NY restaurant week, the most celebrated food festival, is coming.
This summer from July 11th to July 24th, lots of NY popular restaurants offer a 3 courses lunch at $24.7 or $35 for dinner promotion.
New York City has been considered the Mecca of gourmet food by gourmand. From street vendors, food trunks to Michelin star restaurants, it embraces the most dynamic and energetic food cultures. Therefore, as a foodie, I undoubtedly have to make good use of the restaurant week to explore the taste of this big apple.
Few weeks ago, I already start to do the research. First of all, I went to Open Table to find out which restaurants are participating this event. And then I checked the restaurant’s review on both Yelp and Open Table website so that I could truly get a good deal. This is my list: Perry St, Nougatine, Nobu, David Bluke Townhouse and En Japanese Brasserie. But I would continue to update it whenever I see a better option.
My Portuguese Friend Cinthia picked En Japanese Brasserie. Cinthia is a big fan of Japanese food. She knows which restaurant has the best Japanese style BBQ and where you could get a grilled wagyu steak for only $23. Since En Japanese has a certain level of popularity, we decided to have En to be our first stop on this journey.
En Japanese Brasserie Restaurant Week Menu
We started on its famous handmade Tofu with wari joyu. The tofu tasted good but not surprising. However, I adored its wooden bowl and spoon, making this dish more appetizing. Second course was O-BanZa, chef’s selection of two Kyoto-style appetizers. the asparagus with sesame sauce was really flavorful and creamy but the other dish was pretty refreshing. From this detail, we could see how chef carefully design its menu to try to find the precise balance between each dish.
The best dish on En’s restaurant week menu was the grilled lobster with uni miso. It was even better than the Stone grilled Kobe style ribeye, which costed $12 more. The grilled lobster kept making my mouth-watering. The uni miso was a super star in this dish. It not only perked up the lobster’s texture to a higher level but also brought up the freshness and flavors of the lobster. So heavenly yummy.
The kobe steak was not as surprising as we expected compare with the astonishment that Uni lobster gave us. The beef was succulent and juicy when it first served on the hot stone, but the steak was getting dry if you left it too long on the grill stone. Another disappointment about the beef was that we could hardly taste its KOBE level value. Cinthia also said that she knew another restaurant having the same steak but tasted better and at a lower price. There was no reason to have $12 supplement on this dish.
Even though some dishes were not satisfying, I highly recommend En’s wine/sake list. I got a glass of Nigori “unfiltered sake.” The one I had was called Daku, $12. I thought it was the best Nigori I’ve ever had: a little bit strong, lightly milky, dry and yet subtle. Overall, En is still a good place to enjoy modern Japanese food. I believe they have a lot of great dishes which are not on the restaurant week menu. When you visit En, don’t forget to try its sake list.
Yuan’s Comments:
EN is my first stop of NY’s Restaurant Week. It is a Japanese restaurant with simple but modern Japanese style. The capacious dining room surrounded by the light grey concrete walls makes the diners feel both visually and mentally easy and peaceful.
Two dishes I ordered: En Garlic Shiso Fried Rice & Dassai Daiginjo Sake-Kasu Pork Shoulder.
The simplest food is usually the most difficult dish to cook. Many might consider garlic fried rice a boring dish. However, it’s the simpleness that needs chef’s years of experience to deliver its authentic taste of each ingredient. I like the idea of adding shiso to the fried rice. The aroma of fresh shiso pleased my palate, making me unconsciously eating slower and in more detail to taste the meal. I thought maybe it’s because of the Zen spirit in that dish made me had that reaction.
The taste of the pork shoulder I ordered was fantastic: crisp golden skin with super tender and juicy meat. The pork had been marinated with sake; I believe it’s the trick that the chef did to create sparkle on the meat texture. I was so surprised that the pork shoulder could be so delicious. It was beyond my imagination.
In conclusion, En restaurant is a good place for a drink. I would give this restaurant 4 stars ＊＊＊＊including the its sake/wine list (total is 5.)
