Sakagura and the Potties that Splash You Back

Did anyone else love The Rugrats in Paris Movie?

When I was younger, I used to always watch it right before a trip to Europe - the whole movie, but particularly the airplane scene at the beginning, always got me realllllllllllly excited for my transcontinental trip.

Anyway, when they arrive at their fancy hotel in Paris, there's this funny moment when the kids are all in the bathroom and Tommy is all excited, because the 'potty splashes back!'

My boss took me and the other primary intern out to a nice restaurant for lunch (the perks of being a NYC PR intern) and they had a super--intense toilet.

And yes, it splashed you back.

The single-person bathrooms are modeled after over-sized Sake barrels.

Apparently the five-star toilets at Sakagura (yeah, none of us could pronounce it either) are a thing. There are articles about these toilets.

But this isn't a toilet blog guys, it's a food blog.

The restaurant is semi-hidden, one of the 'secret' gustatory charms of NYC. It's an the basement of an office building in Midtown Manhattan, but I swear - as soon as you step through the entrance, it's like you've been transported to a different country.

This doesn't do it justice, but it's the best that I could find - I didn't bring a camera with, because it was a nice lunch with the boss and I wasn't going to be the awkward one who whips out her Cannon. 

The theming is fantastic and we were seated immediately. The waiters were attentive and delivered a tray of hot moist towels (what's wrong with the word moist?) at the beginning and end of the meal for us to wipe our hands on.

We did not get any water, but got never-ending mugs of absolutely delicious green tea, instead. We were all obsessed with it and had to force ourselves not to just fill up on tea - believe me, it took a great deal of restraint.

It's a good thing that we did, though! Our food took a while to arrive, but not longer than is usual for a nice restaurant and, as we were engaging in pleasant conversation, the wait didn't feel long at all.

The starters blew my mind - especially the Gomaae, which came in this decadent creamy sauce and was beyond flavorful.

I have no idea how to pronounce Gomaae, I did the whole point and smile thing.

I really liked taking a bite of the Gomaae, then having some Kuro Edamame, then the Gomaae again - that combo of flavors rocked my socks.

A nice big pile of salted edamame - yum :)

Their seaweed salad was different than any I had ever had before, with different kinds of seaweed (kinds I'd never even heard of before). I can't even compare it to standard seaweed salad.

This doesn't look like any seaweed salad I've ever had - it's waaaaaay better!

I ate every last bit, of course, and I recommend the Ponzu dressing.

With appetizers like these, it's easy to get hung up on the first course. But the rest doesn't disappoint, so try not to.

Doughnuts for lunch!

Jaga Dango, mashed potatoes covered in sweet doughnut butter and fried crisp.

It makes you not want sushi any other way!

The Buta Kakuni, with perfectly sticky rice.

These were a big hit at the table

I'd always thought Soba would be so boring - it's just spaghetti right?

If you think so, you should try it. You'll be surprised!

I can't vouch for this one personally, as I'm vegetarian, but my fellow intern ordered the Duck Curry Soba and loved it.

We were too full for dessert, and we need to get back to work, but their desserts looked pretty good too. I never really think of dessert when I think of Japanese cuisine, but they certainly made one birthday boy happy!

The only thing that I didn't love about the meal was that, as with most ethnic food and raw food, I could still taste it a while later. Gum took care of the issue, but I just don't like having that aftertaste hanging around in my mouth for ages.


Have you had Japanese food?


What's the strangest toilet you've ever used?