A King's Lunch

Despite my last lackluster lunch meal from Gochi, I headed there again today for a second opinion. It's hard to resist when they tempt me everyday with such inviting emails:

03/13/07 Today's lunch special at GocHi. is....

- さばのムニエルきのこ生姜バター醤油 (sauteed mackerel in ginger-butter-soy
glaze)

- 揚げ茄子と豆腐の豚味噌かけ (fried eggplant and tofu with pork miso sauce)

- ポテトサラダ (potato salad)

- ご飯 (steamed rice)

- 味噌汁 (miso soup)

- 漬物 (pickled vegetables)

Now as I sit here, content, I'm patting myself on the back for taking the bait.

The sauteed mackerel was as exquisite a lunch dish as I ever recall of having. My first bite was, of course, the succulent sauteed mushroom that overlaid the fish, crunchy, silky, and bursting with the flavors of the sauce - a distinct yet balanced sauce of perfectly layered soy, ginger, and butter. It sounds a bit weird to speak of soy sauce and butter in the same sentence, but the trifecta went together divinely. The incredibly fresh and non-fishy mackerel (and mackerel is almost always fishy) added a fourth dimension of "umame". I wolfed down the whole thing, fish, mushroom, garnish and all, including the piece of lettuce underneath, then sopped up the remaining sauce with rice.

Not all in one go, of course. In between, my chopsticks wandered over to the other dish. Eggplant so fresh I could almost eat it solo, was delicately fried and along with equally delicate agadashi tofu cubes, made perfect vessels for the savory potency of the smooth miso minced pork spread. As flawless a balance of the strong and the subtle as there ever was.

The miso soup and especially the potato salad was quite forgettable. Nevertheless I was more than content. Sometimes, I go out to lunch and wonder why I didn't just stay in and make some instant noodle (the decent ones, with toppings added). But this was certainly 10 dollars well spent.