Last weekend, I visited my good friends and newlyweds, Rachael and Tadashi, in Brooklyn. Tadashi has much of the same passion that I do for cooking and eating. Our small talk often revolves around what we have eaten so far that day, or what new tool we bought for our respective kitchens. Much to Rachael’s dismay, Tadashi has a difficult time going into any store without purchasing something to take back to his kitchen. I have to admit that I have the same problem. Needless to say, whenever I make it up to Brooklyn to visit, I always have a fantastic meal, whether it’s in his kitchen, or on a venture through my favorite of the five boroughs.

 

On this particular visit, we headed to the Williamsburg area to check out a new Japanese restaurant. It’s called Zenkichi and is located on 77 North 6th street, just a few blocks off of Bedford. We arrived at the location to find a building covered in thick wooden slabs with no apparent sign or entrance. Upon further inspection, we found the outline of a door, but no handle. Tadashi found a thin crack about waist-height that revealed a small, square swinging door, only about 8”x8”. Beyond that door was a business card sized sign with the restaurant name and a note indicating that the real door was a few feet down, under an orange lamp. We found the other door, also with no handle, and apparently locked. After about ten minutes of fumbling and feeling the outside walls of Zenkichi, it was time to admit defeat. It turns out that they are only open Wednesday to Sunday. I have to admit that the puzzle has only served to pique my interest even more, but next time I will arrive armed with a reservation.

Hungry and feeling defeated, we wandered down the street. Bedford Street is a fairly hip area, so I had no doubt that we could find an equally fantastic dining experience. It only took about ninety steps to find it. Across the street and a few doors down is SEA. Walking into SEA for the first time, I was blown away by the décor. I really should have taken some shots of it, but I did not want to be any more intrusive with my flash then I already am snapping pictures of my food and all. It looks like it may have been a warehouse at some point, because it still maintains some of the industrial fixtures on the ceiling. The rest of the place has been completely made over in shiny wood, stone and metal. Everything was cube-like in appearance, with square tables and chairs at perfect 90 degree angles. There is a fountain, koi pond and Buddha in the front. Beaded chains hang down, lending the impression of privacy for the guests, and dividing the restaurant into separate areas. The lighting is low, and in the background is the thumping bass of house music. Based on the atmosphere, I would have guessed that it would have been a much more expensive meal then it actually turned out to be.

 

Our first order of business was to order cocktails and appetizers. Tadashi and I ordered a drink that had gin, ginger and lemon in it. Rachael had a tropical drink. I have no idea what made our drinks pink, but they were exceptionally good. The ginger flavor was strong, and thick slices floating in the drink added extra bursts of ginger as we drank. I ordered curry puffs, which ended up being a mild curry in an empanada-shaped puffed pastry, and some sort of fried dumpling. We had already had a few drinks at this point, and it completely slipped my mind to take a picture of the appetizers until I was staring at the empty plates.

For the entrée, Rachael had a whole fried fish. The presentation of this was gorgeous, and I was aching to try some when it came. Luckily for me, a lot of people don’t seem to really like the heads or tailfin of fish. I grabbed the tailfin, and he the head. The tailfin of a fried fish reminds me of crinkle-cut potato chips. It’s crunchy, thin, salty and fried—all core elements of a great snack food. This fish was no exception.

I can’t quite remember what Tadashi had for dinner. Looking at the pictures, it appears that it was very similar in presentation to my dish, but I remember there being several types of seafood in it. My dish was called the Queen of Basil, and was available with your choice of several different meats or seafood. I choose beef. Other then the overwhelmingly intense flavor of Thai basil in the dish, the one thing that sticks with me is the heat. Somehow, it snuck up on me slowly, but by the time I was finishing my dish, I had the intense sear of capsaicin lighting up my mouth. It was actually just the right level for me. I’m not at all a heavyweight with spice, but I do love a little heat.

The food at SEA was tasty, and the prices are dirt cheap, but in this case, it’s the hip environment that will make me come back again. I would like to just hang out at the bar sometime and order their specialty cocktails while taking in the atmosphere.

July 1st, 2007 by John (Cho-Tabetai)