I, of course, had heard of this place and talked it about it for years with the few friends that were adventurous enough to take the bus out to Edgewater, New Jersey. I personally never made an effort to check it out, questioning whether or not it would be worth it. My assumption was completely wrong. This could be the ‘greatest place on earth’ for New Yorker’s that love all things Japanese.
Mitsuwa is a Japanese super store. It is a market with produce you won’t find anywhere in the city, a fish monger with fresh raw fish and a selection of smoked/preserved/fermented fish too, there is a KOBE beef section(!), a home goods aisle, I can go on and on. One of the many highlights is the “food court” with multiple stands offering homemade ramen, katsu, stuffed rice balls…yum. They also hold monthly events…check out this month’s event. If you’re a sashimi lover, you may have to make your way to Jersey next weekend.
My sister and I were inspired by the sake aisle, and picked up a huge bottle to warm in a ‘bain marie’ at home to accompany the many little packages we also grabbed.
Besides the hot sake, we cooked and prepared nothing and had a night of Japanese tapas at home with:
OToro Tartare
Hamachi Kama
Grilled Mackerel
Spicy Cod Roe
Sashimi of: Yellowtail, Mackerel, Sweet Shrimp, Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe, Diver Scallops
And a Tsukemono Assortment of Daikon, Shiso Plums, Cucumber & Ginger, Fish Flakes, and Eggplant
I’m seriously considering getting a zip car account to visit this place on a regular basis.
I am not sure how familiar you are with sake but warm/hot sake is the worst way to serve it. People think it’s appropriate because you always get served hot sake in a restaurant, but the truth is, they heat it up to mask how bad the hot sake is. If you buy a good bottle of sake, always serve it chilled. You wouldn’t put your Chardonnay in a bain marie, would you?
I completely agree with you, @sygyzy. Hot sake is not ideal, when drinking quality sake. For this trip, we went for lesser quality sake and quantity. Did you see the size of that bottle??? We focused on the quality of the food ingredients for this trip, maybe next time we’ll be a little pickier with the sake selection. I’ll keep you posted.
I love this place. Haven’t been there in years though. Glad to see it’s still around.