Give me Zama that sushi

I was first introduced to sushi at age 11.  A once semi-picky-eater, I refused to eat any type of fish whatsoever, and I would separate the seaweed from the rice before eating my sushi.  I'm not quite sure when my affinity toward fish (and especially raw fish) developed, but over the past decade, sushi has become one of my preferred dishes.  I've eaten sushi around the world: in Israel, China, the Caribbean, in various European cities... and of course, all over the US of A. 


There are a number of sushi places that I frequent in Philadelphia, but my favorite is hands down a small restaurant in Rittenhouse called Zama.  I was first introduced to Zama in the summer of 2010 and in the past year, I think I've eaten there about half a dozen times.  I've also recommended Zama to countless friends and to my knowledge, no one has left unhappy.  


One staple of any Japanese restaurant is the edamame.  It's not hard to make (anyone can buy frozen edamame in the supermarket, steam them, and sprinkle some sea salt on) and I don't know that I've ever had edamame that's really superior to other edamame.  Zama has a cool twist on this class dish: it offers flavored salts that you can put onto your edamame.  In my career as a Zama eater, I usually order the wasabi sea salt because I like the kick that the wasabi gives the edamame.  In my most recent visit, however, my dining partner and I chose the Edamame with yuzu salt, something that I probably wouldn't have thought to order on my own.  Yuzu is a traditional Japanese citrus and the taste definitely came through in the edamame.  The pods had a nice combination of salt 'n' sour and tasted like a slightly more intense line had been squeezed onto the hot green beans.  

Yuzu sea salt edamame

After we finished our edamame, the array of sushi that we ordered arrived.  All of the sushi was fresh and delicious.  The shitake maki was just as I expected.  The shitake mushroom is a sweet and chewy mushroom, more like a gummy than other mushrooms.  I find that it's a great maki to get when you order others with lots of flavor because the mushroom tends to act as a palate cleanser.  

Shitake maki

Our second maki was a super crunchy salmon maki.  This maki was also available with tuna or yellowtail, but we chose salmon because... well... we like it the best.  The aspect of the dish that makes it "super crunchy" are the little balls that tasted like a mixture of Rice Crispy cereal and rice cakes that layered the outside of the rice.  The super crunch salmon roll was definitely super crunchy.  In fact, I thought that the crunch was genius because its texture balanced out the tenderness of the raw salmon perfectly, while its bland taste didn't distract from the salmon at all.  

Super crunchy salmon roll

Next up was the classica salmon avocado maki.  This is my absolute favorite maki that Zama offers.  I would equate it to the smoothness of butter, but it's actually completely different.  Yes, the salmon avocado roll melts in your mouth and rolls down your tongue through your throat seamlessly, but butter leaves you feeling heavy and bloated after eating it, whereas the salmon avocado roll does not.  It's perfection in a roll.  

Salmon avocado roll

Next to the salmon avocado roll sat the impressive and somewhat intimidating yellowtail jalapeno mango maki.  As a lover of jalapeno, I imagine they use large jalapenos in this maki because the pepper wasn't at all hot, which was a little bit of a disappointment as I was looking forward to having sushi with a kick.  Additionally, as a fish, yellowtail doesn't exude much flavor.  It's mild and not very fishy at all, which was great for this roll because the mango, which added a nice crunch, definitely took over.  If you aren't a fan of mango flavor, this isn't the roll for you.  But, if you're an adventurous sushi-er, I give you my blessing to go for it! 

Yellowtail jalapeno mango maki

Our final maki was the classic Philadelphia roll.  The Philadelphia roll consists of [Philadelphia] cream cheese (hence the name), cucumber, and smoked salmon.  In my opinion, cream cheese in sushi is brilliant.  The creaminess of the dairy and the thickness of the rice blend together in a beautiful way that my tongue enjoys.  Plus, in my mind (and according to the rules of Jewish food), cream cheese and smoked salmon are meant to be.  The Philadelphia roll is a must for any sushi lover, especially when eating in Philadelphia.  

Philadelphia roll

Even though we were stuffed by the end of our sushi marathon, my dinner date and I couldn't resist ordering dessert... especially once we heard that all desserts at Zama are mini and guests get three to a plate.  After a lot of deliberation we settled on the Yuzu Creme Brulee, the Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, and the Strawberry Marscapone Cream Cake.  The creme brulee was similar to a passion fruit creme brulee.  It had a custard made from yuzu and caramelized sugar on top.  The double chocolate bread pudding is as it sounds: warm, chocolatey, and brownie-like.  The final and most interesting dessert was the strawberry marscapone cream cake.  Strawberry was definitely the most prominent flavor of the small cake.  The "strawberry" was sandwiched between whipped cream on top and sponge cake on the bottom.  It had a good ratio of plain to extremely flavorful content. 

(l-r) Yuzu creme brulee, Strawberry marscapone cream cake, Double chocolate bread pudding

As always, Zama was a delight.  The service was great, the ambiance serene, and the food superb.  There are countless sushi spots throughout Philadelphia, but if you find yourself hungry in Rittenhouse, I highly recommend stopping in for a roll or two... or three or four.  


Visit Zama: 
(215) 568-1027
http://www.zamarestaurant.com/

El Rey of Sun

As a way to celebrate the 67 degree February Friday, a friend and I ventured down Chestnut Street to Stephen Starr's Mexican restaurant, El Rey.  Like all of Starr's restaurants, El Rey has a distinct personality.  When I walked through El Rey's threshold, I instantly felt like I left Philadelphia and entered a Mexican bar.  Upon entering El Rey, one stands at the end of a very long hallway.  Booths line both sides of the eatery and tables-for-four divide the room into two runways.  To the right are rounded windows with orange lamps that sit on their ledges.  The general lighting in the restaurant is dim -- which was a shame, since the sun outside was powerful and bright -- so the windows function more as decorations than as a mechanism to light the room.  Opposite the windows, Mexican movie posters plastered to the walls, create a reflection of the dome shape of the windows.  Many brightly colored lamps hang from the ceiling, giving off a disco-ball effect.  El Rey feels lively and energetic, while maintaing an intimate feeling as well.

After browsing the menu and lunch special -- two courses for $9.95! -- we decided that in honor of the sun, we shouldn't skimp.  We started off our meal with guacamole and tortilla chips and were pleasantly surprised when the waitress brought out a huge bowl of guac and another of chips.  The guacamole's consistency was up to par with my Starr expectations: the perfect balance of creaminess and chunkiness.  The actual taste was very good, but not over the top as I like my guacamole to come with many flavors (lime, cayenne pepper, salt, etc...) and this guacamole was more of a simple rendition.  What set these avocados apart from any other guacamole that I have ever tasted was the cotija cheese that was sprinkled on top of our dish.  Cotija cheese, as I later found out, is a hard cow's milk cheese that originates in Mexico.  Cotija has the consistency of parmesan, but it tastes more like feta.  It wasn't overly bold, but it did add a little something extra that made El Rey's guacamole special.

The tortilla chips are a whole other story.  These chips were nothing like the Tostitos that I'm used to eating with guacamole and salsa; they had the consistency of Chinese crispy noodles and were thick and crunchy.  They were also subtly salted and proved to be the perfect complement to the otherwise blandish guacamole.

Guacamole and Tortilla Chips

Next it was time for our entrees.  I ordered the fish tacos, which were served on three small soft tortillas, on top of which were slices of halibut, onions, and a cilantro mayonnaise.  The tacos were delicious; the fish fried to perfection and the flavors creating the perfect balance of salty and savory.  The fish also had a sweet aftertaste to it, which added a third dimension to the dish.

Fish Tacos

Our lunch was quite hearty and I was actually unable to finish my fish.  The best part of the meal though, was learning that El Rey has a delightful happy hour with $1 tacos and $4 margaritas Monday - Friday from 5:00-6:30.  I'll see you there. 

Visit at El Rey: 

(215) 563-3330
www.elreyrestaurant.com