Nobu: 21st Century Comfort Food
Nobu serves comfort food. What's that? Comfort food is meatloaf and mac and cheese? Perhaps you are visiting the wrong website. Nobu is where the Baron goes after a rough week, because Nobu Matsuhisha's Japanese-Peruvian cuisine is a tremendous mood elevator.
The stunningly beautiful hostesses help too. There are a few that rotate, and all belong on a magazine cover. Keep an eye out for the redhead. Takes the edge off when one of them smiles and tells you it's going to be two hours until you are seated. Nobu does not take reservations (except for large groups) which can be a huge problem. Not to worry. Settle into the loungey anteroom and find yourself a cocktail.
As for the room, yes it looks like a high school cafeteria. Yes the acoustics are abominable. I'm sure you've been to the one in New York/London/Paris/Vegas and can hold forth for the next twenty minutes on why Miami's Nobu suffers in comparion. Who cares? You want first-rate food and a scene? This is your room. Celebrities, local personalities, and"beautiful people" (the Baron eschews the term "fashionista"). Besides, the Miami branch is making money hand over fist. They're not going to renovate. They don't need to.
Nobu's strength has always been his prepared dishes. The sushi is good, but certainly not unsurpassed. Another strength is the bamboo of sake. All of Nobu's sakes come from the Hokusetsu brewery on Sado Island. The Hokusetsu "Devil Killer" is good if you like a dry sake. The Black Label is always reliable too. Or you might try the ten-year-old Onigoroshi. Somehow, sake poured from a tall section of bamboo into a bamboo cup is more enjoyable than the usual bottle and glass routine.
As for ordering, it is always best to select a wide array of dishes to share. One favorite is of course the yellowtail sashimi with japalepeno in yuzu. A must. Deceptively simple. As the waiter will remind you (no matter how many times you've been), take a bit of cilantro with the sashiimi. Superclean and fresh.
The sashimi salad. Greens with a very gererous supply of tuna sashimi. Meaty and ruby red. The Mastsuhisa dressing is perfect. The addition of sweet onion to the soy and rice vinegar makes the difference.
Rock shrimp tempura in creamy spicy sauce. Next to the black cod in miso, this is probably Nobu's most heralded offering. The Baron suspects that someone in the kitchen sprinkles each dish with crack, but no one will confirm this. Instantly addictive. The combination of the battered, juicy shrimp with the creamy sauce and just the right amount of kick is remarkable. You may want to have an order while you are waiting for your table, and then get your second order during dinner.
Sweet potato tempura. Excellent with the tempura dipping sauce. Also recommended--zucchini and onion. I miss the pumpkin though. It will likely reappear in the fall. If you are a tempura fan, there are other items to sample. A neighboring table had an impressive plate of lobster tempura. The presentation included the whole lobster shell, and the tempuraed bites of lobster were on skewers and ready for dipping. Must have been good as the whole plate was gone in about ninety seconds.
Soft shell crab roll. Often called a spider roll. Softshell crab can be dicey, since it generally only fresh in the summer and is otherwise frozen. Many places turn out softshell crab that is either too dry or too salty. Nobu gets it right, pairing the crab with avocado and flying fish roe and wrapping the whole thing in cucumber.
Eel and cucumber roll. Also done right. You can taste the eel; there is only a light eel sauce, and it is not too sweet. Summer is a good time for eel.
New style salmon roll. Traditional? No. Good? Certainly. Nobu's "new style" rolls differ from others in that the fish is partially cooked by drizzling hot oil (usually a combination of olive and sesame oil) over it. The preparation is particularly effective with salmon, imparting a smoky sesame flavor. Sashimis are also available this way.
Sea urchin tempura. This dish was allegedly created on the fly for Tim Zagat (of the famed Zagats guide). Rich, delicious, melt in your mouth uni covered with crisp tempura batter and served up with sides of black pepper and sea salt. Accompnaying the sea urchin are a tempuraed shitake mushroom, sisho leaf, and sansho pepper. Outstanding.
Nobu is obligatory for the serious Miami diner. If you are put off by the wait, go early (before 8 P.M.) or try a weeknight. The Baron will likely have some followup reviews for Nobu given the wide array of dishes available.
Nobu serves comfort food. What's that? Comfort food is meatloaf and mac and cheese? Perhaps you are visiting the wrong website. Nobu is where the Baron goes after a rough week, because Nobu Matsuhisha's Japanese-Peruvian cuisine is a tremendous mood elevator.
The stunningly beautiful hostesses help too. There are a few that rotate, and all belong on a magazine cover. Keep an eye out for the redhead. Takes the edge off when one of them smiles and tells you it's going to be two hours until you are seated. Nobu does not take reservations (except for large groups) which can be a huge problem. Not to worry. Settle into the loungey anteroom and find yourself a cocktail.
As for the room, yes it looks like a high school cafeteria. Yes the acoustics are abominable. I'm sure you've been to the one in New York/London/Paris/Vegas and can hold forth for the next twenty minutes on why Miami's Nobu suffers in comparion. Who cares? You want first-rate food and a scene? This is your room. Celebrities, local personalities, and"beautiful people" (the Baron eschews the term "fashionista"). Besides, the Miami branch is making money hand over fist. They're not going to renovate. They don't need to.
Nobu's strength has always been his prepared dishes. The sushi is good, but certainly not unsurpassed. Another strength is the bamboo of sake. All of Nobu's sakes come from the Hokusetsu brewery on Sado Island. The Hokusetsu "Devil Killer" is good if you like a dry sake. The Black Label is always reliable too. Or you might try the ten-year-old Onigoroshi. Somehow, sake poured from a tall section of bamboo into a bamboo cup is more enjoyable than the usual bottle and glass routine.
As for ordering, it is always best to select a wide array of dishes to share. One favorite is of course the yellowtail sashimi with japalepeno in yuzu. A must. Deceptively simple. As the waiter will remind you (no matter how many times you've been), take a bit of cilantro with the sashiimi. Superclean and fresh.
The sashimi salad. Greens with a very gererous supply of tuna sashimi. Meaty and ruby red. The Mastsuhisa dressing is perfect. The addition of sweet onion to the soy and rice vinegar makes the difference.
Rock shrimp tempura in creamy spicy sauce. Next to the black cod in miso, this is probably Nobu's most heralded offering. The Baron suspects that someone in the kitchen sprinkles each dish with crack, but no one will confirm this. Instantly addictive. The combination of the battered, juicy shrimp with the creamy sauce and just the right amount of kick is remarkable. You may want to have an order while you are waiting for your table, and then get your second order during dinner.
Sweet potato tempura. Excellent with the tempura dipping sauce. Also recommended--zucchini and onion. I miss the pumpkin though. It will likely reappear in the fall. If you are a tempura fan, there are other items to sample. A neighboring table had an impressive plate of lobster tempura. The presentation included the whole lobster shell, and the tempuraed bites of lobster were on skewers and ready for dipping. Must have been good as the whole plate was gone in about ninety seconds.
Soft shell crab roll. Often called a spider roll. Softshell crab can be dicey, since it generally only fresh in the summer and is otherwise frozen. Many places turn out softshell crab that is either too dry or too salty. Nobu gets it right, pairing the crab with avocado and flying fish roe and wrapping the whole thing in cucumber.
Eel and cucumber roll. Also done right. You can taste the eel; there is only a light eel sauce, and it is not too sweet. Summer is a good time for eel.
New style salmon roll. Traditional? No. Good? Certainly. Nobu's "new style" rolls differ from others in that the fish is partially cooked by drizzling hot oil (usually a combination of olive and sesame oil) over it. The preparation is particularly effective with salmon, imparting a smoky sesame flavor. Sashimis are also available this way.
Sea urchin tempura. This dish was allegedly created on the fly for Tim Zagat (of the famed Zagats guide). Rich, delicious, melt in your mouth uni covered with crisp tempura batter and served up with sides of black pepper and sea salt. Accompnaying the sea urchin are a tempuraed shitake mushroom, sisho leaf, and sansho pepper. Outstanding.
Nobu is obligatory for the serious Miami diner. If you are put off by the wait, go early (before 8 P.M.) or try a weeknight. The Baron will likely have some followup reviews for Nobu given the wide array of dishes available.
posted by TheBaronOnTaste at 9:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home