As the seasons change, we inevitably turn our thoughts to tasty autumn dishes. Fatty mackerel, crisp tempura, mouthwatering steak and much much more are featured in this autumn roundup of some of our favorite restaurants.
Interviews and articles by Misa Murohashi, Noriko Hantsinger, Ai Isono, Harmony Kelly, Azusa Ueda and Sumiya Kurihara. Translation by Bruce Rutledge
Kamonegi
～Award-winning Soba Restaurant～
Since its opening in 2017, this one-of-a-kind Soba restaurant has been awarded as America’s Best New Restaurants by gourmet magazines such as Eater National and Bon Appetit. Owner-Chef Mutsuko Soma crafts her buckwheat soba noodles from scratch every day. She is now know as a Soba chef, but she also has a varied culinary background. After she studied the culinary arts at the Art Institute of Seattle, she spent her early career at the Spanish Basque kitchen Harvest Vine on Madison Street and Chez Shea in Pike Place Market. At Kamonegi, Chef Soma uses her unique skills and techniques to bring us a selection of Japanese dishes with a new flair.
For example, the Shrimpcado Bukkake ($20) is a popular soba item on the menu that delivers all sorts of textures and consistencies. One of Chef Soma’s specialties is a cold soup with soup stock made from a matured katsuo. Toppings include a perfectly crunchy and meaty shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, green onions, shiso, seaweed, radish and other vegetable offerings. Avocado goes surprisingly well with Soba. The high-quality avocado oil mixes with the katsuo dashi, entangling the soba noodles with a condensed umami.
The foie gras“tofu” side dish shows off Chef Soma’s French experience. Using foie gras instead of soybeans to make the dish eliminates the grease and gives the finished product a creamy, smooth texture. The secret ingredient is the Italian black truffle oil, which pairs exceptionally well with the foie gras and gives off an excellent aroma. A high-end dashi brings out the essence of the whole dish and balances everything well.
A new item on the autumn menu is an imitation meat dish using soybeans called Impossible Tantan. In health-conscious Seattle, Soma said, “I want to make sure vegetarians and vegans can enjoy Soba dishes too.” Her imitation meat comes with a spiciness that will appeal to regular meat eaters too. Try it with the homemade sesame dressing and some chili oil (no MSG used). “Our dashi is made with carefully selected ingredients from Japan. It tastes good even when drunk straight. The tempura is made with local organic vegetables,” says the very meticulous Chef Soma. Her restaurant is a great place to spend a beautiful autumn evening dining on delicious dishes.
Kamonegi
1054 N. 39th St., Seattle | (206) 632-0185 | www.kamonegiseattle.com
