth it, like Delmonico's, Mesa Grill, Smith & Wollensky, and many more. Just check before you go.

This year on my list is Fig & Olive, Artisinal, and Butter. I've got two out of three in the works, but those reservations book up quickly! Oh, and keep in mind that this little promotion typically runs Monday through Thursday for two weeks, unless otherwise noted.

So what do you think? Will you be dining out during Restaurant Week this year? Which ones are at the top of your list? I'm just wishing Bar Boulud had a dinner option and that A Voco wasn't booked up already!