Sakagura

Sakagura is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It used to be a hidden gem (the restaurant is located inside the basement of an office building in midtown) but word spread like wildfire because every time I go these days, the place is packed. The restaurant serves little dishes that are made to share so you can try a lot on the menu without stuffing yourself. My mom is also a big fan of the restaurant because of one particular dish – the jidori shioyaki (grilled organic free range chicken served with sea salt and yuzu citrus pepper):

The chicken is very tender and tastes amazingly delicious with the yuzu citrus pepper. My mom’s been to the restaurant 4 or 5 times and each time we visit, this is our must order dish.

On our last visit, we ordered the ayu shioyaki (grilled whole sweetfish sprinkled with salt, imported from Japan):

My mom and aunt said it tasted like the fish they used to eat when they were growing up in Taiwan; I found the fish to be too boney and couldn’t get any enjoyment from the meat (David and I were too busy trying to find meat between the bones we were picking out of our mouthes!)

We also ordered the eel:

Delicious sea urchin:

Fried tofu in a very delicate mushroom broth:

And warm sake:

The restaurant is a very wonderful place to bring guests (when John and Angie visited last spring, I took them to the restaurant and they absolutely loved it, except for the eggplant dish I ordered). It’s a little difficult to get reservations for the restaurant online, but try calling in and they might be able to seat you. Be sure to try their bathrooms, too; they have heated seats just like the ones at Morimoto!