Tokyo Hibachi Sushi & Asian Bistro

I haven't done a restaurant review in a long time! Jared and I went to Tokyo Hiabchi Sushi & Asian Bistro in Ithaca, NY for lunch this past Sunday. We heard of it from his mom who happens to work in the same plaza where this restaurant is currently celebrating its grand opening. And I was feeling some sushi.

First impressions:
I really liked the entrance way with the brick detail and Buddha sitting in the corner. The inside was much bigger and more sophisticated than the strip mall facade made it seem from the outside. However, it was completely empty. As in vacant. I wanted to attempt to do a vlog of our meal but I felt too awkward talking to my camera with our waitress watching our every move because we were her only table. Therefore I give you this awkward video...

In all I really like the decor, however it did still smell of fresh paint...hopefully that will fade away. But the atmosphere was cold because there was no one else there. You could tell that the wait staff was bored, but a big plus of this was the service was pretty attentive.

First Course

 Miso Soup

soybean broth with seaweed, tofu and scallions

Was included in the noodle dish, on it's own is $2.25

Second Course

 Spicy Tuna Roll ($5.50)

Jared had the Salmon Avocado Roll (not pictured) ($4.50).

Third Course

Yaki Soba ($13.25)

shrimp (you could also choose beef, chicken or vegetable) with pan-fried buck wheat noodles, red onion and mushrooms

I was a bit disappointed with the soba noodles. They weren't bad but they didn't 'wow' me either, especially considering the price. However you do receive a generous portion and I ate half saving the other half for lunch the next day. I had some serious entree envy with Jared's dish...

Amazing Chicken ($12.95)

chicken gently fried in a delicate batter, tossed with a zesty sauce

No I did not make that name up, but it was amazing. They were delicious little tempura nuggets from heaven. And he got a flower on his plate. I'm still a tad jealous if you can't tell. 

The Good

The sophisticated atmosphere was a pleasant surprise to find in a strip mall.

The Bad

I was not impressed by the prices for what you received. In total the bill was just under $40 for two people for lunch. In my world, that's too much, especially since I wasn't that impressed with my entree.

In conclusion I wasn't blown away with the place. I'd be willing to try it again for the hibachi grill, but other than that I don't expect to frequent the Tokyo Hibachi Sushi & Asian Bistro again any time soon. Over all I give it a "meh."

Located at 722 South Meadow Street, Suite 800, Ithaca, NY 14850 (the Barnes & Noble plaza in Ithaca, NY).    

Thanksgiving Dranksgiving Wine Tour 2012

It's no secret that I happen to live in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, which is also wine country. Having grown up here, most of my friends and myself have worked in the "industry." Now that as we've gotten into our 20s and live farther away from each other, we always like to go on at least one wine tour sometime during the holiday season. The Saturday after Thanksgiving this year, we went all out and 18 of us rented a stretch SUV limo and hit up 8 (!) wineries on the east side of the Seneca Lake wine trail.

However first things first, you have to eat before a wine tour. It's bad news bears if you don't. A wine tour is serious commitment, typically one that consumes all day, so you are better off going into it with a full stomach. My friend Olivia graciously offered to host a brunch at her family's house, and oh my gosh guys, it was so good. Her mother is one of the best cooks who's table I've ever had the pleasure of sitting at. Unfortunately for you I was too busy shoveling food into my mouth to be bothered to take any pictures of it, however no brunch is complete without mimosas.

Then we piled into the limo and promptly opened a bottle of bubbly...you can tell where this day was headed.

I will link all of the wineries we then stopped at and try to provide some pictures. I don't have pictures for all of the wineries because at one point I forgot my phone in the limo but I will see if I can poach some off of the book of faces (facebook). I'm not even going to attempt to describe the wines we had because 1) who am I to tell you what wine is better than the other...this is something that's so individual that my opinion doesn't really matter to your own taste, and 2) I'm not gonna lie, I was quite drunk by the end and after about 4 wineries they all just taste the same anyways.

1.Wagner Vineyards

2. Penguin Bay Winery

I accidentally left my phone in the limo and have no pictures. To be quite honest the physical winery itself isn't all that gorgeous, especially compared to some of the other ones in the area, but this happens to be home to one of my favorite sparkling wines EVER. The Golden Spumante. It's like rainbows and puppies and happiness all mixed together. I realize that makes little sense, but it's awesome. I bought a bottle, plus it was only $11 and change because you get your $3 tasting fee back if you purchase something there.The said bottle was finished by the end of the wine tour...this probably contributed to the hot mess I became by the end of the night, but minor details dear readers.

3. Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards

If you've ever heard of Hazlitt, you're probably most familiar with Red Cat. I am not a huge fan of Red Cat myself, I've since outgrown it, but I do love that it has a song attached to it, and lucky you I recorded it for posterity!

4. Chateau LaFayette Renaue

  This place gives you 16 (holy crap!) tastings. No wonder details become fuzzy from the wine tour from here on out...

5. Atwater Vineyards

This is the winery I started to share tastings with my friend Caitlin.....lol that's all I have for this one. I think there was a warm mulled wine here...

6. J.R. Dill Winery

 Here I shared a bottle of Jabber Waulkie White with 4 other people. It was super sweet for me, and I remember it being too sweet (6.9% RS), but I wanted my $5 worth. I'm so classy. 

7. Standing Stone

I don't remember that much about this place...except for promising to bake cupcakes for a pair of engaged friends for their wedding ceremony...hmmm.

8. Eremita Winery

This winery was an instant favorite. The couple who opened the winery about a year and a half ago converted an old church into their tasting room. It has a Gothic feel to it and I loved it there. Definitely worth going back to when I'm less shitfaced drunk.

In conclusion my tips for a wine tour are as follows:

• always, always, always have a designated driver
• do not do a wine tour on an empty stomach
• if you have a large group (6 or more people) make a reservation to make sure they don't turn you away
• bring snacks and water with you
• try not to be a drunk asshole, respect the winery and the people working there
• don't drink more than you can handle, no one wants to be that girl (or boy)
• anticipate a nap afterwards

My First Thanksgiving Turkey

Last week I had the honor of roasting my family's Thanksgiving day turkey, which also happened to be my first one ever. I've never even roasted a chicken before, but thanks to the video by Kin Community on YouTube for turkey virgins such as myself, it was a huge success. I'm feeling awfully lazy so I will leave you with an Instagrammed (I know, I just made that up) photo bomb. Enjoy!

 The 15 lb turkey all rinsed and patted dry (the secret to delicious crispy skin ;)

 This was not in the video, but was highly suggested by my mother to...

 ...cut up onions, carrots, an apple and some celery to shove in the turkey's hoo ha.

 Butter, garlic and rosemary for the rub...

 ...all finely chopped and mixed together with salt & pepper to taste.

Ready to go into the oven!

She's all done!

Now for some photos of the table decorations...

In all it was a fabulous Thanksgiving! Here's to the 2012 Holiday Season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo source

A few things I'm thankful for:

• #firstworldproblems: there are times when I become overwhelmed with every day life. But when I take a deep breath and step back, I realize how truly blessed I am and if my biggest annoyance for the day is the holiday traffic, I've got it pretty darn good. 
• Annie the Golden Doodle: she's my best furry friend and just makes life better with her happy face and wagging tail after a long day. 
• The boyfriend: I am soooooo thankful for him. He makes me a better person and is my best friend, not to mention the love of my life. I could go on and gush about him for ages, but Jared you truly are something special. 
• Scarves: there is not an easier or more chic accessory that also keeps you warm in the cold fall air.
• Living in wine country: the fact that I live less than a mile where my favorite wine is produced is really freaking awesome. 
• This blog. And you readers. I am unbelievably thankful for you. Comment below to let me know what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving!

PS. The turkey was a success! I will post pictures later today of it all carved on my grandmother's pretty platter when we serve it for dinner. 

I am roasting my first ever turkey this afternoon...this shall be interesting. I found this recipe on the KinCommunity channel on YouTube and it seems easy enough. I will post later with updates!

Also make sure to check out my show on www.fingerlakes1.com, the Lake to Lake Girls with Tiffany Collinsworth and myself. We will be on live from 5:30 to 6:30 PM Est. tonight!

Sunday's Nugget of Wisdom

"The most beautiful thing a woman can wear is confidence." -unknown*

I love this quote. When a friend tells me she can't wear this or that, or would never be able to pull something off, I call poppycock. Confidence is key. If you love something, I say rock it sister. People are drawn to confidence, if you want to try out a new hair style, lip stick or piece of clothing do it with confidence. And if you're still nervous, just remember that most people devote more energy to  worrying about themselves than judging you for what you're wearing. Even if they are judging you, who cares?! You will never see that random person at the mall, restaurant, park, etc again ;)

*I did a google search to find who this quote belongs to but I couldn't find anything definitive. If you know please comment below!

Cinnamon Bun Fail, Kind Of...

I like to be honest with you guys. Not everything I make comes out perfect or even close to what it's suppose to be, and these cinnamon buns had it out for me. Yesterday was opening day for deer hunting in New York. Being a country girl, I've been surrounded by this my entire life, so without getting too political, it is something that is a part of life around these parts. I personally do not understand the appeal of sitting out at the crack of dawn, in the cold waiting for a deer to walk by to shoot it, but hey if that's your thing I won't stop you. Anyway, I digress! I was awoken at 5:30 AM Saturday morning as my boyfriend geared up to indulge in some primal cave man urges to hunt wild life and I had a hard time getting back to sleep. Bridgette, my boyfriend's brother's girlfriend (follow that?) was up as well, and we thought what better thing to do at 6 AM than make cinnamon buns right?!

Things did not go according to plan. I'd like to blame it on the recipe book we were using because the way the recipe was written, was not very intuitive. *Insert shifty side eye right about here.* I'd like to blame it on the cook book, but it really probably has more to do with that fact I attempted this without coffee. We accidentally left the eggs out. Then the dough wouldn't rise. Oh well! We still baked it anyways. Then the tops browned too quickly while the inside was still gooey and raw.

Then there wasn't enough actual cinnamon in the sugar mix. Only 1 tsp worth....I should have known better. 

All in all, they weren't great, but that serves as motivation to find a recipe that actually works, and perhaps save it for a time when I'm a little more awake or at least caffeinated ;)