Zen and the Art of Soba

Soba-Koh is simply one of the best restaurants out there. The whole experience of eating there is cosmic, clean, attentive, harmonious...

At the root of the menu is, of course, the soba noodle. The noodles are made from buckwheat and have a slightly grainy texture and a bit of a nutty flavor. The broth is a beautiful sweet & salty balance with slight flavors of vinegar, smoke, and even some citrus zest. Soba-Koh offers a fresh-made seasonal noodle for an extra $5 and I recommend the upgrade - if nothing for comparison's sake. The fresh noodle is certainly more flavorful and has a softer texture.

You can't go wrong with any dish here. The appetizers are delicious - vegetable tempura platter always comes with sweet crispy pumpkin, there's a delicate crab and egg dish that feels like silk on your tongue, and they serve raw octopus in several different forms, depending on the night.

The soba dishes are divine. The mushroom soba contains several kinds of Japanese mushrooms and the broth is kicked up with some spicy scallion. Any tempura soba is fresh and delicious and comes with your choice of tempura (vegetable, shrimp, soft-shell crab, etc) fresh fried on the side.

The meal is rounded out with a complimentary cup of green tea that's so fresh that, like the restaurant itself, it transcends it's simplicity and leaves you feeling warm and happy.

I'll Take It To Go: Sapporo

Sapporo is one of my top favorite restaurants in the city, hands down. I stop by there anytime I'm even remotely in the area. It's great for the sit-down date, the quick beer and snack, the solo soup slurp... but can it handle the takeout. Survey says - YES!

I'm actually a bit surprised. I find that noodles often don't travel well. I stopped taking out hand-pulled Chinatown noodles because they're mushy in twenty minutes and the broth gets flat as it cools.

But Sapporo's Ramen held up beautifully. One container of Tan Tan Men (office favorite) and one Miso Ramen (for the spice-averse) plus 2 orders gyoza served 3 of us. Wonderful! The soup was still steaming even after the subway ride, the noodles were firm and tasty and the gyoza was the perfect porky vinegary compliment to the rich spicy sesame soup. I'll never get tired of this place, although I do miss DJ Kenta.