Good afternoon New York, it's been a while since we've had a chat. I apologize for the delay. Class has been really stressful. The thought of doing more writing this week was terrifying.
Last Friday was my dear friend Rachel's 21st birthday. To celebrate, we decided to take Rachel out to dinner, but the night was much more daring than I had expected. The restaurant my friend's chose was Gya-Kaku a Japanese BBQ in Cooper Square. Apparently Rachel had gone with her boyfriend a few months before and loved it. I agreed that it was a lovely idea in vain having no idea what a Japanese BBQ actually entailed. Let's just say, I was pleasantly surprised.
The six of us met outside of the restaurant around 8:30pm. The streets were already energized with crowds of partygoers and bar hopers. Upon entering Gya-Kaku the mood was no different. The dining room was abuzz with loungy music, dim lights and the sizzle of the grills. Tables were separated by privacy screens, curtains of silky beads and tall wooden pillars. Young, trendy and hungry diners filled every seat. I couldn't keep eyes off of the smoking grates in the middle of every table. As our group was escorted to the back, it finally clicked "Wait, do we have to cook our food ourselves?" The laughter was all the answer I needed. Indeed, we would be our own chefs tonight. (I do surround myself with fellow Martha fans so the idea of paying to cook your own food IS a "good thing" for us.)
Since you are responsible for grilling your own portions, the menu at Gyu-Kaku looks quite odd. Of course they include some "precooked" options, yet the bulk of the items are separated into proteins, marinades and vegetables. It took us a while to decipher what some of the meats were. Ultimately we decided that liver and tongue would not be the best choices for our Texan birthday girl. We stuck with what we knew, chicken, beef and shrimp. Everyone had the opportunity to choose their own marinade ranging from teriyaki, garlic to pesto. Within no time at all, little trays of raw meet were presented to us. Our vegetables were neatly wrapped within tinfoil pouches. The beauty of cooking your own food is that you don't have to wait for an overwhelmed kitchen to prepare it for you. We took turns passing around the four pairs of tongs, flipping the meat, checking the veggies and praying to God that we didn't set anything on fire. The process of eating may take longer when you cook as you go, however we all agreed the grilling was as much of a form of entertainment as it was of nourishment. Unanimously it was decided that a Japanese BBQ would make a great date place since it was "interactive" and could ease awkward silences..."Sorry, I was concentrating on flipping my chicken."
The highlight of the event was watching Rachel order her first drink! We thought it was a Kodak moment she'd loved to share with her children. Everyone is just growing up so fast here in NYC...
Overall, our meal was delicious. All of the marinades were tasty, the meat was tender and it really was exciting to cook as a group.
Of course, what would a birthday be without a sweet treat? We topped off our BBQ'ing experience with a round of s'mores! There was the option of either milk or dark chocolate...clearly we chose to the later. YUM. Along with a fresh grill we all received a skewer, a graham cracker, chocolate and a marshmallow. I was the boob who tried to warm her graham cracker on the grill. The thing started smoking, the chocolate melted and I made a fatal error...I went in with the hands. It was chocolate! I wasn't going to let it die and go to waste! I wanted to eat it. One thing let to another...I basically tried to pick up melting chocolate from a BBQ grill and scorched my fingers in the process. What a girl will do for dessert. That really must not reflect to favorably on me. Oh well! We got a great laugh out of it.
Gya-Kaku was a momentous way to celebrate a truly special occasion. Happy Birthday Rachel!