Pig’s Feet, Sake and Pez

Last night was unusually and pleasantly cool in Manhattan. We had just come from a very entertaining cabaret show of 80s music performed by some of Jay’s friends and looked around for a bite to eat. We passed some Peruvian cevicherias and some fish and chips places and weren’t really interested. We were about to pass up a small Japanese restaurant called Hakata Tonton - just another Japanese, we figured – until we read the menu pasted on the door.

Virtually every menu item had pig’s’ feet (or pied de cochon as they say in French, which sounds so much more appealing). We’ve never had Japanese pig’s feet, so naturally, we decided to go for it. We ordered their signature dish – Hakata Tonton Hotpot – which had collagen broth, tofu, dumplings, cabbage and some other greens, Berkshire pork belly and tonsoku (Japanese for pig’s feet). They served it in a casserole placed on top of a small portable burner and we cooked everything down for about 15 minutes. It was really good. I don’t normally go for boiled pork fat (too rubbery for my taste most of the time), but I really enjoyed the tonsoku fat from the Japanese pig’s hooves. (Truth be known, they’re actually from Berkshire pigs which originally came from Britain and are now bred in Kagoshima prefecture in Japan).

To accompany the tonsoku, we had a delicious sake called Dassai 23. The name comes from the fact that the rice grains are milled down to the core until only 23% of the original remains. I’ve always been impressed when wine makers can conjure the tastes and smells of cherries, currants, chocolate, tobacco, mowed grass, etc. from grapes. I’m even more impressed when you can taste melons, cucumber and honeydew – which we did -  from a drink made of rice! Dassai 23 is the best sake I’ve ever had.

As we walked out the restaurant and onto the street, the waitress rushed out and called us. I thought at first that I had forgotten to take back my credit card. She pulled out a small plastic toy looking thing and showed it to us. I didn’t quite understand at first, then I realized it was a Pez dispenser! She gave us a couple of mints from the Pez. That brought smiles all around. A memorable meal . . .