Review: Kado no Mise

29 March 2024

I got into Minneapolis early this Saturday morning. I knew the Twin Cities took a major snow hit last week after a nearly dry and almost-too-warm winter, but I was surprised it hasn’t melted off with the rain like it has in Chicago. Oh well, that may put a major damper in my plans today…

Yeah it did. I had to improvise a little, ended up hiking through at-times calf-deep snow and ice, so I got in a good workout. Sadly a poor lunch at a very hyped place didn’t help (I’ll write about this in a few days). So I was looking forward to my dinner at Kado no Mise, a much heralded Japanese restaurant located very close to the much-missed Bachelor Farmer.

Kado no Mise apparently do a kaiseki night on Tuesdays, which is too bad as it’s something I definitely would have loved to try. But I have high hopes for this place as I rolled in on my Lyft and headed up the stairs. And I sense a good evening, as I was seated at the counter where Chef Shigeyuki Furukawa was stationed.

Honestly it didn’t start too well. Just before I was about to use the hot towel to wipe my hands, the server took it away…geez, really? And the first sake pour was a little light. However, once I saw the first dish, I was far happier.

Now this was a welcome sight, hotaru-ika (firefly squid). Not had this in awhile, as you can still taste the essence of ink as you bite into this. Tasty dish, good start. A different sake was poured and the very hot chawanmushi was next.

Subtle, took awhile to bring this out, from the shiitake to the dashi. I thought maybe this particular sake ate into this dish a little due to its subtlety. Whatever the case, I enjoyed it more without the sake, drinking it all afterwards.

A plate of other snacks showed up, with the botan-ebi as a delicious bite. The celery was interesting, once again, subtle and nuanced. I fear this may be lost on some diners. At this point a larger sake pour happened as we enter the sushi segment. Chef Furukawa got to work and we have a series of breams to start.

The tai (sea bream) was quite nice, but the kasugodai (baby sea bream) was really fantastic.

Lovely stuff. Then the sakuradai (cherry bream).

Tasty morsel that’s for sure. BTW the rice is excellent, a good balance with the fish and consistency about perfect. And the bream series ends with kinmedai (golden eye snapper).

I’m not the biggest fan of kinmedai, but this was rather good. I enjoyed that series, you don’t often get a bream set like that. Then with another sake, we have the tuna series. Of course it starts with akami.

One of the better lean tuna I’ve had in a long time, really delicious.

The chutoro was excellent, really lovely flavours that just melted in your mouth. Again, the excellent rice made it even better.

The otoro was good, but I think the chutoro was the winner of this series. Good stuff. Another sake pour and we have the more distinct flavoured pieces.

Shimesaba (cured mackerel) didn’t work as well for me, as I thought the ginger was distracting. As a mackerel fan I really don’t like this adulterated. Oh well, a rare miss tonight. Then a nice surprise, sagoshi (young Spanish mackerel).

You don’t see sagoshi too often, and this was quite delicious. And of course, kohada (gizzard shad).

Again not one of my favourites, something that often comes on the early side of an omakase, so I kind of like this order.

That was a good set. But it’s not over yet because I ordered the more extensive menu. So next up was some uni.

In a wee handroll, delicious. You can so taste the sea here, just wonderful.

Then we have some delicious tuna, just a great way to ease into the last item…

Yep, wagyu, something that’s pretty common in omakases these days. I don’t remember nikuzushi ever ending up in these things except in trendy non-edomae places, but it seems to have spread. Delicious.

That was quite good! And it was clearly the end as the tamago was presented.

Quite good, with some quality of care in making it. Chef Furukawa asked if there’s anything I wanted, and I thought let’s do one more saba as a palate cleanser…

Well, I forgot about the ginger. Oh well, I guess it did work as a palate cleanser!

I probably didn’t need one as this miso soup was absolutely delicious! Chef said they use a combination of three different red misos, and the depth and complexity of this soup was astounding. A wonderful way to end the night!

A nice dessert closed the dining experience, as well as a wonderful conversation with Chef Furukawa about various topics, from interesting kaiseki around the US to the state of the restaurant business. A really good chat.

I thanked Chef Furukawa and headed out…well, not quite yet. I dropped into the whisky bar connected to the restaurant and wanted to see how it is. A cocktail and a less-well-known Japanese whisky later, I was happy and ready for my Lyft back to my hotel.

Kado no Mise definitely passes the test and it’s quite excellent. I really now want to try to come back on a Tuesday to do their kaiseki, so that’s on my list for my next trip to the Twin Cities. But gotta figure out how to do this on a Tuesday without missing that much work…

But this is highly recommended! Is my luck on this trip turning around?

Kado no Mise
33 North First Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Review: Brave New Restaurant

16 March 2024

You’d thought after my stressful and unpleasant work trip (and a bad eat) to Orlando I’d be camping out at home for awhile, but of course that’s not the case. We had a company day off for Monday, so I decided to head south – again – and next thing you know I’m flying into Memphis for the long weekend.

Didn’t stay long, as I headed to Arkansas, the main part of my trip. I had a busy day exploring the north-east part of the state and drifted into Little Rock, where I’ve not been since 2019. Not had many eating success stories since One Eleven at the Capital (which is closed for renovation), but I’m hoping that changes with dinner tonight at Brave New Restaurant.

It was located in a bank building near the water, so I’m not sure what to think. This would be very normal in Japan, but in Little Rock? They sat me at a hi-top near the bar and I relaxed with a nice cocktail. The bartender would be coming out to serve me, which is great, but I had offered to sit at the bar. Oh well, this works well.

The menu looked nice, and as I sipped my cocktail I ordered. The bread and butter was quite nice, but my starter arrived relatively quickly.

Some nice shrimp here. Although not as big as in Orlando last week, these were delicious as well. And importantly, they were peeled correctly – unlike in Orlando, where you got pieces of shell and legs everywhere. A good start! And like many placed in Little Rock, they had offered salad or soup with a main course, and I picked the soup.

A straighforward little mushroom soup that got me ready for the main event. I switched to wine and I smiled, knowing I made the right choice for my main course.

Now you may ask why in the world I would do scallops in Arkansas, but here’s a good justification. These were delicious, broiled in butter, and so good. It was a hard choice with so many good things on the menu, but for some reason these scallops just yelled out from the page. Plus, my excellent bartender also suggested it. And it was an inspired choice. Loved it!

Well, this dinner has been a very pleasant surprise. I ended up having some ice cream because I was stuffed.

Lovely chocolate and white russian scoops here. With a nice tipple, I was happy.

However, I ended up having a second drink and chatting with the fabulous staff as there was quite a wait for a rideshare, about 20 minutes. But this was a good crew, and they did a fantastic job tonight, front and back of the house.

Highly recommended if you are ever in Little Rock!

Brave New Restaurant
2300 Cottondale Lane #105
Little Rock, Arkansas