For this week's Grub Club outing, Pam, In-Young, Jon, and I met up at Kenka, a Japanese tapas bar, or izakaya, in the East Village. Great food and prices, crazy art and menu items, and cotton candy. Could it get any better?
1) Tako wasabi: raw, salted octopus with wasabi. 2) Yakatori: grilled chicken and scallion skewers. The octopus was salty, spicy, and chewy--a really good bar snack.
3) Niku udon: beef soup with udon noodles. 4) Taiwan ramen: spicy pork soup with ramen noodles and Chinese chives. 5) Buta no kakuni: stewed pork in broth. The soup and stewed pork were the answer for a freezing NYC night. (I guess the big bottle of sake didn't hurt.)
6) Miso yakionigiri: grilled rice balls with miso paste. 7) Dessert: do-it-yourself cotton candy. I think I got as many candy threads on my face, beard, and hat as I did on the chopstick. (I had to crop and smoosh the pic on the right to fit the grid. I'm not that wide...really, I'm not!)
After Kenka, we went around the corner to Cha-An for some post-dinner tea and nibbles. This place is so cozy
and relaxing--the perfect way to end the night. 8) Tea (duh!). 9) Black sesame brulee. I love this stuff. (Black sesame has a peanut buttery flavor. Hmm...maybe I should do a black sesame cookie.)
How cool, DIY cotton candy! I wonder if there's any restaurant that offers it in the Bay Area.
Posted by: stripeydots | February 06, 2009 at 08:28 PM
Yes, you should do a black sesame cookie!
Posted by: Alicia | February 11, 2009 at 04:46 PM
Hi, Amelia. The DIY cotton candy was really fun. Too bad it was sooo cold out that night. I could have spun the stuff all night. :-)
Posted by: Oatmeal Cookie Guy | February 11, 2009 at 08:08 PM
Hi, Alicia. I'll add black sesame to the list!
Posted by: Oatmeal Cookie Guy | February 11, 2009 at 08:08 PM