Shigure

Rating: 💋 💋 💋 😘

Hello everybody!

So this past Saturday was the last day of summer. As a huge fan of summer and as a person who is pretty much incapable of surviving winter (the fact that I have made it this long is a miracle, I swear), this could have been a sad day for me. Rather than waste the day living in fear of the snow and ice of death that is to come, though, I decided to celebrate the end of the season in style. Kind of like throwing summer an Irish wake, except no beer was involved. So I guess not like an Irish wake. The point is: celebrating, not mourning.

To be fair, I kind of started off with a huge mistake, because it was an absolutely gorgeous day in New York City, and I spent from 12:20-3:40 cooped up in a hair salon. I didn't know the weather would be so lovely when I made the appointment, and plus, my hair was a desperate case, you guys. I didn't realize it was three hours in the salon desperate, but alas, apparently, it was. It was so fun walking through Gramercy in the nice weather though, and especially for the walk back when I had split end-free, bouncy girls to sparkly blonde in the bright sun.

So what do you do when you have both a fresh cut to show off and a favorite season to send off in style? You take yourself out to dinner, of course.

Today's stop: Shigure in TriBeCa.

We walked in without an reservation, so we had to sit at a booth table in the entrance rather than a table in the back, but I did not mind. The front door was open to let in the warm summer breeze, and I enjoyed watching passerby on their way to and from Roxy Cinema. The restaurant was simple yet trendy, with low lighting and neutral colors, creating a sleek but not stiff atmosphere to enjoy dinner in.

We got there around six so the Happy Hour Menu was still live and we were all too happy to snag those deals. We started off by ordering the sake sangria, which came with strawberries, banana slices, orange slices, and blueberries. I was curious to try my first sake, but I cannot say I will be trying it again anytime soon. I am sure it is an acquired taste. I am sure I will be bold and try it again someday. Oh my God though, it tasted like rubbing alcohol. The fruit helped mildly, as eating a piece was like eating a cough syrup gusher. I will blame this on the sake and not Shigure, that is probably just how the drink is, but my God is it strong. And painful. I was very ready to get that part of the meal over with.

In contrast, the charcoal grilled edamame we ordered was so fantastic it wins honorable mention for the whole meal. It wasn't too crispy, but just had some nice burns from the grill, right before blistering, that added a fun layer of charcoal flavor. This smoky flavor went very well with the dusting of salt that covered the soybeans. Not too salty, but just a light touch to bring out the flavor of the mild beans. They were tasty both with or without soy sauce, but it was a bit disappointing the restaurant does not have soy sauce on the tables. The waiter poured it out on a little dish at the beginning on the meal, and that was very classy, but it was unhelpful for any soy-lover who would like to add more as needed. I personally don't need much soy, but the friend I ate with went through all of theirs. It is nice to have the option, and their only choice was to use the rest of my soy, cos that was the end of our supply.

Isn't that such a pretty spread of sushi?!

I am wild about sushi. I crave it all the time, and almost as soon as I satisfy that craving, I want it again. I am addicted to raw fish, you could say. Oops!

Out of all the sushi I have had, this definitely stands as a leader in the field. We ordered three different kinds of rolls to split, and I did not regret a single one of them. The spicy tuna roll had the perfect amount of kick to it; the salmon & avocado roll was the perfect neutralizer to the other spicier dishes we had ordered and cleansed the palate with bright, fresh fish and perfectly ripe avocado; and the shrimp tempura rolls with arugula and jalapeno tartar sauce wins silver for the whole meal. I mean, oh my God, I have never seen arugula in sushi before, but the peppery leaves intertwined perfectly with the sweet,crunchy shrimp, and I would take a to-go cup of that tartar sauce and put it on everything. I consider the roll an inspired creation by the chef - that is how good it was!

Also, I really appreciate the premium quality of all the ingredients - essential when dealing with so few (and so very raw) ingredients to make the meal - and the fact that all the sushi was wrapped nice and tight. It is so tragic when your piece of sushi crumbles into a sad mound of rice. I very much appreciated not having to face that despair.

The star of the meal, though, was the shio-koji fried chicken with homemade scallion oil.

Oh my Lord, I am pretty sure my eyes rolled into the back of my head when I took my first bite. I had never had fried chicken like this before and I give my dining partner mad props for placing the order. I never would have thought to and missing it would have been borderline tragic. The chicken came out piping hot, with crisp, oiled skin exploding with juicy meat. The tangy, spicy sauce that came alongside was a must, both for cooling the chicken down enough to eat while still enjoying it before it got cold, and because it brought the dish to reach the peak of flavor impact without spilling over and becoming too much.

Stay for the sushi, but really, you have got to go for the chicken.

XX,

MK

PS. I confess one of the greatest joys of this dinner was that it was light, so we could walk to the nearby Milk & Cream Cereal Bar for a little dessert without having to walk home overstuffed. It is still five stars, you guys. It is still my favorite dessert in the city. I tried a taste of my friend's Cookie Crisp Carnival, and, though I preferred my order of Chocolate Cocoa Crunch, both were exquisite. I am happily working my way through their specials list and, since the menu is so concise, I think I can be done and onto creating my own cup pretty soon. This ice cream is just downright sexy. Please go.