Sunday, July 31, 2016

Hana Sushi


211 Seventh Avenue
(between 22nd and 23rd Streets)


On one of the hottest days of July 2016, I decided to escape the heat by trying Hana Sushi’s lunch special.

Hana Sushi is a small, narrow restaurant. Think it might seat 40 or 50 people max.


However, pleasantly surprised to find it briskly busy with many of the customers comprised of people coming in for single seating. As a single woman who lives in NYC, it is always a delight to discover restaurants where you feel comfortable dining by yourself.


The lunch specials prominently promoted by an outdoor placard were 2 rolls for $8.50 or 3 rolls for $12.50. Both came with either a soup/salad.

I opted for the 3-roll special. And since it was so hot, I ordered the salad. While a rather large portion, I would have liked if it was a bit more chilled. And the greens were a bit wilted. Next time I’ll order the soup.


For the three rolls, I ordered the spicy yellowtail, the spicy eel, and the salmon avocado.


They were also offering a chef special that sounded interesting: spicy tuna on Pringles ($12).



The rolls and the sushi were fresh and delicious. The spicy tuna appetizer with Pringles was excellent and beautifully presented.

Perfect complement for all the spicy fish, I went for their lunch drink special (2 drinks for $10). I chose the Co’ Donini, Pinot Grigio.





Pros:
Good, attentive service.
Great deal for really good rolls.
Great spot for dining alone.



Cons:
Salad was a bit wilty.
Wish some of the special rolls were also part of the lunch special deal.


Final Thoughts
Will definitely return when I’m in the mood for low-key sushi!

2016 Summer Fancy Food Show (Tale Told Via Turkish Dark Flour)


June 27, 2016


A crowd watched in awe as a man used just his bare hands and some Turkish flour to tell a romantic tale. I will let the artist's work speak for itself.












2016 Summer Fancy Food Show (Opening Night Party & & Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Ceremony)


Opening Night Party
June 26, 2016


This year’s Opening Night Party was partnered by Tunisia.


As such the gift bags given away at a “Tunisia” table offered samplings of their culture:


Upon entering the hall, we were greeted by a man in gold on one side and a man in silver on the other.



Food and drink were plentiful. After an afternoon full of food sampling, went for a basic pasta and mushroom dish as opposed to any of the creamy and cheesy buffet offerings.




Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Ceremony
June 27, 2016


As opposed to previous years, this year the Sofi awards were handed out prior to the Fancy Food Show. So what used to be an awards ceremony on Monday nights focused only on the Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame winners.

I do have to relate one moving story from one of the Lifetime Achievement award winners—Eunice and David Bigelow of Bigelow Tea. Eunice Bigelow told the origin story for Bigelow Tea and Bigelow Tea’s flagship flavor “Constant Comment.” When her mother-in-law, Ruth Bigelow, gave a sample of the tea to her friends and asked for their thoughts on it, the feedback and comments that she received on the tea was constant. And, thus, the name “Constant Comment” was born.


What is really striking about the story is that Ruth was fifty years old when she created this tea, proving that inspiration can strike at any age.





2016 Summer Fancy Food Show (Sights & Finds)


June 26 to June 28, 2016


As opposed to previous years, this year I am highlighting interesting products that I stumbled across while perusing the aisles.

At the Fage booth they were offering samples of their new Fage Crossovers. Some of the interesting new toppings are olive thyme with almonds, tomato basil with almonds, coconut curry with cashews, and coconut with dark chocolate. The sample we selected was carrot ginger with roasted pistachios.


Excellent, especially if you like your yogurt with a zing!


Although, I did feature it last year, it remains one of my favorite samples from the show: Marukome’s make-your-own miso soup “bar.”



This time I went with their Original Miso & Easy base with tofu, green onion, asparagus, and edamame:


I was glad to have run into Milton’s Local booth. First of all, I was drawn to the smell of cooking bacon. Who can resist?


Also, like that their meat is all-natural and uncured and that they use sustainable farming practices.


And they were also the winner of the Shelf Showdown. Inspired by Shark Tank, the competition allows first-time exhibitors to pitch their product to a team of specialty food buyers.


Initially, I thought this booth in the Japan aisle was offering olive samples.


Instead they were baby peaches from Japan.


They were very sweet and promoted to accompany gelato, cocktails, or simply alone as a snack.


Sampled some strange-looking fruit called dragon fruit (recalled it was a secret basket ingredient from Chopped, so I had to try it). Rather bland, similar to a kiwi taste.


As well as a baby yellow tomato. Less acidic and sweeter than a red tomato.


And seeing an alien-like ginger root in a jar was jarring!


Cypress Grove Chevre featured “cake”-style creations made out of their cheeses? Wow!



Budweiser is now getting into the BBQ sauce business. Interesting . . .


The centerpiece of the Moroccan aisle was a man seated on cushions making traditional Moroccan tea. Great place to relax a bit from food sampling, and the tea makes for a great palate cleanser.


The Or Tea? booth was beautiful.


Hope they are able to find distribution in America as their artwork and packaging are gorgeous


Even their cup holders are keepers!


And, as with every Fancy Food Show, must mention the alcoholic beverages.  Loved the Tequila La Tilica bottle. The design is a tribute to the Day of the Dead holiday. For the Mayans, the image of the snail symbolizes birth, life, and resurrection. The tequila is 100 percent Agave. I’m not usually a fan of drinking tequila straight, but this one was smooth yet intensely flavored.


Malvasia Wine from the Greek islands was delicious. It’s a white sweet wine that comes in a lovely bottle.  It actually tasted like port.


The wine also has a rich historical backstory. According to their promotion material, it was a famous medieval wine that was lost through time. In 2010 it “was triumphantly reborn in its birthplace, Monemvasia.”


For a more complicated drink, try Ramune Hello Kitty Soda


In particular, the Hello Kitty Soda.


It involves a break-off cap and a marble. If you are pouring or drinking from the bottle, make sure that the marble faces the side indents. They prevent the marble from falling to the top and creating a slow pour).



The “R” in “Ramune” is pronounced as an “l.” So it sounds like an Asian version of pronouncing the word “lemonade.” And the soda does have that type of flavoring. Much lighter than what you would expect from a soda. Fun and refreshing drink!  They actually gave away free samples, so I took a strawberry-flavored one.


The most magical drink, though, had to be the one offered by Alice & the Magician, a Vermont-based company. They specialize in cocktail aromatics (aka edible fragrances) that focus on one’s “scent memory.”


Their booth looked like that of a mad scientist’s.


The one I tried was one with a chocolate birthday cake scent. With these sprays you can celebrate your birthday every day.




Cheers!