Mitsuwa in Edgewater

[Jason Perlow]

Yeah figure out what the hell happened to the okonomiyaki.

[judiu]

PLEASE, somebody tell me the address in Edgewater! I lived there as a teenager pre-gentrification, on Beverly Place. I hope the town still has all its' wild roses everywhere, but I doubt they survived. All I can remember about food in Edgewater was the shop on the corner of Dempsy and River Rd. where I could get an icecream soda for 25 cents.

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here ya go http://www.mitsuwanj.com/en/location.htm

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Amazing! I doubt that when I lived there there were any Asian people closer than Manhatten, and now look. I believe the store is in the area we used to call the Ferry Plaza, after the (then defunct) ferry that had run to Manhatten. Is the town library still on Hudson Ave. right down from Underhill? I don't particularly miss the people I knew then, but the town was beautiful, with all the old stone buildings and the roses. I sure do miss those ice cream sodas, though!

[MJP]

Yeah figure out what the hell happened to the okonomiyaki.

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The okonomiyaki is gone since there is no longer a place to grill it. The taiyaki shop no longer has a griddle.

Also, Iseya was completely gone and gutted out, covered by a movable fence. This really makes me sad; they had the only bubble tea close to me other than the Garden State Plaza (trafficky as hell) and Top Quality Food Market/Maxim's in Parsippany (too far). :-(

If you want mochi, now you have to get it from the coolers in the market itself. Oh well.

Word to the wise: if you're ever faced between the salt ramen and the hot miso ramen, get the salt. I had a not-so-great experience with the latter and was in envy of my girlfriend's, the former.

Melon bread was nonexistent at St. Honore. If they're not there next week (We have to run back around en route to gather things for an anime convention) I'll ask them what the deal is.

[Rachel Perlow]

Also, Iseya was completely gone and gutted out, covered by a movable fence.  This really makes me sad; they had the only bubble tea close to me other than the Garden State Plaza (trafficky as hell) and Top Quality Food Market/Maxim's in Parsippany (too far).  :-(

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I don't know where you're located, but there's a good bubble tea place in Bergenfield, Fusion Ti; and in the Binghamton's strip mall, I think the cafe on the end closest to the boat also has bubble tea.

[MJP]

Bergenfield is a little closer than the GSP to Lyndhurst, and hopefully less trafficky, too.

This may sound random... but are there any mini golf places in/near Bergenfield? My girlfriend and I wanted to mini-golf this weekend and this'd be an awesome surprise for her.

[Rachel Perlow]

None in Bergenfield, but I did a quick search on yp.yahoo and there are a few within a 15 mile radius. If you go to the one in Blauvelt NY, you could stop by Bailey's for some of Fink's barbecue.

[TongoRad]

This may sound random... but are there any mini golf places in/near Bergenfield? My girlfriend and I wanted to mini-golf this weekend and this'd be an awesome surprise for her.

Along the lines of what Rachel said this may depend on what you mean by 'near', but there is a place in Closter associated with the driving range across from the Burger King on Homans Ave. There is also one in the other direction down in Bogota, as part of a pretty nice indoor sports facility whose name escapes me at the monent.

[MJP]

Bringing the thread back on topic, I just got the latest Mitsuwa flyer in the mail. They're doing the Kyushu/Okinawa region food fair from 6/30 to 7/3. These food fairs are real trips and worth the trip. Last year was a blast, and this year looks like a good one too. They're doing a specialty ramen (they always do a regional specialty during most of the food fairs), and there's going to be demonstrations of making michoi, fish cake, squid shumai, and at least three different kinds of mackerel sushi.

I also saw what appears to be sata andagi on the list, but it didn't have a demonstration note. It might just be selling the dough to make it at home.

It can get a little crowded during the lunch rush, but it's a hell of a scene. Worth it for the unique fresh stuff they demo and sell.

[MJP]

The girlfriend and I went to Mitsuwa for the first day of the Kyushu/Okinawa Food Fair and it was quite the blast. They had a bunch of sampleable foods, among them the squid shumai and steamed buns. We missed the squid shumai because whenever we went by that booth, people had already descended upon it and eaten all of the samples that were out. There were two types of squid steamed buns available; they were basically nikuman or Shanghai-style steamed buns, but they had two types of dough: one flavored with squid cartilage (I think?) and one flavored with squid ink. I couldn't get over the squid ink one.

This was what we had for lunch: Hidechan ramen. It was done by someone who's apparently a famous ramen chef. The broth was very porky, with less spice or salt than a normal salt ramen, but it was a unique, deep flavor that really resonated and left no aftertaste whatsoever. It was a good change of pace, and the extra scallions and different pork slices were quite nice. The noodles were less thick and not the curly type I've seen at Santoka thus far. Worth it this one time, but I prefer the normal salt ramen a little better.

They had these mochi in boxes to take home or fresh made. My girlfriend loves mochi, I hate it, but I tried it anyway and still hate it. Oh well.

Mochi makers at work. In his hands is a griddle like the kind they use to make takoyaki. Normally the mochi isn't cooked, but I guess this is a Kyushu/Okinawa specialty style.

These are basically balls of red bean paste rolled up in sweet potato powder. I've had this before and it's good stuff. We didn't get any this time.

Various fish cakes and fried stuff that was being sold over in the deli corner.

These are the squid buns. I love the guy with the dancing arms. Click here for a photo of the steamed-bun promo guy in action, along with the shumai makers.

Solid bricks of Okinawan sweet potato and red bean jams.

Fried stuff and fishcakes sold in the deli section. Some of these can be had year-round, but they had fresh fried softshell crab, anchovies, and squid legs (bottom left) along with different varieties of shrimp, cod, and pike eel cakes (top and bottom right.) The croquettes (top left) were tasty and crispy, but they weren't any different than the croquettes that are normally there.

These were the real stars: sata andagi (the two brownish things) and sweet potato balls rolled in sesame seeds. Sata andagi is a fried flour dessert that's crusted in brown sugar. Ours were crispy and delicious.

The inside of the sweet potato things. I guess the purple might be from taro? Regardless of its origin, these were the real stars: light and fluffy, with a wonderful crusty texture from the sesame seeds.

Sorry for the long post, but this is just a little sample. For anyone that has the time, swing down for the food fair. There's a lot of really funky regional stuff there, a few dishes out for sampling. I warn you, it'll be crowded, but worth it.

Not pictured: special mackerel sushi. We had the grilled mackerel sushi with dinner and it was gone before I could take a picture.

[rooftop1000]

""The inside of the sweet potato things. I guess the purple might be from taro? Regardless of its origin, these were the real stars: light and fluffy, with a wonderful crusty texture from the sesame seeds.""

Isn't there a purple Hawaiian sweet potato?

tracey

[Hiroyuki]

I guess that's Okinawan beni imo.

Here's some description of this type of sweet potato:

http://www.okinawaindex.com/index/?tid=2&c...7425c0e5a0e848c

[MJP]

More new stuff at Mitsuwa! The frontage has a scaffold up; it's about time they had a bigger, more visible sign!

Also, on the inside, that blank space has really been revamped, and there's going to be a "Japanese-style Chinese" restaurant there. Pic has the promo poster. Apparently there's a free dumpling/rice dish to the first 200 customers.

The new shop has lots of glass cubes and squares in the front. It seems a little bit too modern, but YMMV. I for one can't wait to try this. Preview days open August 22nd, open to the public on August 26th.

[MJP]

I guess I've assumed the unofficial thread-maintainer role... :-P

Save the date! The tuna cut is the first weekend of November! Saturday and Sunday, the 4th and 5th. I just got the latest brochure. They're doing a big grand-reopening celebration this coming weekend, all the usual prize shpiels but nothing came up food-wise. There's a special curry udon limited to 30 servings daily between the 27th and the 2nd. I won't be in the neighborhood, unfortunately. :-(

Anyway, the tuna cut is awesome. I'm pretty sure that I've talked about it earlier in the thread, but it's gotta be seen (and tasted) to be believed. There's no better, fresher tuna sushi to be had. Aficionados can bring home the good stuff to make their own.

More info (including times) when it's available. If you intend to go see the tuna cut, arrive about a half-hour beforehand and bring cameras or recording equipment if you so desire. The crowds run pretty thick.

[LNorman]

Does Mitsuwa have spirotake? I read about this Japanese noodle in one of those weekly women's magazine at the checkout counter that always have new diets to lose weight.

Since I need to change my diet because my blood work is not where it should be, I wanted to try spirotake. Supposedly it can take the place of pasta but it doesn't have as many carbohydrates as pasta but it does have more nutrients.

Do I even have the name of the noodle correct?

[MJP]

I personally have not heard of Spirotake so I wouldn't be able to tell you... googling yielded no info. Sorry! :-(

[Hiroyuki]

Me, either.

Is that some kind of konjac (konnyaku in Japanese) noodles like these?

[rooftop1000]

Shirataki...yes konnyaku

Mitsuwa has them in the refridgerated section, they are very low carb/ low on the glycemic index. My daughter said they were good in soup.

tracey

[BryanZ]

To say that they can take the place of pasta, however, is a little bit of a stretch. They're something of an acquired taste to the Western palate I've found due to their somewhat chewy and bouncy nature. Before blanching they can also have a somewhat off-putting smell which turns some people off.

It would be interesting to see Western applications of the ingredient, however.

[dngovy]

does anyone know what time the tuna cutting starts this weekend?

thx in advance

[MJP]

dngovy: I have the flyer at home. I believe that it starts at 12 and 3 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

I would DEFINITELY advise that you arrive early. Crowds start forming up to a half-hour before the cutting starts. They have plenty of special sushi ready (all chu-toro with a piece or two of o-toro) for $8 each. The normal food court has its normal goodness as well.

[dngovy]

thanks for the info.. will take you up on your advice and be sure to arrive early..

been looking forward to this since I first read about it last year..

[Hiroyuki]

dngovy: I have the flyer at home.  I believe that it starts at 12 and 3 PM on Saturday and Sunday. 

I would DEFINITELY advise that you arrive early.  Crowds start forming up to a half-hour before the cutting starts.  They have plenty of special sushi ready (all chu-toro with a piece or two of o-toro) for $8 each.  The normal food court has its normal goodness as well.

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That's interesting. Someone post some pictures of that "show", like I did in the Fish and other seafood thread in the General Food Topics Forum.

[MJP]

Sounds like a plan! I'll try to get in close enough.

My camera doesn't do video too great, but I'll try to get some choice video of the process. It's really awesome to see them break down that huge fish. No image or video can convey the taste and the feel of the o-toro, though. :-(

[Chihiran]

Mitsuwa, I went a couple of days after the renovation and it's definitely much more like a Japanese department store food area. I like St. Honore's a lot, even though my favorite Japanese bakery is Parisienne in Fort Lee.

My only complaint about Mitsuwa is on Mondays, the sashimi/meat/everything is so... old and tired! I like Mitsuwa for its variety of skin care goods and cleaning detergents, flour, etc... but for sashimi, meats, and vegetables, I like DAIDO in Fort Lee!! It's a very small store, but please try it!!

MJP, chutoro is my favorite. I don't think I have the energy to risk the crowds for the tuna, but tell me how it goes!

Edited November 6, 2006 by Chihiran (log)

[MJP]

The chutoro was indeed good, but the otoro was amazingly beyond belief as normal... however, I couldn't get any decent photos since the charger for my camera is AWOL and my PPC-6700's cameraphone function is pretty awful. :-(

Chihiran: I don't buy meat or fish at Mitsuwa; it's tremendously overpriced. I live in Lyndhurst and do my grocery shopping around there. I go for Japanese stuff that I can't get anywhere else, though, but I'm in East Hanover more and more and should really be going to Kam Man. Their seafood is hit-or-miss, but when it hits, it's the good stuff.