Recipe: Breakfast Sushi

Who says you cannot have sushi in the morning? You can have it the entire day. Here is a simple recipe that you can easily make every morning.

Ingredients:
5 Roasted Seaweed sheet
10 oz Pictsweet Southwest Vegetables with Corn and Black Beans and Authentic Mexican Seasoning
1/2 cup Sargento Authentic Mexican Cheese Mix
1 Ham

Preparation:
1. Cook Southwest Vegetables with Corn and Black Beans as directed in the package.
2. Heat oil in a saute pan. Add in Southwest Vegetables into the pan and saute until all the juice evaporates.
3. Lower the heat. Add in the cheese and let it melt.
4. Meanwhile, place a seaweed sheet on a plate or cutting board. Place Ham on top of the seaweed. Spoon the vegetable-cheese mix.
5. Roll up the sushi, pressing forward to shape the sushi into a cylinder. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife.

Enjoy

Breakfast Sushi

Restaurant Review: Miso Nara

22 S. Main Street

New City, NY 10956

(845) 639 - 6993

Fax (845) 639 - 5386

Japanese

Price: $2 - $60

Dine In, Take Out

Located in the heart of Main Street in New City is Miso Nara, a small Japanese restaurant that is known to the locals as New City Sushi. And when I write small, I mean it literally. The exterior is slightly decorated with Japanese themed-product such as Red Lantern except for the electronic sign that flash Open. Once you open the glass door, you will notice how small the place is. It only has five tables that could seat about only 10 people and a elevated sushi bar which can seat 5 people. But the small area is compensated by the friendly atmosphere. I was quickly greeted by Sushi Chef named Lin (not too sure about his name) who was friendly enough that he chatted with the clientele while making his sushi and sashimi. The place was clean and very organized and cozy. I grabbed a menu while waiting for my server and they have an expansive array of dishes from sushi and sashimi to udons and tempura. For a small place, they sure packed a lot of variety.

They have lunch specials and I took the liberty to order one from the specials. I went for the Tempura Box which was compose of 1 California Roll, 2 Shrimp Tempura, 3 pcs of Vegetable Tempura, 3 pcs of Shumai, Rice and Salad. I can see why this place is visited by a lot of people, Lin was nice enough to ask if I want my order to be spicy - from behind the sushi bar. I didn't have to wait for a long time as my miso soup arrived. The miso soup was served in a typical Japanese bowl. The soup was warm and tasty which was perfect for the cold weather. The tofu was soft and spices weren't overwhelming. Then my spicy salad arrived, it tasted fresh and just had enough kicked to it. Finally my main dish, the tempura box was the typical black exterior, red interior box but the presentation was superb. The tempuras were warm and crisp with a little bit of sweetness to it. The California roll was so fresh that you could taste each ingredient really well. The rice was perfectly cooked, salad with ginger dressing was fresh and bountiful and the shumai were tasty. Then the server brought me a dessert courtesy of Lin - a piece of sweet potato roll. I never had this kind of roll in any Japanese restaurants I've been to and this sure was an experience. And to clean my palate - I got a small slice of vanilla mochi ice cream.

This small place packs a lot of punch and I'm pretty sure will be back to try the other dishes on their menu. Even tag along some friends.

New City's website

Rockland County's website

Rockland Eateries Online - Listing of restaurants in Rockland County

Restaurant Review: Sushi Bada

214 Route 59
Suffern, NY 10901
(845) 533 - 4178

Japanese
Price: $1.95 - $130
Dine In, Take Out

Sushi Bada is a relatively newcomer to the county already filled with Japanese restaurants. But don't that prevent you from going and trying out their dishes. As there tag line states - A New Age Fusion Restaurant.


Sushi Bada is located in Suffern, near the exit to 287. Its sits between a dry cleaning place and the well-known - among locals - Sutter's Mill. I decided to try it out today since I was around the vicinity. The exterior is simple but the interior was inviting. Japanese themed products decorate the place with wooden table and chairs that could sit from 2 to 10. Pretty sure they could they could host bigger parties. The hostess/waitress was friendly and, I'm guessing, the owner, was accommodating - even given me a suggestion on what to order.  The menu is pretty extensive from soup and salad to udon and uramaki. Overall, there are 197 dishes to choose from not including the nine (9) Bada Fiesta Specials, five (5) Desserts and 19 Lunch Specials.

So I ordered Shrimp Tempura Udon ($16.95) and the Maki Combo ($9.95) from the lunch menu. The host/owner came over and suggested that for another dollar, I could go for the special - order three different rolls for $10.95. I thought it was a good deal so I went for Spicy Tuna, Spicy Scallop and Eel Roll - all Uramakis.

The first thing they brought to the table was the House Salad with ginger dressing. The presentation was good but the dressing really didn't have much kicked to it like those of other Japanese restaurants around the county. After I finished my salad, they brought out the rolls. The Spicy Tuna and Eel Roll were placed parallel to each other with the Spicy Scallop on their left moving away - sort of like a half arrow - in a nice white ceramic dish. The Spicy Tuna which was made of tuna, masago (capelin roe), scallion and spicy sauce - was tasty with the roe complimenting the tuna and the sauce. The Eel Roll was crunchy with the avocado tasting fresh. And the Spicy Scallop was just sumptuous - the scallop was fresh and complimented pretty well by the spicy crab mix. Maybe I should have ended my meal right there and then.

They brought out my Shrimp Tempura Udon. The presentation was a bit different from the other place I have been to. The udon was served in a traditional Japanese bowl but the Shrimp tempura was left on the side keeping it crunchy. Also, they brought along a small Shichimi jar, a seven flavor chili pepper, to add more kicked if you want. The noodle was al dente, the vegetables were crunchy and tasty and the soup was just delicious especially when I added some Shichimi on it.

The prices are typical of a Japanese restaurant - a bit expensive but definitely worth it. They have lunch specials that are fairly price ($9.95 - 13.95). So if you are in the area, drop by and enjoy some Japanese cuisines.

Suffern's website
Rockland County's website

Restaurant Review: Wasabi Grill

195 S. Main St
New City, NY 10956
(845) 638 - 2202

Asian / Japanese
Price: $2 - $28
Dine In, Take Out, Bar

Wasabi Grill is part of Wasabi franchise by Chef Doug Nguyen. Opened in February of this year, Wasabi Grill is comparatively smaller than its sister restaurants, Wasabi and Wasabi Chi. Yet the place still has that sophisticated look that can be seen in Wasabi, Nyack.

When you walked in, you will be first greeted by an elevated lounge with leather couch and ottomans that can be use if you are waiting for your party or just to relax after your meal. After the lounge, the restaurant has three sets of high communal table which can easily fit a party of six. Each table has a small flat screen TV that are sync with the three Flat Screens above the bar. Other than that, the interiors are similar to Wasabi in Nyack - walls are green and the bar is back-lit with table for four situated on one side of the wall and a couple of small circular table for two. The other difference, the sushi bar is smaller since it shares space with the hibachi grill.

Once I settled in, the friendly waitress came over right away and asked us what we want to drink. Upon looking through the cocktail menu and ordered a Wasabi Martini ($10) which is made of chilled lichiko and lychee juice top with a lychee fruit. The drink was very smooth and chilled just right. It was cold that night so I ordered a Miso Soup ($2) which taste great and surely warm me up. Then our appetizers came, we had Beef Negimaki and Chicken Tempura.  The Beef Negimaki was sumptous, the teriyaki sauce wasn't over empowering. The Chicken Tempura was complimented by vegetable tempura with a horseradish (I think) sauce. The tempura was crisp and the meat/veggies were tender. For my main course, I ordered the Sensei Roll which taste delicious and fresh.

Overall, the place has a great atmosphere and well-priced. The host and waitstaff are friendly and the food is just delicious. And the prices are cheaper than the main Wasabi in Nyack and more family-friendly.

Wasabi Grill (website does not have any details of Wasabi Grill yet)