Our story begins in Wilkes-Barre at 8 PM last Friday. We were in town to run an errand, too boring to mention, when I realized how close we were to Katana, our favorite sushi place in...well...the state. Katana is really good and will be the subject of a future post to be sure. Anyhow, I pointed the Cuba-mobile in the direction of Public Square and was thwarted, literally at every turn, by Wilkes-Barre's finest who were restricting access to the area for some reason. I think it is tragic how everything anymore it seems, is a reason for heavy handed security measures. Some politician is in town? Block off six blocks. Who cares that struggling retail venues depend on traffic for business? Want to park anywhere near a courthouse or public building? Nothin' doing dirt bag. And don't ask why? Don't you know? We are under threat! Want to feel like a real criminal? Take a domestic flight. I got better treatment at the Army induction center when I enlisted after high school. Nothing like shuffling along in a line, shoes and ID in hand, to be scrutinized and gruffly ordered about by people who seem to barely have command of the language. Enough...I digress. I very quickly tired of this road block nonsense and rocketed up 81 towards home.With sushi still deeply entrenched in our little minds, we tossed around a few ideas to fulfill our craving as we cruised northward to Scranton. Osaka was right out. We weren't feeling adventurous enough to try the new place in Dunmore. Kabuki didn't excite us for some reason. We thought about going to Atami for a few seconds, but then decided upon Kyoto. We weren't disappointed...for the most part.
We were seated at the sushi bar by the hostess who, for some reason, gets on Cuba's nerves. She is a lovely woman, but Cuba feels she has an air of disdain about her. I can see what she means, but I don't read it quite the same way and would only say that she comes off as slightly aloof, at worst.
Our waitress appeared promptly and took our drink order. We got some green tea, which was wonderful and some sake, which sucked. It tasted like solvent or fuel of some kind. I have had a lot of sake, and it can be lovely. Don't ever be afraid to drink sake, but do not get the house sake at Kyoto.
We ordered some miso soup, which was very tasty, and a few rolls, along with two types of nigiri and a baked scallop special. We got our usual nigiri; hamachi, or yellowtail, and saba, which is pickled mackerel. In both cases, the nigiri was wonderful. The texture, particularly of the hamachi was perfect and the rice was expertly prepared. The rolls we selected were the real stars of the meal. We had scallop roll which was unremarkable, futomaki, which is a large roll, full of vegetable, egg, and crab stick, which was quite good, and black pearl roll, which was exquisite. The black pearl roll contains tuna, avocado, and crunchy tempura, topped with spicy scallops and black tobiko. It really must be tasted to be believed. It was so good in fact that I think it may have skewed my opinion of the rest of the dishes which seemed ordinary by comparison. By the time we got to the baked scallop special, we were quite full and happy as the result of the dishes I have just described. We did, however, manage to eat it. We both found it to be excessively rich and a bit too spicy for our liking. The scallops themselves, while perfectly prepared and cooked, were lost in the overly done sauce.
Both Cuba and I really enjoyed our trip to Kyoto that evening and were, as we usually are, fully satisfied with our visit. Kyoto is always a good time. The staff are friendly and animated, for the most part, and it is always fun to see the habachi chefs in action. The next time you find yourself in The Abingtons at dinner time, skip the chains and visit Kyoto.
Kyoto
1000 South State Street
Clarks Summit, PA 18411
(570) 587-3236
