NYC: Dirt Candy Sakaya Sake Dinner

Event Organizer Description:
The honey dinner back in February was a lot of fun, and now it’s time for a dinner I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s summer and time for lighter drinks than wine and beer and so get ready for the…

Dirt Candy Sake Dinner
Thursday, May 20
with Rick Smith from Sakaya
a four course meal with sake pairings
$55/person
(Quick note: the $55 per person does not include tax or tip. Sorry!)

Just up the street from Dirt Candy is Sakaya, one of only three retail sake stores in America. It’s run by Rick Smith and Hiroko Furukawa and it opened right around the time I started building Dirt Candy. Sake is one of those things that I wish I knew more about. I’ve had it warm and I’ve had it crappy and I always thought of it as a novelty drink until a few years ago when I went to Jewel Bako and had a sake tasting with dinner. The sake sommelier spent about five minutes giving me an introduction to sake and suddenly, I got it. Sake was like wine, only different, and what had previously been completely incomprehensible to me, now seemed slightly more comprehensible. I had gone from being totally in the dark to just being slightly in the dark and that little bit of illumination made all the difference.

I can’t promise enlightenment, but I can promise a good, boozy meal where you’ll come away somewhat educated, and also drunk. A cross between infotainment and drunk-u-tainment. Rick and Hiroko will be here all night, and they’ve paired the entire menu with different sakes. It’s not a set menu – you can order whatever you want – but everyone will get hush puppies, an appetizer, an entree and a dessert, each paired with a bunch of different sakes that Rick and Hiroko will explain, and they’ll also give you some basic sake info, the ground rules of sake, so to speak. There aren’t set seating times, but you should decide if you want to come early (reservations from 5:30 to 6:15) or late (make a reservation from 8 to 8:45). Rick will speak twice that night and you’re guaranteed to catch him if you make your reservations in those windows.

By the time you go home, you’ll know the difference between a junmai and a junmai daiginjo, you’ll know how to pick a sake without adult supervision, you’ll know the basic rules of sake and hopefully, you’ll feel like sake’s no longer a closed, mysterious club, but a party where you now have an invitation.

To make a reservation for the Dirt Candy Sake Dinner, just go to Open Table or call the restaurant (212) 228-7732.