Kyotofu NYC: Opening Today!

Well, the grand opening of this new Japanese bakery is actually November 6, but you can get a sneak peek of the offerings starting tonight at 6:30 p.m. There will be a full bar including sake and shochu, and treats like sansho pepper cheesecake, chocolate chestnut mochi cake, fresh ginger sticky rice pudding, green tea cookies, and homemade sweet black sesame tofu. (I've been waiting quite a while for this!)

Edited to add: You must try the black-sesame-cake-bottomed sansho cheesecake, which is served with plum carpaccio and crystallized ginger!

Kyotofu NYC: 705 Ninth Ave. (212) 974-6012.

From Maeda To Chiyoda

The space at 16 East 41st Street used to be a venerable, extremely pricey sushi bar called Maeda. Sometimes I would walk by, but in the interest of preserving my wallet, I'd head into Cafe Zaiya instead.

Now, Cafe Zaiya is a wonderful place if you want a quick Japanese lunch, but... dare I say, the new Chiyoda (formerly Maeda) right next door is... much better. I found this out yesterday, when I walked past Cafe Zaiya, looking for Maeda! Instead, I saw a spotless, attractive take-out/eat-in operation that seemed straight out of Tokyo. As I admired the salmon-mentaiko onigiri, ginger-topped saury sushi, and seared salmon sushi decorated with little lemon slices, something seemed familiar to me. The only place in NYC where I'd previously found such high-quality take-out sushi was the Katagiri grocery. Could this be the same sushi?

Indeed, it was! Apparently, Katagiri's sushi source has opened its first stand-alone outpost in New York. But Chiyoda offers a lot more than just sushi. There are luscious daily cooked specials like chicken namban and a salmon in a shiitake butter sauce, there are noodle soups and oden, there are intriguing salads like pumpkin raisin walnut and seaweed chicken, and desserts such as black sesame pudding. And there's a reason for the authenticity of Chiyoda: it already has over 250 stores in Japan.

Chiyoda Sushi New York: 16 East 41st St., (212) 400-8880. One small note: Although there's a CASH ONLY sign on the register, if you are a glutton like me and order over $15 worth of food, you can charge up that credit card.

The 10-Minute Tofu Maker

Have you been hopelessly spoiled by the fresh tofu at En Japanese Brasserie? If so, you may want to invest in the Banrai Nabe, an amazing gadget that produces tofu in a record-breaking 10 minutes. (Supposedly, it also makes amazing chocolate fondue.) This was just one of many exciting exhibits at today's 13th Annual Japanese Food & Restaurant Show.

While happily munching on tuna sashimi dipped in year-aged Yamasa soy sauce and a shiso-plum paste hand roll, I noticed an interesting new trend: the tendency to treat sake like wine, pairing it with certain foods. At the "sake & food matching table," an aromatic Honjozu went with the black miso-braised pork, a rich Junmai sake accompanied grilled chicken, and a light Ginjo was recommended for delicate sesame tofu.

Another popular exhibit was artisanal food corner. Premium Wagyu beef, sweet potato vinegar, smoked sea salt and a deliciously mellow barley miso were on display. Maruyama Nori Ten Company blended traditional Japanese teas with herbs, coming up with combinations like jasmine genmaicha. Maruyama also offered special, non-clumping green tea powder, which can be used in baked goods. (If you'd like the green-tea scone recipe, just E-mail me.)

The Farm On Adderley

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd put my name on a waiting list to eat in Ditmas Park (thanks for the correction, Brooklynites!), Brooklyn. But that day came this weekend, when some friends and I walked into a packed The Farm On Adderley. With its backyard patio, exposed brick and arty photographs, The Farm would be right at home in Cobble Hill, or for that matter, the West Village.

(For those of you who are wondering, there is no "Adderley Road" in Brooklyn; the restaurant is named after a place in South Africa.)

After a pleasant chat in the bar area, we were led to a large round table in the back. The specials included a roasted eggplant appetizer with grilled flatbread, a pan-seared tilapia and ribeye with heirloom potatoes and cipollini. Unfortunately, the kitchen had 86ed the double cut pork chop and grilled brook trout. (One small curiosity on the menu: if you order a burger, you can ask that it be topped with a fried egg.)

We were first served a plate of bread and lavender-infused olive oil. I thought they could have been a little more generous with the bread - there was one small slice per person. For an appetizer, I enjoyed a chive-sprinkled, creamy cauliflower soup with the intriguing addition of one fried oyster. I also shared the roasted eggplant dip, which was accompanied by diced root vegetables) and an amazing buttermilk-dressed Bibb salad with fresh green peas.

I had another case of "entree envy" when dinner arrived. My adjacent friend had ordered the sweet potato gnocchi, which was a rich, buttery, sage-scented bowl of chewy orange pasta! I did like my (a bit over-)seared tilapia with baby carrots, potatoes and celery root puree, but how I longed for the pasta. Others among us ordered the ribeye, which looked to be enough for three people.

The large table next to us had just ordered an enticing array of desserts, so we decided to follow suit. A buttermilk panna cotta in a cool Concord grape sauce was topped with crunchy pecans, a gingerbread cake was served warm with a dollop of tropical fruit mousse, and the chocolate-banana upside-down cake (easily my favorite) had the added bonus of coconut sorbet.

Ditmas Park - I envy you.

The Farm On Adderley: 1108 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, (718) 287-3101.

Despana: ¡Que tienda mas maravillosa!

I've just returned from Spain - well, more accurately, Broome Street, but I might as well have been in Spain for all the Spanish delicacies I just purchased and ate! For eight months, Despaña has been plying Iberophiles with all kinds of good things: chorizo, Serrano ham, sherry vinegar, fragrant Primicia olive oil, tuna-stuffed olives in escabeche, cactus marmalade from the Canary Islands, poached pears, Asturian cheese, tortas de aceite, and licorice bonbons. And that's just the grocery! In the ready-to-eat section, there are various sandwiches on ciabatta (some options: dry-cured pork loin with Manchego, spicy chorizo with Mahon cheese and Basque peppers, and white tuna wth white anchovies) tortilla española (two flavors: potato or chorizo-pepper), desserts like requeson y miel (white cheese and honey), and some really great espresso. (There's only one table, so try to grab it!)

Now, please excuse me while I put away my artichoke hearts, ali oli, artisanal asparagus mousse, whole piquillo peppers, and dry-cured fish sampler.

Despana: 408 Broome St., (212) 219-5050.

Baked NYC

I've fallen head over heels in love. Unfortunately, the object of my desire is in another borough. However, this elusiveness only makes me pine away all the more. Lest you start worriedly E-mailing my companion, I'll reveal that both of us are enjoying my new beloved: Baked NYC!

Baked is the sexiest, most adult bakery I've found in NYC, with its Scotch-laced chocolate pudding and fleur de sel-sprinkled sweet-and-salty caramel cake. Other creative cakes are the red-hot cinnamon buttercream with Valrhona cocoa, and the fortune-cookie topped almond green-tea. I've also tried a delectable cornmeal muffin accented with rosemary, a mixed berry scone with a slight tinge of lemon, and the icebox cake: a sort of gourmet Oreo with chocolate wafers and pastry cream.

Unfortunately, Baked is a 20-minute walk from the Carroll Street subway station. If you want to cut that walk in half, just walk down Union Street past the BQE into the Columbia Heights neighborhood - you'll find many Baked goods at Coffee Den on the corner.

Baked NYC: 359 Van Brunt St., (718) 222-0345.

A Beer and Bacon Tasting

Today, from 7-9 p.m., Josh Ozersky (New York Magazine’s online food editor) will hold an exciting Beer and Bacon Tasting at Jimmy’s (43 E. 7th St) from 7 to 9 pm. There will be six hearty varieties of bacon and plenty of porter!