UYE: Suit Up With The Intern

The water was amazing so amazing that right after the first sip I knocked the glass off the table and all over the floor and myself. What a way to start the night. LOL.
Props go to Janel. Thanks for setting up the UYE I’ve been wanting to try Trattoria Nakamura-​Ya for a while and sharing the experience with fellow Unilocalers was the best part.
We were presented with 9 very delicious food choices. Each as tasty as the other. My two favorites were probably the two noodle dishes the Kurobota Sausage Kinoko Spaghetti and the Miso Carbonera. The dessert Tonyu Panna Cotta could easily be another fave.
Trattoria Nakamura-​Ya did an excellent job with accommodating us. We basically took up the entire right side of the restaurant. Can’t wait for the next J-​tern UYE.

So we had 9 courses and a flake here tonight! Intern Janel set this up and I would say her Intern-​UYE was a success. My only wish would have to be that they put some of the pork or whatever else that prevented people from eating some of the dishes off to the side and given us the option to add it in. Some people skipped out on some of the courses because they couldn’t eat it.
The food was great but the company was better! When I heard about the flake I was bummed and lost my appetite. I pretty much ate out of depression the whole night. Lisa R. and her husband showed up and now the courses started to come out. Throughout the night Lisa R would elbow my arm, step on my toe, knee my gut, and punch my face. I didn’t know why, so every time she eyed a particular food I would reach in and steal it! Hah! How’s that for revenge! I was glad Tony and Nelson were here because they identified everything in the dish to the tee.
Awesome pictures Anthony! The picture I took of the Green Mussel’s 3 way turned out like how I felt but you captured how I saw it, that was my favorite course of the night to go with the dessert. I recognized the taste of the brown dessert sauce in the Tonyu dessert but it finally took Nelson and Tony to tell me what exactly was in it.
Overall it was a good night dining with Unilocalers and trying new dishes. The checks were automatically split at the end which was cool and the service was great. I would definitely come back here to try this out on my own again. Thank you everyone for making my depressed night an enjoyable one at the end of it! lolol.

Multi-​course meals seem to be the trend for me lately, and this UYE tipped that scale at nine courses (Menu pic:
). No one truly suited up for the event, but at the same there were no moments of hanging out inappropriately (at least in the physical sense). Plenty of talk about rape whistles and wrongly placed blame to be had, though. Which went perfectly with the meal:
Halibut & Japanese Watercress Salad:
Black Mussel Sakamushi:
Green Mussel 3 Ways:
Tomato Farci Gratin:
Kurobota Sausage Kinoko Spaghetti:
Miso Carbonera:
Grilled Jidori Chicken:
Kurobota Tonkatsu Nakamura-​Ya Style:
Tonyu Panna Cotta:
That Panna Cotta… man. I think if I eat dinner in the plaza where Nakamura is located, I’ll have to come here for dessert. I enjoyed how light it was, since I’m not one that normally saves room for dessert. Not too sweet, and very yummy with that sugar sauce. The Watercress Salad and Miso Carbonera were the other standouts for me. The people made the meal complete. Thank you for the awesome UYE Janel!

Just as I went to hit «Post», Unilocal went down for maintenance and only a fraction of my draft was saved. *sigh* So let’s try this again…
There are two things I like: Trying new food and hanging with the old-​school Unilocal posse. Well, a little half and half this time with old and new folk, but a it was a good roster of people overall.
I’ve never been to Nakamura-​Ya, and wasn’t sure what the food was going to be like when I got there (like that’s ever stopped me before). What was laid out in front of us was nine courses of awesome to the tune of Italian/​Japanese combined food. A unique mix, but definitely a tasty selection all the same, with a lot of detailed attention paid to each course, and more than enough food to go around.
It was hard to pick which meal selection was the best. Each entrée was vastly different from the last and provided a whole new experience. Would I go back to this place sans an event? Most definitely.
The service was spot-​on, even divvying up our checks at the end without having to say anything. Considering the size of our group, that was an appreciated gesture. But the service was top-​notch all around.
The only downside was not getting a chance to chat with everyone on the other side of the table. Janel threw a great event, and while we didn’t get a chance to talk or fully introduce ourselves, our brief exchange was good times, and I can tell she’s good people. The other downside was a distinct lack of Paolo, so I must take a moment here to immortalize him via review. It is also cheaper to immortalize him this way as opposed to say, building a statue, so that’s where we are standing on our immortalizing shout-​outs tonight.
A great time indeed, and a fun and filling event. *braces self* Now let’s see if I can actually get this review to submit without being wiped out again…

This was my first Unilocal event since the Dance off, and I didn’t get much food that time. This time, I barely made it through our prearranged 9 course meal. I think I gave up after 6 to leave room for the dessert. That Tonyu Panna Cotta was delicious! It had a fun texture and the sugared sauce had a nice gritty touch. And I really enjoyed the steamed mussels in sake.
To be honest, I love food, and I love trying new dishes; but I don’t know that my pallet is as equipped as I’d like. It’s all very simple for me. Either something is good and has an interesting quality that stood out, or it was so-​so.
What I enjoyed most was meeting new people. I came to this event, unaware that I was not the only stranger there. I thought I was entering a world of Unilocal employees and my first question to the table was, «so, who are all you people?» Nope. I was introduced to a group of Elite Unilocalers. These people, to me, are the equivalent to a foodie book club. I loved hearing them talk about the different flavors, different styles and textures of all the food and I wish I had more to add. But the «Japanese take on Italian food» was new to me, and tasty, but not overly impressive, which gave me even less to say about it. I considered stealing some of Steve’s thoughts on the food, especially since we seemed to enjoy the same dishes. Buuut I won’t. I’ll leave it at what I have and say that I really enjoyed meeting everyone that I did, and thanks for putting up with my obnoxious volume. I really hope I get to see you all again soon, and maybe then I’ll steal your reviews.

A table of multi-​cultural people at an Italian/​Japanese restaurant… the U.N. of awesome!
This event was great because of good food, good service, and even better company.
Here’s a lil’ breakdown:
Nakamura-​Ya is small and cozy, with a nice wait staff and unique offerings.
Lisa R. laid out the items of the meal to a T.
My favorites had to be the Green Mussels with mentaiko, parsley, and sweet miso butter, and the tomato farci gratin. Both dishes had the interesting ability to present themselves in an Italian manner, but still hold on to some subtleties of Japanese flavors.
The soy milk panna cotta was out of this world. My first bite brought back memories of eating delicious waffles with rich maple syrup as a youngin’. There was no maple syrup involved, instead, fresh vanilla bean, black sugar sauce, and some fresh strawberries. Really, this was an amazing and satisfying way to cap the meal off.
I would definitely come back to Nakamura-​Ya, and another «Suit Up» event.
Thank you Janelope Cruz for a putting together a great time!

You know what I love more than UYEs? A fabulous intern who organizes a tasty, fun, well-​attended, all around kick butt UYE! J-​tern made it happen, and all I had to do was show up, smile and fill my belly with food. What more could I ask for?
Janel organized a special menu for the group, and for me the highlights were the halibut and japanese watercress salad and the dessert: soy milk panna cotta. If you have a sweet tooth, add this to your short list of indulgences to try.
The highlight was definitely the company and the misguided harassment of Paolo. It was like he was there, even though he wasn’t.
Thanks, Janel for an evening with all the best things: food, friends and Unilocal

Ah… time for a big sigh of relief. This event was a success! I met some really awesome and funny people. They sure are a fun group!
We were seated in our special little section towards the corner of the small restaurant. Rie, the manager was nice enough to accomodate such a big group, and created this wonderful 9 course meal! She was even nice enough to write the menu list down on a special chalkboard for us so we could keep track of what we ate and what to look foward to.
So here’s the breakdown:
Halibut and Japanese watercress salad
AMAZING SUCH A LIGHT AND SOFT SALAD. THE DRESSING ON IT WAS AMAZING. THE MUSTARD FLAVOR WENT WELL WITH THE SALAD.
Black mussel Sakamashi
WE HAD A FEW LOST PEICES OF MUSSELS, BUT IT HAPPENS. THE MUSSELLS WERE STILL YUMMY
Green mussel 3 ways
Tomato farci gratin
SO YUM! I’D DEFINITELY RECOMMEND.
Grilled «Jidori» chicken
Kurobuta Tonkatsu «Nakamura-​ya» style– IT HAD ASPARAGUS YES!
Kurobuta sausage and Kinoko spaghetti
DIDN’T TRY
Miso carbonara
Tonyu panna cotta
THIS DESSERT WAS MY FAVE! I LOVED IT. NOT FILLING AT ALL.
Nothing beats great food with good company. Definitely shared laughs all around, and I learned quite alot about these awesome Unilocalers! We even stayed a little later after dinner! It was all fun.
NOTE: Paolo, sorry again for the mix up! I know you were getting crap from everyone! Yikes!

Mahalo Janel for hosting yet another Unilocal-​tastic evening! Our group was a mix of new and familiar faces which was awesome!
Once we were all situated, our food started coming out, and here’s a breakdown of it all:
HALIBUT AND JAPANESE WATERCRESS SALAD
Interesting combination of flavors-​fresh halibut slices with a creamy mustard vinaigrette along with the slight peppery bitterness of the watercress and crunch from the fried wonton basket… flavors and textures went very well together.
BLACK MUSSEL SAKAMASHI
Steamed Mussels in sake… simple, straightforward, and tasty, but some mussels
had some shrinkage due to a prolonged cooking time than they needed.
GREEN MUSSELS 3 WAYS, ESCARGOT STYLE
Mentaiko, Garlic and Herb, and Red Miso. Cool concept, I got to try 2 flavors-​The Mentaiko (Marinated Pollack Roe)
had a nice ocean-​like saltiness to it, and the red miso had a nice hint of sweetness.
TOMATO FARCI GRATIN
Stuffed with shrimp and octopus, this tasted like a seafood pasta dish without the pasta. The hot rolls couldn’t have come at a better time. it served as a good vehicle to mop up all that farci goodness.
GRILLED JIDORI CHICKEN
Mustard made another appearance this time acting as a glue to the crust of the chicken which was tender and juicy. The salad greens and the balsamic reduction was also a nice addition.
KUROBUTA TONKATSU NAKAMURA-​YA STYLE
Nice crisp exterior, but not as juicy as I expected it to be… a little on the tough side. Asparagus and mushrooms were good.
MISO CARBONARA
Perfect pasta with a nice creaminess and hint of miso and crisp pancetta… tasty!
KUROBUTA SAUSAGE AND KINOKO PASTA
Nice smokiness of the sausage combined with Kinoko mushrooms in a delicious broth, another winner!
TONYU PANNA COTTA
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Japanese black sugar and fresh strawberries
similar to the bubbly pudding dessert at RAKU, great way to end the meal.
Props to J-​tern for a stellar evening… ALOHA!!!
Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE-(185/365)“A Night Out with J-​tern and the Gang”

Not trying to be the FTR, but why the heck not… last to arrive, first to review (last time it was last to leave first to review! haha Anthony M.!)
Janel S., the fabulous hostess and Unilocaltern extraordinaire, welcomed us to a 9 course Trattoria Nakamura-​Ya meal. I got to meet some new people on our end, but the whole table was an all-​star Unilocalcast of great foodies!
I tried everything but the pork dishes: halibut sashimi and Japanese watercress salad with mustard vinaigrette, black mussels in sake broth, green mussels with mentaiko, parsley, and sweet miso butters, tomato farci gratin (stuffed with octopus and shrimp), grilled jidori chicken (really strong mustard flavor and interesting texture), and the tonyu panna cotta. I just googled tonyu and it is soy milk (probably made in house) — it had vanilla bean and a mocha-​esque sauce with fresh strawberries.
My favorite part of the meal: the PEOPLE! I got to constantly elbow Kevin P.‘s strong bicep, and sat across from Misti Y. and Janel S. I also drank Blair B.‘s favorite Oolong tea in a can in honor of her ROTD today! The second best part: the dessert. I am not a dessert person, but this was yummy!
It was a unique cuisine we sampled, and I am glad I tried it. I think I am more partial to the types of Japanese cuisine for which I am more familiar, but I think trying Café de Japon and Nakamura-​Ya gives me some insight into the intricacies of Japanese cuisine I will see in May when I am actually in Japan.
Thanks Janel S. for being AWESOME and gathering the Unilocalfamily together in a cozy restaurant!