Kyotofu

Kyotofu

705 9th Avenue

New York, NY 10019

(212) 974-6012

I've been to Kyotofu before to try their famous baked goods. From that brief taste, I wanted to return and have a meal there. So this is where Howard and I found ourselves on Wednesday. It was a short walk from the Gershwin Theater, where we would be watching Wicked after lunch! We were off to a great start!

Both of our meals came with a choice of salad or soup. To try both, Howard ordered the salad. I don't know what it was with this trip, but we were finding amazing salads. It's not often that you'll find Howard and I fighting over a salad! There was something in the dressing that made you want to evenly coat the lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes with it.

The salad was amazing, but so was the roasted kabocha soup. A Japanese pumpkin purée with croutons. The soup was both hearty and light - we didn't know that was possible.

Howard picked the omakase for lunch, which is the chef's selection, so this may vary when you visit. In his bento box, going counter clockwise: a lightly chilled tofu (just the way Howard likes it, he doesn't like it hot), chicken slider, sweet potato chips, and kurobuta sausages.

This was the reason Howard ordered it, the sake braised pork belly. This berkshire pork belly was slow cooked in a braise of soy sauce, sake, ginger, herbs, and spices. I was lucky enough to try a piece and it was delicious and so soft! The shiso onigiri rice (on the left) was also very tasty.

I ordered the cha soba noodles, green tea buckwheat noodles, shiitake-kombu dashi broth, crisp shiitake "bacon," and abura-age tofu. Doesn't the presentation look classy?

You must get dessert if you're at Kyotofu. We ended the meal with the Kyotofu signature cupcake. We don't know how they do it, but this chocolate soufflé cupcake is awesome. Simply amazing. It's rich, soft, and has the lightest texture. Howard has since labeled it the best cupcake he's ever had. He mopped up that jam with the cake, leaving me with only a few bites. Next time, we're both getting our own! None of this sharing business.

The cupcake was served with a soymilk soft ice cream. It was refreshing and a great pairing with the chocolate.

To our surprise, the bill came with two brown rice financiers. We were more than happy to try them, as we saw little packages of financiers for sale up by the counter.