Tamari Japanese Restaurant and Sake Bar (CLOSED AS OF 6/09)

Good Japanese food is almost impossible to find in Brooklyn. Although there are exceptions (Geido comes to mind), the rule is often: tea and soup that taste like hot water; oversized, gristly slabs of sushi; and tough chicken teriyaki in a sickly-sweet brown sauce. That is why we were very pleased to discover Tamari, a tiny Japanese restaurant with a large sake selection.

On the waitress’s recommendation, we sampled the chilled Kaori sake (very smooth). Our appetizer was the hiya yakko, chilled tofu with ginger, scallion and dried bonito. We then tried the salmon donburi, topped with glistening pearls of salmon roe. When the sushi order arrived, it was artfully presented with mitsuba leaves adorning the plate. It included two pieces each of tuna, fresh and smoked salmon, yellowtail, whitefish, eel and one piece of crabmeat. Everything was fresh and of good quality.

Not wanting to finish the meal with the usual green tea ice cream, we ordered the shiratama zenzai, a bowl of sweet red beans with chunks of pineapple and warmed mochi. The entire meal for two came out to less than $40.

Tamari: 201 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. (718) 230-5636.