77 Posts, last published on Sep 6, 2007

I was going to title this post, Japonais, but when I saw my stats for this blog, I changed my mind.

Sep 2, 2007. Where did the time go? In between the long days at work, and the agonizing sleepless nights (no, I don't have a sick kid at home, just Mr. Sandman's annoying cousin, Mr. Insomnia) I've lost all sense of time. Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is just down the street.

I don't have to tell you that I haven't been cooking or baking much, just look at the dust on my blog and it'll tell you. I've just been busy, unimaginative, uninspired. But with everything I've tossed from the fridge and cabinets, I can say I've a very clean kitchen! But don't fret-I'm not starving. I'm well taken care of between the line crew and overnight cooks, so I haven't missed too many meals. It's just on those days when I'm off from work I get a little nervous about what and how to feed myself.

My eating habits are not what I am posting about today, no, I don't want to bore those of you who still read this thing. I'm posting and putting up pictures from my visit to Japonais last week. I went with my soon-go-be-ex boss (he's leaving, not me) exactly a week ago. I'd been wanting to eat there for a long time now, but just never got a chance to go. And when I say chance, I mean, money, and friends to go who had money and were into that sort of thing. But C is leaving soon and wants to do his "restaurant tours" before he leaves, and that was how I got a chance to go.

The restaurant itself is huge! The dining area is spacious, with high ceilings. It's all concrete with wood accents, and a "wall of water" right when you walk in. There's the sushi kitchen, and another kitchen the hot entrees come from, and the menu is divided accordingly. I also hear that downstairs there is another bar (the restrooms are downstairs. I guess you may as well have a beverage while you wait in line ladies.). Everything is large, yet subtle, from the grand mirror mounted behind me above our table, to the muted and elegant colors and textures of the textiles that graced other walls. The seating was interesting, the chairs and cushioned ottomans and tables were at such heights that it felt like you were seated at a traditional Japanese dining table. It was a nice effect, without having to sit with my legs tucked beneath me. The only thing that seemed out of place was the uniforms for the waitstaff-their jackets were a cross between a chef's coat and a lab coat (if you've been to McCormick & Schmick's, you know what I'm talking about).

C and I had three appetizers, a bottle of wine, an entree each, and they sent us dessert, which was nice, but I did want to try out a couple of things. I'd looked at their menu online, and though the dessert descriptions didn't seem outstanding, there were a couple I wanted to taste. Anyway, as usual, I took photos of each dish, with only one coming out blurry. The rest of the photos are up on Flickr, but I'm including the menu descriptions here.

Appetizers
Albacore tuna pan seared with a small salad (this was the special, and I didn't write down the description)
Tuna Flatbread ahi tuna, mochi cheese with olive anchovy sauce on fresh made aha and wakame crust
Crab Cakes pan seared lump crab cakes with soy mustard sauce

Entrees
Samurai Cut Tuna Steak ohba yuzu marinated aji tuna grilled over roasted scallion potato puree and pickled celery salad
"Le Quack Japonais" maple leaf smoked duckw with joisin sauce, mango chutney and mushu wraps

Dessert
Coffee & Doughnuts green tea semi-freddo with warm chocolate and chestnut filled beignets

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