7 April 2021
There has been some pretty awful days in the past 12 months, and this day ranked up there with some of the most dispiriting, borderline crushing days in recent memory. I won’t bore my readers with the details, but a procession of extremely bad news through the morning into the late afternoon and my brain — and my soul — was absolutely fried to a crisp.
So I decided I really need a good night out, despite all the issues relating to the pandemic. I managed to snag a last-second spot at Nasime in nearby Old Town Alexandria, and I went for it.
I’ve read quite a bit about this place, and I was impressed from what I saw — both from text and photo. But it almost sounded too good to be true, a proper counter kaiseki restaurant within a half-hour walk from me. But tonight was a perfect night to try to forget about this day, to enjoy what I miss so much — if it’s true, that is…
I hopped on a local bus, the first time I’ve been on public transport since March 2020…and sadly, predictably empty. I got to the restaurant a little early, where a small crowd of eager diners waited outside — safely socially distanced, may I add. And promptly at 6pm the doors opened and we were led in party by party.
These days I always worry being a single diner that I would take up a much-needed two-top, but they accomodated me today — and surprisingly, at the counter. Of course it was re-tooled to ensure COVID-era protection, and the spaces open on the counter were off on the side. Perfect for a single diner like me, yet compliant with all current needs.
I noticed the restaurant is just Chef Yuh Shimomura and one server, which already reminded me of Japan. They managed to shift the tables in a way that allowed for maximum social distancing, but sadly meaning their occupancy is severely limited; I’m glad they were also busy sending out take-away boxes at the onset of this evening.
I relaxed, looking over the menu and starting to internally drool. It looks good, much like what I have seen before as I did my research about this place. There’s always lingering doubts, especially about a place in the US…is it authentic? Is it “dumbed down” for local palates? Are the ingredients solid? And so forth.
Any doubts I had about this place was quickly dispelled once the first dish arrived…
This beautiful bluefin tuna tartar dish, already wonderful from the natural flavour of the excellent fish, was accentuated nicely by the kimizu vinaigrette. I’m usually not a big fan of adding too much to a tartar dish, but for some reason it worked really well today, especially with the Mizubasho ginjo from Gunma. An excellent start.
A little bit of a rest as Chef Shimomura was trying to gauge the pace each party was eating for the next course, which required very delicate timing. I just happened to be sitting in front of the certificate…
A piece of paper was making me so ridiculously hungry, and it arrives…
Goodness this is so good. Being a short rib slice, it also had enough texture to make this a joy to slowly eat and savour every last drop of flavour from each piece.
The truffle shoyu wasn’t necessary because this meat was so crazy good, but again another fine dish. Paired well with Tengumai junmai from Ishikawa. Plus plenty of fresh wasabi for me to snack on!!!
So far this has been fantastic, and almost bringing a tear to my eyes (not from the wasabi). I so miss Japan, and this is about as close as I’ve been since eating that last saba before heading to Narita to fly out back in December 2018… And soon, we have the beautiful sashimi selection for the night…
Lovely stuff, the parts that really stood out here are the tachiuo (scabbard fish), very rarely seen here but one of my favourite fish to eat when I’m in Japan. The kampachi was also of quite stunning quality. All in all, extremely enjoyable, with a delicious Kubota junmai-daiginjo from Niigata complementing the fresh seafood wonderfully.
If I didn’t see that pale blue thing on the counter and me wrapping my face with my scarf everytime my server came by, I would have thought this was a different time… Just sitting at the counter, eating fantastic kaiseki cuisine…just felt like I travelled back in time. I was quickly snapped back to the present to enjoy more of this rare moment of absolute culinary bliss with the next course.
This agedashi course is a beauty and was one of the superb dishes of the past few years. A beautiful soft-shelled crab is stuffed with minced crab meat, fried perfectly, and the whole thing ate like some divine crab ball. Graced by some lovely fiddeheads, which I absolutely love and miss, and this was near perfection. This is something that really made me feel like I was half-way across the world: the excellent crafting, the meticulous balance, and perfect execution. Worked fabulous with the paired Hinomaru ginjo from Akita. Oh, I’m happy…
As I mentioned, this place is just Chef Shimomura behind the counter and our server, very much like similar places in Japan. The service has been efficient and timing just about perfect, which makes me miss Japan even more. This is about as close to the type of kaiseki place I miss so dearly, sitting at the counter and watching the process. Too bad in this age of COVID they had to put up some protection which obstructed the view, but it still felt very much in that spirit. Then the next dish arrive and I smile more…
I know soy-braised chilean seabass is a common dish, but it’s so often done poorly — overcooked fish, overly-dominating sauce, a poor cut of the fish. But this was again nearly perfect, the sauce not too sweet nor strong, letting the natural wonderful taste of this rich fish rise to the forefront. And some nice burdock, all paried with an aged Izumibashi junmai from Kanagawa, and you got a deliriously happy diner here.
At this point I was actually getting quite full, having not consumed so much food in a long time; frankly, I’ve not eaten so much food at one sitting (or even in a single day) since my short loop around Virginia nearly a month ago. But I so needed this today, with the horrible day I had. I didn’t care, it was needed therapy… Plus, I knew the next dish was gonna be heavy…
Ramen. Yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of ramen as you all know, but this wasn’t exactly “ramen” per se. The broth was quite nice, complementing the al dente noodles with a generous amount of brussels sprouts, pork and clams. Photo I took here is after I stirred it all up, of course… Quite nice, and extremely filling. I’m just saddened I couldn’t partake more of the broth here…I was really full. Happily full.
Everyone relaxed a bit at this point, and I enjoyed a nice after-dinner drink as my dessert also arrived…
An excellent and straightforward plum frozen yoghurt, perfect to relax the palate and ease away from the delicious flavours of the evening. I remained for a bit as there was time before the next seating, and had a chance to chat with Chef Shimomura a bit over some more whisky. Extremely impressed.
I eventually thanked the two of them and headed on out. If it wasn’t that hit of stale Old Town air, I would have mentally stayed in Japan for a few extra minutes. Alas, it was not to be. But the memory of this wonderful dinner will stay with me for a long time — at least until I return.
Rarely do I so wholeheartedly recommend a place, but if there’s one place to go for as close to Japan as it gets, this is the place. In so many ways, I felt like this was the perfect escape, with the fabulous cuisine to the authentic spirit. And on a terrible day like this one, it was the escape I needed…
Seriously, forget places in DC. If you’re in the DC area, head out to Old Town Alexandria and teleport yourself to a Michelin-quality authentic kaiseki experience for a few hours.
Nasime
1209 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia
PS: Well, with the day I had, it wasn’t surprising that I continued my drinking after that dinner in an impromptu pub crawl… It was somewhat “normal” except the face covering, but things are starting to feel “normal” again, dare I suggest it. Gosh, I needed this…
melhuang1972 