First Look at Uzuki, a Soba Restaurant With $72 Noodles | Eater NY
"In an industrial stretch of West Greenpoint at 95 Guernsey Street near Norman Avenue, I discovered Uzuki, a soba-focused restaurant run by soba master and consultant Shuichi Kotani, who moved here from Tokyo in 2008. From behind the counter he assembles bowls from a menu of seven à la carte items and seven types of soba priced $26–$72, served in distinctive pottery he fashioned himself; the most expensive is a $72 deluxe sashimi soba. That dish layers cold, matcha-green soba over a sprightly, sea-tasting dashi and is crowned with planks of sashimi — belly tuna, yellowtail, salmon, raw pink shrimp, local scallops — plus uni, orange salmon roe, a shiso leaf, scarlet seaweed, and shredded scallions; you pretty much have to eat the fish first, dipping it in the provided soy and wasabi, then move to the firm, subtly textured noodles and finally pour in the broth from a pitcher (Kotani calls that broth the most nourishing, filled with antioxidants). Other preparations feature duck, salmon, uni, tofu, soba chips and a wealth of garden vegetables like eggplant and okra; sake and a gluten-free soba beer are available. The whole place feels like a temple of soba — many starters use buckwheat in some form — and one standout starter I tried was the soba yakimiso ($14), three kinds of homemade miso torch-scorched on a triangular tray and sprinkled with crunchy buckwheat groats. I finished with a small scoop of soba ice cream ($9) that was creamy, nutty, and one of the best I’ve had this season, a fitting end to a delicious summer meal at one of the dozen tables in the room." - Robert Sietsema
