JaBistro

Birthday dinner #3 at JaBistro. It was definitely well worth it :) When I first walked in I was a bit taken aback - it was quiet and modern, like a cozy cave/underground exclusive bar... Food, ambiance, presentation and service were all great at this upscale Japanese restaurant by Guu owners.

Yukke - angus beef tartar, gochujang, quail egg, nori seaweed

Started off with beef tartare. (Of course I love wood serving boards!) This was a bit spicy with some Korean flavor, served with sprouts and seaweed. M & B loved it.

Next came the sashimi platter - love the artistic presentation on this slate(?) serving plate. Good variety of fish - my favorite was the amberjack. The tuna was very fatty & melty too. Some unique items - fish jerky (bottom right), deep fried fish bone (long piece holding up the amberjack and fish roe) and fish scales.

If I remember correctly: Blue Fin Tuna, Amberjack, Yellowtail, some Tuna, Pike fish (milder version mackerel), another part of Amberjack, Kobe Beef, Flounder, Tuna Otoro, Octopus, Squid, Uni

Now for some bright pictures taken with Canon by B...  I tried the pike and amberjack. All look super fresh and delicious! Server was very nice in introducing all the fish names; I tried my best to note it all down!

Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill

Calamari / Clockwise: Cherrystone Clam, Kumamoto, Shigoku oysters (I think? ><) / Swordfish / Tuna tartare

I don't always celebrate my birthday, but when I do, I eat eat eat all week. After Moxie's dinner with K & M on the Tuesday, I had Dinner #2 at Diana's 'cause I wanted to try raw Cherrystone clams. They were pretty large and chewy, not bad but I prefer my at-home BBQ version which brings out the sea water flavor. 

For oysters, we got Kumamoto, Shigoku (small yet meaty with a bite, not salty) and Lucky Lime (salty, flat). (Actually I have a suspicion that they may have mixed up the kumamoto and shigoku 'cause kumamoto are the really tiny ones..) The server was really nice and explained all the different types of oysters (East vs. West coast.. too bad I forgot everything!)

The calamari was soft inside and perfectly cooked with a really light, crisp coating. We even asked what they used and the server told us it's just flour... Tuna tartare wasn't that great. 

For the main, I had a bit of Swordfish which is a thick white fish. The salty coating really added flavor and it was nicely cooked. I also liked the cold rice pilaf with a mix of quinoa, lentils and other healthy seeds/grains.  Tempted by my friend's main, I added a side of three shrimp and three scallops 'cause they looked really big, but looking back def way overpriced at $24.