April 8-14, 2004

food

Soba So Good

SLAM DUNK: Sagami's zarusoba is served cold, then dipped into wasabi, scallion, radish and soy sauce. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Sagami serves authentic Japanese food with an authentic Jersey attitude.

by Amy L. Webb

I wouldn’t call myself a food snob, not when I’m someone who eagerly awaits St. Patrick’s Day every year because it means Shamrock Shakes at McDonald’s.

When it comes to Japanese food, though, I do draw a line. Until very recently, I’d been a journalist in Japan and spent some time helping out a friend in her ramen shop. I know how sushi-grade fish is supposed to smell. And when it comes to maki -- seaweed-wrapped rice and various fillings -- hacking apart a soft-shelled crab and creaming it together with tartar sauce does not an appetizer make.

In essence, I abhor American-style Japanese food, and I’ve had it all over the States. Portions tend to be huge and saucy, while menu selections typically offer 7,803 bizarre varieties of sushi roll and everything imaginable fried up tempura-style.

So I was apprehensive when I first heard about Sagami, the little Japanese restaurant in Collingswood, N.J. For months, I’d been hankering for homestyle Japanese food. Just like Americans don’t eat steak and potatoes for every meal, Japanese don’t eat sushi and tempura every day. More common are fried meat over rice or grilled fish. On a friend’s recommendation, I coerced four of my co-workers to abandon safety (we drive on the left in Japan) and hop in my Nissan.

And our party included resident sushiphobe Carolyn Wyman, who’s written four books about food but would sooner rub wasabi in her eye than depart from her trademark casseroles and frozen entrees.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Rick Valenzuela let out a sigh. "From the outside, it looks like an old steakhouse on any nameless highway in Jersey," he said. Sagami is sort of like a long shack, topped with a pink and white awning. "Its parking lot leads straight into a neighborhood."

We took our seats and considered the menu; then I asked the waitress if they could prepare two of my favorite dishes: agedashi-dofu, a lightly battered and fried block of tofu smothered in soy sauce, and umeshiso maki, a common sushi roll made of salty plum puree, shiso leaves and slivered, noodlelike cucumber. She barked "hai" in Japanese without blinking, making it the first time I’ve ever spoken Japanese to an actual Japanese person without them saying something like "Ah! Honorable foreigner! Your Japanese is so good! Are you able to use chopsticks too?"

Nope -- I was about to get authentic Japanese food served with an authentic Jersey attitude.

We continued ordering: two donburi (rice bowls topped with different fillers), zarusoba (chilled buckwheat noodles) and a sushi platter.

Our first dishes -- the tofu and umeshiso maki -- arrived promptly. Juliet Fletcher tried a little of the tofu at first, slurping it with a wide spoon. Then she dug in for more, enjoying the "tiny mushroom dots floating in the dressing on these cubes of tofu. I couldn’t understand why I wanted to consume every last little bit, but I did." Rick thought the umeshio maki were equally as good. "Slightly sweet, light plum taste," he said.

Carolyn, on the other hand, had this to say: "This is a sure sign that Amy’s been away from Japan long enough for mind-hazing nostalgia to have set in."

Our donburi -- one covered with fried pork and egg, the other with tempura shrimp and vegetables. "All right!" Carolyn said. "This is more like it." She tried both, noting that "this simple, hearty, fatty fare is immediately and universally pleasing. I especially liked the pork-rice dish, for its gravy and for its ingenious baked-egg topping." Helen i-lin Hwang, though, was less impressed. "The egg seemed too solidified with the pork. But the tempura shrimp and vegetables was very good."

Everyone seemed to love the noodles, which arrived on a small bamboo mat with wasabi, scallions, grated daikon radish and a side cup of soy sauce. "It was stunningly presented," Juliet noted. "Grasping chopsticks, full of the noodles, you dunk them into the sauce then wind the soba out of the cup again and eat."

The sushi arrived last, a platter full of standards: salmon roe, fatty tuna, shrimp and fried egg. By that time, we’d all eaten ourselves into what Rick called a "food-induced coma," but forged ahead. "I loved the egg sushi, a rectangular block of sweet fried egg that made me think not of sushi, but of eggs and French toast with some syrup," said Rick. After trying a piece of the tuna sushi, Juliet sat back and smiled. "Thank you, Sagami," she said. "No gristly fat strands and so blooming fresh the tuna smelled appetizing. How great is that?"

We scarfed down most of the tray, leaving the cooked shrimp sushi for Carolyn. "The giant shrimp was overcooked to the point of rubberiness," she said. "But when you think about it, why should experts on non-cooked fish know anything about how to cook fish?"

As for me, I’ve found my new home away from my other home, so to speak. Hands down, Sagami has the best, freshest, most authentic food I’ve had outside of Japan. Gochisousama-deshita! Thank you, I enjoyed the meal!

Sagami 37 W. Crescent Blvd

Collingswood, N.J. 856-854-9773

Lunch, Tue.-Fri., noon-2 p.m. Dinner: Tue.-Thu., 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Fri., 5:30-10 p.m.; Sat. -Sun., 5-10 p.m.

Sushi: $2.50-$12 Entrees: $9.50-$22

Smoking not permitted Wheelchair accessible