More Fukuda!

The holidays are over.  I'm back to work.  It's cold out.  

This time of year just sucks.

BUT, my good friend Food Collage wanted to meet James and me for dinner with her DH before their post-holiday schedules got even crazier (or suckier).  She had been wanting to try Fukuda, as James and I have RAVED about it, so we made the arrangements.  I even agreed to a LATE dinner - 8:00pm - even though I swore I'd never go out late on a school night.

That's how much I love eating with these people.  And eating at Fukuda.

Fukuda

I had only tried the late-night menu previously, so the regular menu overwhelmed me a bit.  I knew how fantastic Sushi Chef Matt Kemp's creations were, having tried them during his time at Emilia Romagna, and I had no idea what would NOT be good.  James knew that he didn't want the Salted Fish Head (although that's something I would definitely try, but I didn't want anyone else at the table to be put-off), but that he did want the Edamame again:

Grilled Edamame

This is so simple, yet so delicious.  I could eat this all day.

The Robotayaki was another favorite of mine, so I ordered the chicken and the duck:

Chicken, Salmon, and Duck Robotayaki (the salmon was for Food Collage's DH)

Mmmm...you can never go wrong with grilled meat, but I don't think that any man could replicate this on their backyard grill.  

I also ordered the Ponzu Duck Breast, since Salt of the Earth has made me such a duck aficionada:

Ponzu Duck Breast

Paired with the grilled green onions, this was awesome.  On its own, it may have been a bit bland, but this is the perfect combination of meat and vegetable.  The duck is marinated in ponzu, which is made in-house, and topped with shiitake mushroom.  

Because neither of us could decide on sushi otherwise, we ordered the Chef's Choice Sampler:

Large Chef's Choice Sampler

I could not name everything formally on here, but there is clam, salmon, tuna, and mackerel, which had a nice shine to it:

Mackerel Nigiri

Matt never disappoints when it comes to sushi.  Like, everything he has ever made for me has been awesome.  Every time.  I dare him to make me something I don't like!

Finally, we had to try the Wagyu.  Now, you know that I absolutely love the Wagyu Brisket Taco at Smoke BBQ Taqueria, so I know that the meat quality is there - I mean, just LOOK at this!

Wagyu

Full Slate of Wagyu

It was SO TENDER!  Made with yuzu, cilantro oil, and bull's blood microgreens, this was the best "dessert" we could have had!  Wagyu is expensive, but definitely worth EVERY PENNY.

I'm so glad that I got to spend some time with Food Collage and her DH (and James, of course!) at such a fabulous restaurant.  I will definitely become a regular - maybe not as much of a regular as I am at Smoke BBQ Taqueria, but hey, tacos are my thing...

If you're looking for somewhere to eat on Monday, January 7, 2013, and you're bummed that Fukuda is closed on Mondays - YOU'RE IN LUCK!  They will be doing "No Menu Mondays" at Bar Marco on that date, just as Smoke BBQ Taqueria, PGH Taco Truck, and Justin Severino (Cure) have done previously.  

AND Fukuda is participating in Pittsburgh Restaurant Week from January 14-20, 2013.  If you're looking for an excuse to check them out in their own space, this is the time to do it, with a $35 Chef's Choice Tasting Menu that I can guarantee will knock your socks off!

No excuses.  Go.  Eat.  You'll love it.  It's better than "swell".  And it definitely made at least that early January day much less "sucky".

On the wall by the door inside Fukuda

Fukuda
4770 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224 (Bloomfield)

Website: http://fukudapgh.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fukuda-Pgh/273246636113222?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/fukudapgh

Asian Food Weekend, Part 2: Fukuda

Eating a late lunch means a late dinner.  Like, really late.

James and I have quite the preference for Asian food (when we're not eating Hispanic/Latino food, of course) - Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean...they're all fantastic.  However, having GOOD options later in the evening isn't possible.  AND, after a long drive to Golden Pig and getting things done during the day - not to mention taking an unexpected nap - we were still craving Asian food at 11:00 PM.

Step in - Fukuda.  Making the impossible possible.

Fukuda, 1:30 AM 

Located across from West Penn Hospital in the former Stagioni space (and close to James's home), Fukuda has a late-night menu sure to satisfy any Asian food craving.  It was like a restaurant sent to us from a much higher power (whichever you may believe in, if any) - exactly what we wanted and needed at 11 PM on a Saturday night.

As we arrived, Matt Kemp, the Executive Sushi Chef, was cleaning up for the night.  Although I could not try his artistic and creative sushi renderings that evening, I have tried them in the past at Emilia Romagna, a short-lived sushi/pizza restaurant (yeah, weird) in the Strip District (now V Ultra Lounge).  The man is a sushi-making marvel - blends of sushi, rice, and other ingredients that rival anything at Nakama ("Pittsburgh's Best Sushi Restaurant", according to the readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper). I wish I still had the pictures of his creations, but you can read about them and see beautiful pictures of them in a review by Food Collage.

We were able to partake in their late-night menu.  James had been there before, so he took the reigns and ordered one of each of the Robotayaki (Charcoal grilled skewers) for us to share:

Robotayaki (from front): Scallion, Shiitake, Yellowtail, Salmon

Robotayaki: Chicken

Love.  Grilled meat and vegetables.  Although small, each grilled skewer packed amazing Asian flavors.  A great late-night snack.

But more substantial - and more delicious even - than those was the Okonomiyaki, a combination of Napa cabbage, beni shoga (pickled ginger, colored red), Dashi (broth base, as in miso soup), and Katsuobushi (dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna), topped with pork belly, house-made Oko sauce, and Japanese mayo:

Okonomiyaki

Um, but this picture does not do it justice, simply because the fun part about the food is that the Katsuobushi looks alive, as the flakes dance upon the top of the Okonomiyaki when it is served to the patron hot:

AND DELICIOUS.  I even ate some pork belly (a no-no to my belly) because it was that good.

Oh, and we ordered a second.

While we waited for the second Okonomiyaki to come out, we had also ordered the Edamame, which was simply grilled and salted:

Edamame (grilled)

Neither of us had ever had grilled edamame, and we both agreed that they were the BEST way to eat them.  Anything grilled normally tastes better.  Well, except watermelon.  Tried that once.  Never again.

Grilled Watermelon.  No.  Don't even try.

If you have a late-night hankering for Japanese food, Fukuda is your answer.  And get the Okonomiyaki.  Or two.  You have to because you'll be amazed by its ginger-pork belly taste combined with the slight smoked fishy-ness of the Katsuobushi.

Who wouldn't want food that dances after 11 PM?

Oh man, and if this place is that good late...I can only imagine how awesome it is at a decent hour (and with Matt making the sushi!)...

Fukuda
4770 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15224 (Bloomfield)

Website: http://fukudapgh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fukuda-Pgh/273246636113222?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FukudaPgh