New York City has long been a melting pot of cultures, histories, and people coming together. With all this wonderful fusion, NYC emerges as a center of bold cuisines, exciting tastes, and unforgettable stories.
New Yorkers are thus always on the search to discover new and unique flavors. That's one of the great reasons that make NYC one of the foodie capitals of the world. It was also the perfect place to introduce a bold new food experience this past December.
JFOODO, which stands for the Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center, works to introduce delicious Japanese food products and innovative menus to the rest of the world. They found a new way to bring the magic of umami to New York City with their West Side pop-up, Restaurant Unlocked To Go.
Their secret recipe? A curated combination of seafood and sake. Umami, which sometimes is referred to as a "fifth taste," is a delicious sensation that you experience with a particular food combination. It turns out that seafood and sake are one of these umami-bursting combinations.
To better answer questions and really get to the bottom of what makes sake so delicious, we worked with the talents of tastemaker and sake enthusiast Jessica Joly, the first Miss Sake USA, to put their menu to the test.
It turns out that seafood and sake are one of these umami-bursting combinations.
The remarkable compatibility of Japanese sake and various seafood has long been known by Joly, who is the creator of "Soul of Sake" where she tastes and tests numerous sake and oysters to help spread awareness and knowledge about sake and discover the understanding of sake-pairings outside of the norm.
Joly aims to educate and invigorate others to see sake as more than a shooter beverage and treat it as they would whiskey or wine, with the mindfulness of what foods pair well with it. Her insightful experiences and her motivation to show what sake can fully be led her to a full sake pairing experience at Restaurant Unlocked To Go, a match made in sake heaven.
To get a more in-depth look into the experience, Joly also sat down with Chef Johan Svensson, who crafted the innovative pairing menu for Restaurant Unlocked To Go.
Her excitement was hardly contained as she explored the different pairings. Being knowledgeable about the rich possibilities of sake, Joly was able to appreciate each one. Needless to say, she was not disappointed.
Joly shares these experiences to encourage people to chase their curiosities and be always inspired to learn and incorporate new things into your daily life. The enriching experience left Miss Sake
You can find out more about JFOODO here, Jessica Joly and Sake Discoveries here, and check out Restaurant Unlocked's pop-up that made a splash last month in Hudson Yards on their website.