More From Chez Sardine

Sometimes a restaurant just isn’t as good the second time around but thanksfully, Chez Sardine does not fall into this camp.

With reservations now available, it was much easier to snag a seat this time around for dinner with HH.  Two seats at the sushi bar please!  Pickled daikon with bonito from the kitchen as an amuse bouche.

We moved onto the pork and unagi handrolls.  No picture this time because I ate mine right away to preserve the contrast between the crispy seaweed and the creamy fatty pork and unagi.  One of the best two bites in recent memory.

From the sushi bar, a piece of hamachi with chicharron and ginger for us each.  We looked around for the chicharron only to find a delightful crunch after popping the whole piece into our mouth in one bite.  It was hidden out of sight underneath the hamachi!

HH enjoyed the chopped scallop with trout roe and quail egg while I indulged in a piece of the chopped beef and sea urchin.  The flavors just burst in my mouth – I think we just found a new interpretation of surf and turf.

We followed up the sushi with some small plates.  A bowl of steamed clams in miso broth and the sushi rice balls were accompanied by fried brussels sprouts.

And of course, we couldn’t leave without the miso maple salmon head.  Just as delicious and fun to eat as last time.

Finally, a bowl of Chez Sardine’s take on Japanese beef curry to end the meal.  Instead of the typical thick sweet curry, this version featured a lighter sauce over a beautiful piece of braised short rib that was falling apart with a prod of the fork and some refreshing pickled cabbage.

Still no desserts at Chez Sardine.  Instead, a little bowl of maple pudding with crispy rice for all.

Chez Sardine | 183 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10014 | http://chezsardine.com