Sushi
by Thelonious Frumkin
Sushi is more complicated than people think. There are four main types of sushi: roll sushi, topped rice sushi (nigiri-zushi), box sushi, and battleship sushi (gunkan makit-suzhi).
Roll sushi is probably the most common. It is made by lining up and rolling the ingredients into a log and chopping it up. There are three kinds of roll sushi: thin, thick, and inside out. Roll sushi is one of the only kinds of sushi you can make into art. You simply lay out the ingredients in a certain way and roll over all. I think roll sushi is a great type of sushi.
Another form of sushi is box sushi. You lay the topping in the bottom of the box and then lay rice down and press really hard. Chop it up and ta-daa: sushi. Box sushi was the first kind of sushi. People got the idea from storing fish in rice. Box sushi is very interesting because you can lay out patterns and have them appear on the sushi.
Another type of sushi is battleship sushi. Battleship sushi is mainly for ingredients that are hard to handle, sush as fish roe and sea urchin.
The final type of sushi is topped rice sushi. This type is very popular but takes a lot of practice to make. Start off by smearing a dab of wasabi on the fish. Then place the fish on the rice and form. To form, you must pinch the sides then push on the top. Repeat until the sushi is well formed.
Overall, I think sushi is an extremely healthy, delicious, and versatile food.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wu Liang Ye
Review of Wu Liang Ye
by Thelonious Frumkin
Next to Rockefeller Center is Wu Liang Ye, a large, fancy Chinese restaurant. It is nothing I have ever seen. It was big. There were round tables with Lazy Susans. There were many large Chinese families gorging themselves on delicious food. The place looked like a castle. I caught a glimpse of the kitchen. It was a stainless steel box with twenty guys sweating and screaming.
Our maître d’ said: “Can you finish by six?”
We said yes.
He showes us our table.
When we sat down, we ordered a lot of food. I wasn’t expecting much. The first was the Dan Dan noodles. They were hot, spicy, porky, and delicious. There were dumplings and buns. They were good. Then the fish came. It was whole: head, eyes, tail. It was floating in a pond of miso goodness. It was perfect. Then came the General Tso’s chicken. It was crispy and tender. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought out two platters: one of greens and one of greens with bacon. They were amazing. The flavor of the bacon fused with the veggies for a great combo. Overall, I think Wu Liang Ye is a great restaurant to go to with a lot of people.
by Thelonious Frumkin
Next to Rockefeller Center is Wu Liang Ye, a large, fancy Chinese restaurant. It is nothing I have ever seen. It was big. There were round tables with Lazy Susans. There were many large Chinese families gorging themselves on delicious food. The place looked like a castle. I caught a glimpse of the kitchen. It was a stainless steel box with twenty guys sweating and screaming.
Our maître d’ said: “Can you finish by six?”
We said yes.
He showes us our table.
When we sat down, we ordered a lot of food. I wasn’t expecting much. The first was the Dan Dan noodles. They were hot, spicy, porky, and delicious. There were dumplings and buns. They were good. Then the fish came. It was whole: head, eyes, tail. It was floating in a pond of miso goodness. It was perfect. Then came the General Tso’s chicken. It was crispy and tender. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought out two platters: one of greens and one of greens with bacon. They were amazing. The flavor of the bacon fused with the veggies for a great combo. Overall, I think Wu Liang Ye is a great restaurant to go to with a lot of people.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Eton and Kuidouraku
Reviews of Eton and Kuidouraku
by Thelonious Frumkin
When you think of ramen, you don’t think Hawiian. Eton proves you wrong. Snowboards nailed to the walls and no gas cooking make Eton truly unique. The highlight of the meal for me was the dumplings. They were thick and crispy. They make everything there, even the dumpling skins. There were about five sauces, all delicious. All fo the food was served in paper baskets and bowls. The ramen had only two small problems: the nori and the broth. The broth was a little too light for me. There was too much nori. I have nori and it was spread everywhere. Other than that, the meat was stellar and the refreshing chunks of bok choi were amazing. Overall, I think Eton is a very good dumpling and ramen spot.
Kuidouraku is blocks away from Momofuku. It was hard not to go to Momo. To start off, Kuidouraku is designed for summer, not winter. The drafts were awful. Behind me there were Japanese pop shows blaring on TV. A waitress handed me a long menu. I saw pork buns so I ordered one. It was very similar to Momo’s: fatty pork, scallions, and BBQ sauce. Then the ramen. The moodles were the best I have had so far. The broth was OK. The meat was like Naruto’s: not great. My brother hated his miso ramen. After my ramen, I ordered dumplings. They were good, but not as good at Eton’s. Overall, I think Kuidouraku is a good ramen restaurant.
by Thelonious Frumkin
When you think of ramen, you don’t think Hawiian. Eton proves you wrong. Snowboards nailed to the walls and no gas cooking make Eton truly unique. The highlight of the meal for me was the dumplings. They were thick and crispy. They make everything there, even the dumpling skins. There were about five sauces, all delicious. All fo the food was served in paper baskets and bowls. The ramen had only two small problems: the nori and the broth. The broth was a little too light for me. There was too much nori. I have nori and it was spread everywhere. Other than that, the meat was stellar and the refreshing chunks of bok choi were amazing. Overall, I think Eton is a very good dumpling and ramen spot.
Kuidouraku is blocks away from Momofuku. It was hard not to go to Momo. To start off, Kuidouraku is designed for summer, not winter. The drafts were awful. Behind me there were Japanese pop shows blaring on TV. A waitress handed me a long menu. I saw pork buns so I ordered one. It was very similar to Momo’s: fatty pork, scallions, and BBQ sauce. Then the ramen. The moodles were the best I have had so far. The broth was OK. The meat was like Naruto’s: not great. My brother hated his miso ramen. After my ramen, I ordered dumplings. They were good, but not as good at Eton’s. Overall, I think Kuidouraku is a good ramen restaurant.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Momo, Naruto, Ippudo
Review of Three Ramen Restaurants in New York City
by Thelonious Frumkin
My love for food started at a young age. My love for ramen soon followed. It all started on some occasion when I was about 7 or 8. I was at a plywood covered noddle bar called Momofuku. Someone ordered the ramen. I tasted it and fell in love. The broth was so rich and meaty, the egg was perfectly runny. I then went to Momo almost every other weekend. I loved ramen.
The Momofuku ramen has four main parts: the noodles, the broth, the meat, and the toppings. The meat is my favorite. The ramen has two cuts of pork belly: one is fatty; one is a little more lean. They are both delicious. The noodles are thicker than norman ramen which I like. The broth is so rich. I like it better than classic broth. The toppings are bamboo, scallions, and a slow-poached egg. I loved this ramen for years.
Naruto is a more classic place. The broth is lighter, the noodles thinner and the meat crappier. But Naruto has one thing Momo did not: variety. Naruto has about four different ramens. They had spicy, they had miso, they had classic and curry. Plus Naruto had weird appetizers like ball pancake with octopus. Naruto was similar to Momo in decor except Momo had six cooks. Nartuo was about 7 feet wide. It was packed into this space wtih two cooks nad about a dozen seats and relatively good dishes.
The final restaurant is Ippudo. This place is crazy. It was a two hour wait for two. There was a watithing room/bar with red lights and bowls on the wall. Ippudo was very popular. After standing for two hours, we sat down. They had some fake fire in front of us. They had a bamboo tree thing in the center of the restaurant and people screaming Japanese. It was a breathing, loud, wild factory. All the chefs wore plastic gloves. I went to use the bathroom. It was downstairs. There was a window into the prep kitchen where I saw a pot big enough to hold me and my brother. Next to that there was some weird noodle-making robot. I walked upstairs. I ordered samurai ribs. Later, a tiny bone with about a pound of meat on it landed on our table. The smell was intoxicating. I ate three samurai rib. Then came the ramen. It wasn’t brown. It was like Naruto except the meat was worse. The broth was quite watery.
Overall, out of all of the ramens, my favorite is the Momofuku ramen. The meaty thick broth and the extra thick noodles are very hard to beat. Runner up is Naruto: good broth, thin noodles, and a lot of variety. And last was Ippudo. The decor was terrific, but the ramen did not cut the mustard. All in all, I think ramen is a terrific dish and it is one of my favorite foods.
by Thelonious Frumkin
My love for food started at a young age. My love for ramen soon followed. It all started on some occasion when I was about 7 or 8. I was at a plywood covered noddle bar called Momofuku. Someone ordered the ramen. I tasted it and fell in love. The broth was so rich and meaty, the egg was perfectly runny. I then went to Momo almost every other weekend. I loved ramen.
The Momofuku ramen has four main parts: the noodles, the broth, the meat, and the toppings. The meat is my favorite. The ramen has two cuts of pork belly: one is fatty; one is a little more lean. They are both delicious. The noodles are thicker than norman ramen which I like. The broth is so rich. I like it better than classic broth. The toppings are bamboo, scallions, and a slow-poached egg. I loved this ramen for years.
Naruto is a more classic place. The broth is lighter, the noodles thinner and the meat crappier. But Naruto has one thing Momo did not: variety. Naruto has about four different ramens. They had spicy, they had miso, they had classic and curry. Plus Naruto had weird appetizers like ball pancake with octopus. Naruto was similar to Momo in decor except Momo had six cooks. Nartuo was about 7 feet wide. It was packed into this space wtih two cooks nad about a dozen seats and relatively good dishes.
The final restaurant is Ippudo. This place is crazy. It was a two hour wait for two. There was a watithing room/bar with red lights and bowls on the wall. Ippudo was very popular. After standing for two hours, we sat down. They had some fake fire in front of us. They had a bamboo tree thing in the center of the restaurant and people screaming Japanese. It was a breathing, loud, wild factory. All the chefs wore plastic gloves. I went to use the bathroom. It was downstairs. There was a window into the prep kitchen where I saw a pot big enough to hold me and my brother. Next to that there was some weird noodle-making robot. I walked upstairs. I ordered samurai ribs. Later, a tiny bone with about a pound of meat on it landed on our table. The smell was intoxicating. I ate three samurai rib. Then came the ramen. It wasn’t brown. It was like Naruto except the meat was worse. The broth was quite watery.
Overall, out of all of the ramens, my favorite is the Momofuku ramen. The meaty thick broth and the extra thick noodles are very hard to beat. Runner up is Naruto: good broth, thin noodles, and a lot of variety. And last was Ippudo. The decor was terrific, but the ramen did not cut the mustard. All in all, I think ramen is a terrific dish and it is one of my favorite foods.
Taro Sushi Review
Taro Sushi Review
by Thelonious Frumkin
Flatbush Avenue near Bergen Street in Brooklyn, NY
Most Japanese restaurants are very similar. Taro Sushi was a little different. When I walked in the door, the smell of nori filled my nose. Taro was empty. Not a great start. They guys at the sushi bar were talking to the idle waitresses.
I sat down and looked at a menu. It seemed simple: sushi and specials. I ordered the sushi/sashimi combo, something I usually order. My dad ordered gyoza, and asparagus and shrimp tempura rolls.
The gyoza were good. They had a better than average shell and a less good than average filling. I saw the sushi bar slowly assemble my dish and out of the kitchen popped my dad’s dish.
The waitress explained my dish like she had some idea of what she was doing. The first thing I tasted was the California roll. It was good but not great. Then I tried a real crab and onion roll. It was very good and delicate. Next was the unagi (crispy eel). It was delicious. Then I tried assorted sushi: all good. Then the sashimi. The big eye tuna was great. The salmon was terrific. The scallop was tender. The fluke was a little knarly. Overall, the sushi/sashimi combo was a good choice.
The meal seemed over but I was still a little hungry so we ordered another tempura shirmp and another asparagus. It was about five miniutes of eating ginger and talking before the tempura arrived. It was freshly cooked so it was hot and crispy. The asparagus was cooked perfectly. The best part was the tail of the shrimp. Now usually, I throw the tail away. But this tail had it all: flavor, crisp crunch...it was amazing.
By then the restaurant was filling up and the kitchen was more frantic. We then payed the bill and tottered home. All in all, it was a great meal, better than any I’ve had at Geido. I would definitely go back to seaweed-smelling Taro Sushi.
by Thelonious Frumkin
Flatbush Avenue near Bergen Street in Brooklyn, NY
Most Japanese restaurants are very similar. Taro Sushi was a little different. When I walked in the door, the smell of nori filled my nose. Taro was empty. Not a great start. They guys at the sushi bar were talking to the idle waitresses.
I sat down and looked at a menu. It seemed simple: sushi and specials. I ordered the sushi/sashimi combo, something I usually order. My dad ordered gyoza, and asparagus and shrimp tempura rolls.
The gyoza were good. They had a better than average shell and a less good than average filling. I saw the sushi bar slowly assemble my dish and out of the kitchen popped my dad’s dish.
The waitress explained my dish like she had some idea of what she was doing. The first thing I tasted was the California roll. It was good but not great. Then I tried a real crab and onion roll. It was very good and delicate. Next was the unagi (crispy eel). It was delicious. Then I tried assorted sushi: all good. Then the sashimi. The big eye tuna was great. The salmon was terrific. The scallop was tender. The fluke was a little knarly. Overall, the sushi/sashimi combo was a good choice.
The meal seemed over but I was still a little hungry so we ordered another tempura shirmp and another asparagus. It was about five miniutes of eating ginger and talking before the tempura arrived. It was freshly cooked so it was hot and crispy. The asparagus was cooked perfectly. The best part was the tail of the shrimp. Now usually, I throw the tail away. But this tail had it all: flavor, crisp crunch...it was amazing.
By then the restaurant was filling up and the kitchen was more frantic. We then payed the bill and tottered home. All in all, it was a great meal, better than any I’ve had at Geido. I would definitely go back to seaweed-smelling Taro Sushi.
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