Most people associate sake with the sake bomb, but there is so much more to sake than meets the eye. Manhattan with a Twist headed to Mira Sushi & Izakaya for a delicious sake pairing dinner to learn about the spirit and what Mira is all about.
The restaurant is located in a great part of the city, in the heart of Flatiron and Chelsea, and serves dishes inspired by Asian street food. Chef Brian Tsao does an incredible job fusing dishes together from his many backgrounds. I was joined by Manhattan with a Twist contributor, Sara, who has her own blog, Somm in the City. We started the evening by ordering one of their signature cocktails – I tried the Jaded Martini ($12), made with Bulldog Gin, St. Germain, Midori and lime juice, while Sara opted for the Mira Cosmo ($11), made with Reyka Organic Vodka, honey green tea, Cointreau, lime juice and pomegranate. Mira makes great cocktails and also has some that are made with sake!
First we ordered some outstanding appetizers — Kyoto Crunchy Sloppy Joe ($9), made with Kurobuta ground pork, sour mustard on a Hawaiian bun, Spicy Tuna Pizza ($11), made with crispy roti, guacamole, masago, kani and furikake flakes, Pork n’ Rice Cake Skillet ($10), made with Berkshire minced pork, sesame oil, panko parmesan crust, Beef Bulgogi Tacos ($9), made with kimchi, scallions and toasted sesame, and we topped it all off with Sesame Leaf Wrap ($6), made with vegetable, sesame powder and chili bean paste. I cannot rave enough about how amazing these dishes were. There wasn’t one dish I didn’t love and for those of you looking for something unique and fun, the spicy tuna pizza will really surprise you. The sesame leaf wrap was the perfect palate cleanser to take us to our next course, but not before we tried some fabulous sake. We started off with heavier sakes and worked our way towards lighter sakes throughout the course of the evening. Our first stop was a Junmai, or pure rice sake, called Okunomatsu. This sake was deep and rich and you could definitely taste the rice flavor in this one. Next, we tried another Junmai called Ohka-Gura. I really enjoyed this sake, which was a little bit more flavorful than the first Junmai. I particularly enjoyed these two sakes with our appetizers; they really tasted great with all of the enticing flavors.
While Sara ordered up some sushi, I tried my hand at the Hot Stone Kobe Beef ($18), made with imported Japanese Wagyu, minced scallion and cooked tableside. This was a super fun dish because you cooked the beef yourself on a hot salt stone. Along with our entrees, we tried a Ginjo sake (special brew sake) called Goku Raku. This sake is frequently seen on the streets of Japan, hence it comes in a glass can with a pop top. This sake debuted aromas of grapefruit and strawberry and was definitely less ricey than the Junmais. With our entrees, we also tried some of Mira’s Grilled Asparagus ($7), which comes in a vegan hazelnut butter that is intriguing and tasty. With this part of the meal, we tried the owner’s favorite sake, a Daiginjo (super premium sake) called Ginban Banshu 50 ‘Silver Plate.’ This sake really went down smooth, had a sweeter taste, and was also a favorite of mine.
The night only got better from there because next was dessert. We had an inventive Green Tea Tiramisu, which had just the perfect balance of flavors, along with Honeycomb Dream, a heavenly dessert featuring Malaysian cookies and cream. With these we had a special sake called Ozeki Nigori, which had a fresh aroma of peaches and was delightful paired with desserts. To finish off the night, we tried a rather unusual sake, which was more reminiscent of a port wine than a sake. This sake was called Choya Kokuto Umeshu Plum Liqueur. It was made with black sugar and rum and was very sweet, a little smoky, and quite rich.
So now that we’ve learned a bit more about sake, we hope that you will, too. And if you stop by Mira Sushi for a pairing you will certainly be thanking us later! Now no more bombing!
Mira Sushi & Izakaya is located at 46 W. 22nd Street.
Pingback: Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in New York City