April 2005 Archives

Pan cooked ribeye steak with butter and garlic; mushrooms; wine braised leeks with wine reduction sauce; sauteed wild ramps with potatoes.

Yoo Mee took this picture that I really liked.

One of the things we'll miss from our apartment.

The seller was surprised. "Why do you need to renovate the kitchen? Isn't it functional?" It was clear she had not stepped foot in the apartment in a long time. Probably not even west of Central Park.

We liked this range, but ultimately didn't want to put in the effort to prepare it for modern use. Our new range may not have as much character, but it will be a lot more functional.

Sobaya consistently gets ranked as "inexpensive," but that's never my experience. The kake soba is priced the same as at Soba Koh ($8.50), and if you feel full after one bowl then you must be waif-like. I invariably end up ordering more dishes. Not that I mind, but "cheap" is a $15 meal (including tip) at Men Kui Tei.

food
Kake soba with spinach
Ikura soba (salmon roe, grated daikon)

We got soba soups because it was another chilly day, and I also wanted to compare Sobaya's kake soba against Soba Koh's. The noodles here are much smoother and less grainy than at Soba Koh - I'm not sure if this is a difference in quality or preference.

Harushika nama zake
Sobaya has a very large selection of sake in 3 ounce glass, priced $6-7 apiece. It's a great way to sample many different sakes, but you'll want to keep an eye on the tab.

buri teriyaki
oshinko (carrot, cucumber, daikon, cabbage)
bowl of rice

The tart pickled vegetables, salt in the broiled fish, and the sweetness of the rice is a great combination, a perfect follow-up to the soba.

ice cream (black sesame, yuzu, honey wasabi) with extra red beans on the side

The flavor in each ice cream was excellent. The black sesame was sweet but earthy. The yuzu was bright and tart. Honey and wasabi flavors were present in full force - but as a personal preference, I could probably do without the wasabi.

service
Friendly and prompt.

We shared a pot of home brew chai tea and dessert while waiting for Soba Koh to begin its dinner service. It's a cute little place and there's a packed bookshelf for your reading pleasure. We read some Grimm's fairy tales and discovered they were updated for modern sensibilities... not very Grimm at all! Our tea was quite enjoyable but eventually became bitter - I wish there was a way to easily extract the leaves from the pot. Read more about Podunk on Gothamist, and read between the lines to get an idea of what pricing is like.