Naka Naka, Who’s There?

After reading about the homestyle japanese cooking at the new japanese place Naka Naka (458 W 17th St. New York, NY 10011), Scott concluded we had been working hard and deserved a treat.We made a reservation for early on a saturday night and off we went. Let me start off by saying that the food at naka naka is no joke, however many knock knock puns they may have heard to date.The mood of the place seemed authentically Japanese, best I could tell. waitresses wore kimono and knelt in front of the low table to deliver food and pour sake.

Oddly, the sake menu was quite limited. On the special’s board (who knew japan had these too – just like at applebees!) the listed a special sake that came in a smaller size so I went with that.Its a Junmai ginjo called Tomoju. Scott said the name of that sake sounded familar to him and we quickly realized it was his favorite sake from his flight at Bozu a few nights earlier. Oh goodie – that was a great sake.

The bottle arrived on ice in a gavanized oblong tub. As we found at Bozu, Tomoju was really really good. This sake is balanced. well balanced. I found a hint of dryness in the finish that was quite delightful. Tomoju offered a perfect counterpoint and stood up to the food we ordered.I was really enjoying the sake but it soon took a back seat – stop the presses – to a major star sighting!

Our First celeb on UrbanSake.com. Naka Naka. Who’s there? Oscar Winning Actress Susan Sarandon!! She was out with her kids for dinner . It was really quite uneventful, but fun none the less.I did consider telling her how much I loved her Marmie in “Little Women” and her covergirl commercial, but I know what it’s like when fans constantly come up and talk to me, so I left her alone.

Ms. Sarandon was drinking beer, not sake, it should be noted.

Well, the evening was a success, the sake was a hit and Scott and I felt justly rewarded for all our hard work.

If you see Tomoju in the store on on a sake menu, give it a try. Also be sure to try out naka naka! the food and service were great.But please… come prepared with your own knock knock joke.

Naka Naka

Who’s there?

Orange

Orange who?

Orange you glad you drink sake?