![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru016141poI/AAAAAAAAA20/pUeJHN3qSQo/s400/IMG_2478.JPG)
Sake Bar Hagi is a basement izakaya on West 49th. You really have to keep an eye out or you'll never find the entrance. Apart from not having "Ir-ra-se-ma-se!" shouted at you when you walk down the stairs, you feel like you've just stepped into Japan. The warm, cozy room has bar seats and tiny tables and a wall with shelves of sake bottles with names on them, the bar holding on to personal bottles for the regulars.
![](//2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru03-V41ppI/AAAAAAAAA28/NRYyinJMtfQ/s200/IMG_2476.JPG)
We were starving, but in typical leisurely drinking style, it took a while for the dishes to start coming. We started with black edamame which had a sweeter marinade. Wasabi octopus sashimi with shredded mountain yam was cold and gooey and slimey -- these are good things, mind you....
Our other cold dish was cod roe with shredded daikon.
![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru05l141psI/AAAAAAAAA3U/g755RGNUTUs/s320/IMG_2477.JPG)
![](//3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru03-l41pqI/AAAAAAAAA3E/O_Q_b5QJqK4/s200/IMG_2480.JPG)
We ordered just one yakitori skewer: the special on the board -- alligator. It was alright - you know, tastes like chicken. I think we probably shouldn't have been swayed by the exotic and stuck with a more standard yakitori like chicken gizzards and skin.
My favorite dish of the night was takoyaki (fried squid balls). In fact, I think I ate them so quickly I forgot to take a picture!
![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru03-141prI/AAAAAAAAA3M/4QhD4tOVzcA/s200/IMG_2482.JPG)
The onigiri (rice ball) was the least interesting - pretty standard, and not enough bonito inside...
Pictured on top is hamachi kama (broiled yellowtail collar). It wasn't the best I've had, but it was good - hard to go wrong with the collar, such a tender part of the fish.
We finished the meal with a yakisoba with chicken and kimchee. My dinner companions loved this dish. To me, it was kind of like stuff I throw together at home from leftovers. But then again, as the
NY Times reviewer said about the spaghetti with ketchup bacon dish, maybe it's for nostalgia...
![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zs5RcbAnjM8/Ru07j141ptI/AAAAAAAAA3c/kHTJ136TKk8/s400/IMG_2481.JPG)
To me, food-wise this place didn't live up the rave reviews I've heard, but then again, I've had a lot of good Japanese food in my day.
What I like about this place is the atmosphere - I can see why Japanese ex-pats living in NYC would come here to hang out and drink and snack. I still stand by my favorite New York izakaya when it comes to food -- that's
Mugi on W. 58th St -- but often we've been the only people in the dining room. I love Mugi, but I can see why people would rather drink at Sake Bar Hagi.
Sake Bar Hagi152 West 49th Street, NYC
(212) 764-8549.
1 comment:
I love this place ..
Post a Comment