Shingetsu New Moon Japanese Restaurant, Lakeland

This past Sunday, Jane decided she was going to treat us to dinner at her favorite Japanese restaurant. Never one to turn down a free meal out(*), we of course accept her offer. We then find that this is the place that she got the sushi.

Last week, when we were visiting, she brought out a to go box of sushi and both boys consumed, with Chef Jr practically inhaling the box. It was love at first sight for the child who eats anything and everything from the ocean. Gameboy also had a few pieces, which both shocked an impressed me. He is beyond picky, hates proteins and has texture problems. Perhaps wrapping things in rice is how to get the child to eat them?

We travel down to South Lakeland, only to end up at the shopping center where Mugs and Movies is located. We were there the night before to see Harry Potter (and have nachos and beer while seeing HP) and had no idea this gem was hidden in a strip mall.

Entering the restaurant, it was deserted. Several servers and the owner hopped into action. On the way in, we pass the sushi bar-there is nothing premade up, just a refrigerated case of some beautiful looking fish. We are seated and then the fun begins.

Chef Jr sat at one end of the table, next to Jane. They immediately start their plotting, the majority of which I miss, because I'm trying to decide what I will eat. I've never consumed sushi because I am a shellfish fan and even that, I limit my intake due to the iodine allergy.
Thankfully, there are many things for me to choose from. Do I have Tempura, Teppan Yaki, Katsu or Shoga Yaki? Ultimately, I decide on the Pork Shoga Yaki and Ed picks the Katsu Donburi.

On the Scorecard O Sushi, the list is long, but Jane and Chef seem to have found some things they would like. Holy cow, did they find stuff. Jane offers the list to Ed, to get what he wants. Does she realize that each one she's chosen means four pieces? He asks, and she says she means to get what she picked: Eel, Tokyo Roll, Spicy Crab, Bang Bang Rolls, a Volcano roll and some smoked salmon and sashimi tuna.

We place our orders, Ed's mom getting the tempura, Gameboy some Gyoza. The dinners three of us have ordered come with miso soup. My experience with Miso in the past tells me I'd rather have the wonton soup.

Appetizers of Gyoza and spring rolls come out. This kitchen knows how to lightly fry-the spring rolls are quite flaky, the dumplings delicate and crunchy.

Next, the soups. The Miso has cubed tofu floating in it, so I'm happy I switched. I don't mind tofu but find it in it's unadulterated state bland and chalky. However, I had some of Ed's soup. It's quite flavorful. The wonton has those same Gyoza in a beef broth with plenty of green onions and tempura batter in it. Very light.

We also get salads. These are cabbage salads with a savory ginger dressing. Think cole slaw on steroids, which makes me think the next batch of coleslaw I make probably will have copious amounts of ginger added. We share dishes around, as there is so much food and we all want to try each other's meals.

The entrees come out, as does this HUGE tray of sushi. The picture above is everything except the volcano roll. The owner is a sushi chef, and in fifteen minutes, she rolled all of that (remember, there are only ingredients on that bar), the volcano roll AND served a couple who sat down at the bar for some sushi and drinks. Brava!

Chef Jr and Jane had a ball, chatting away the whole time. The child is fearless, he ate everything! I think his favorite is the eel. I tried a piece of the spicy shrimp. It was delicious and I will have some again. The only difficult thing of it for me is trying to fit the whole thing in my mouth!

We continued to sample around, with Ed's mom's tempura rather yummy, my Shoga Yaki fantastic (its in a ginger sauce, but there is a distinct mustard flavor, too. loved it) and Ed loving his Donburi, but deeming it cannon fodder in the face of all that sushi.

The whole time, the owner and staff were most attentive. There were finally four other tables of diners, but the owner chatted with us several times. She and Chef Jr talked about fish for a bit. Honestly, I was surprised that a place this fine wasn't filled to capacity. Even I know that to find sushi done properly is something to celebrate.

If you live in Lakeland, there is no reason to purchase those Okami packages in the supermarkets! You can get exactly what you want made to order. As for Chef Jr, I now see lots of visits to Shingetsu in our future. They'll probably involve getting Jane to go with us. What I didn't consider is that sushi is one meal that doesn't have to be altered by her dietary restrictions. Pretty neat that she can have something she loves and not regret it later.

I'm sure Ed will fill you in on his experience. He about died and went to heaven!

Hazlett Vineyard's Red Cat

Ed and I ventured over to Total Wine and More the other day(see post below for his review of the Raspberry Weiss concoctions). My purpose for visiting was to pick up some more bottles of Pindar's Sweet Scarlett (also posted below), as well as to get him some more of those delicious Leines.

I love the place. They ensure their employees are well versed in the product by giving each one a case of wine each month. What better way to learn what you like and what you don't, and to understand what the customers are asking for. (yes, I *have* contemplated working there, folks!). What is amusing is that when I visit, I end up passing on a morsel or two of information that I've learned in our explorations.

Most are not aware of Pindar, so when I speak glowingly of them, it allows their staff to provide another offering to their customers (or try it themselves). When we visited this time, there weren't any bottles of either Pindar varietal (Pythagoras or Sweet Scarlett). This time, the employee helping us had the distinct "Lawn Guyland" accent. She had tasted both and offered an alternative selection that she felt we'd like for it's similarities.

She suggested Hazlett's Red Cat, explaining that it is Total Wine's most popular wine. Her reasoning is that if we like it, it doesn't suffer the distribution and inventory issues that a small LI winery does. It's a semi sweet red, so we figured 8 bucks (cheap!! lol) was reasonable to try it out.

The bottle copy cracked me up. "Red Cat is a semi-sweet, fruity blend. It is best served chilled. Try it with hamburgers, pizza or chicken wings. It is a great hot tub wine, too!" Once I read this bottle copy, I was reminded that I visited the winery in 1992 when visiting a Prodigy buddy in Elmira. He was kind enough to take me and the ex on a winery tour of Seneca lakes. I have vague memories of the names after the second one, but it was a great day, let me tell you! :)

Getting back to the wine. we cracked it open today, because frankly, it's been a day. The only negative I can say about this bottle is that the label is a decal. This definitely impedes my label plans of soaking, mounting and framing with tasting notes.

The inital nose of this wine is sweet, but with an acidic back, almost chemical smelling. However, the taste is completely different. It starts very sweet, stays sweet and then has a tart end. I would love to know what grapes they are using. I'd say there are concord grapes used extensively in it. Now, most people think Concords are very sweet because of all the sugar that accompanies concords in jellies and juice. If you've ever had straight concord grapes, they've got a very tart flavor, almost like kiwi fruit.

This one is almost too sweet for me now. Two years ago, it'd been deemed awesome by either one of us. It's a great wine to counter some extra sharp cheddar and a salty brie, maybe a spinach dip. It's really smooth throughout, though. It goes on my list to definitely pick up again, thanks to that smoothness. Just note that it is definitely sweeter than most, with just a hint of pucker at the end. Good stuff.

Want a good semi sweet under 10 bucks? Check this one out.

Now that we've got Ed's member status fixed and he's posting, perhaps he'll insert his comments here...

My Current Fascination With Berry Weiss Bier

It's funny how my first post to this blog will not be about either of the two things this blog is supposed to be about - food or wine. While beer is neither of those two things, I will make this post because I believe that it is appropriate. Besides, both Sue and I have relatives that basically live(d) on a steady diet of beer their whole adult lives, and continue to do so today in some cases...

When I lived for a couple years in Northwest Chicagoland, I was introduced to the local beers. Okay, not truly local, but brewed in the nearby state of Wisconsin. In the state of Wisconsin, if you don't live in or near one of the major cities (Milwaukee or... uh... I can't think of another. Hmmm...) there isn't much to do. This is a major farming and dairy state, and is one of the most green and lush places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Needless to say, the lack of entertainment led to the development of some really great breweries. Of those, my favorite is Leinenkugel.

Alas, when I moved to Maryland, I was separated from my beloved Leines. After a brief flirtation with Red Dogs (back when Plank Road Brewery wasn't part of Miller Brewing and Red Dogs were actually good) I cut back on my beer consumption a lot. Why bother drinking beer when all you can get is Bud or Miller or Coors? YUCK!

After a few years I noticed in the supermarket that they had Leines, but they had the Leinenkugel's Red Lager - one of the brews that they make that I didn't particularly care for. After asking and shopping around, I found that all they were exporting from the Midwest was the Red. Oh well...

After moving to Florida, I happened upon the new Sunset Wheat Beer from Leinenkugel's. Though expensive ($8/6) I picked it up, hoping it would be like the Honey Weiss Bier I used to enjoy in my apartment in Schaumburg. Not so - it was BETTER. It has a wonderful citrus flavor to it that is so refreshing it is wonderful. Oddly, this isn't a true 'Weiss' beer - it's a combination of Wheat and Pale malts which really creates a great smoothness to it. In addition, coriander is added to provide the citrus flavor. This works really well despite what you might expect. Sunset Wheat quickly became my new favorite beer.

Then, about a month ago - there it was on the shelf in the refrigerated aisle next to the Sunset Wheat - my old favorite. Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss Bier. Needless to say, it came home with me and didn't disappoint in any way. Now I have a choice!

This past Saturday, I took my Mother grocery shopping in her town. In passing, we went down the frozen aisle which happened to also be the beer aisle. I noticed a gap next to the two Leine's on the shelf and became curious. Looking deep into the shelf I saw it - Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss. There was only one six of it left and I had to have it. My memory of Berry Weiss was such that I knew that I had to have it and that if I didn't get it it would be gone long gone. When I lived in Chi, I had tried a six of Berry Weiss and thoroughly enjoyed it, only to find that it was a seasonal beer that was available for only a month or so in early fall, replaced on the shelf by their Oktoberfest Lager. I only ever had that one six pack, but it made quite an impression.

I arrived back at my Mom's with the Berry Weiss and immediately cracked one. It isn't what you would expect from a flavored beer. The difference between the Leine and other flavored beers I've had is like the difference between Sugus (a Swiss fruit flavored chew candy) and Starburst. Sugus is a fruit flavored square waxy fruit chew wrapped in wax paper that come in bags, and Starburst is a fruit flavored square waxy fruit chew wrapped in wax paper that come in logs or bags. The difference is that the Sugus have a gentle (by current candy standards) fruit flavor and sweetness, whereas the Starburst beat you over the head with the sugar and fruit. The same for the Leines. They are the Starburst of the beer world - there is nothing subtle about the berry flavor. Despite this, I like them very much. I was very pleased to read on the Leinenkugel web site that Berry Weiss is now available year round. Hopefully it will remain on my market's shelves as well.

Yesterday, I decided to put two berry Weiss beers head to head, purchasing another six of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss Bier and a six of Abita's Purple Haze Raspberry Weiss 'Brew'. Or is it Beer? I don't know - the six-pack container says Beer and the bottles say Brew - very odd. I hadn't had the Purple Haze 'Brew' before and was pleasantly surprised - they're the best Abita beer I've ever had, possessing a smoothness that is lacking from the TurboDog. However, from the raspberry side, they are very much Sugus - hardly noticeable in fact during consumption, though you can smell it in the head and taste it in the aftertaste. The Leine's are definitely very Starburst like in their berry content. I find myself wanting to drink the Leine's while eating something peanut butter laden (cookies? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Pieces? peanut butter cheesecake or fudge?).

Do I think that these beers will become my daily drinkers? No. But they are a great addition to my palate and should be considered when I go looking for beer at the store.