Tsukasa - Bordentown, NJ - from 11 DEC 2010

Tonight we had a wine tasting to attend at our good friend Dee's house, so we headed into Bordentown a bit early to grab something to eat.  The town was definitely buzzing tonight, with the Christmas Historic Homes Tour tonight.  Parking on Farnsworth Avenue was packed, so we rounded the corner and went to Tsukasa Japanese restaurant for some noodle bowls.

We walked in and there were 3 other tables seated, so as always, it was great to see some people supporting this great establishment.  As I've said before, this is a great family run place, with mom in the kitchen making the hot food, dad behind the sushi bar, and their son running the front of house.  They have been open for 2-3 years now, and it is great to see them being supported by the locals!

We both started off with a roll, Zelda going for the spicy salmon and avocado, and I went for my spicy tuna roll, which is always a staple for me.  As usual, the fish was great, fresh, and flavorful.  It had just the right amount of spice, and the texture of the rice couldn't have been better.  Fantastic as usual.

For dinner, if you want to call it that tonight, we ordered noodle bowls.  Zelda went the tempura soba route, and I went the tempura udon route.  The only difference between the two is the noodle.  She had a thick white noodle, where I had a much thinner buckwheat noodle.

On the side of our soups was a heaping helping of tempura.  We got two shrimp, onion, string beans, sweet potato, zucchini, and broccoli.  As always, the veggies were fresh, nicely breaded, and nicely fried, and this left us extremely happy.

We also met a really nice couple from Allentown, NJ, and it was nice to see that they love the sushi at Tsukasa so much, that this is the place that they like to come.  There really are quite a few places between here and Allentown that they could visit, but it says something that they frequent Tsukasa.  That is a great thing, and I hope to hear more stories like this!

It was also nice to see our friend Raphael stop in, picking up sushi for the wine tasting that we are attending tonight at Dee's house!  With that said, we actually got to eat Tsukasa twice tonight, and in both instances, are belly's were pleasantly pleased!  Great stuff!  We'll be back soon!  Cheers!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant
1 1/2 Crosswicks Street
Bordentown, NJ 08505
Phone:  (609) 298-3838
http://tsukasarestaurant.blogspot.com/

PS:  for vino tonight, we grabbed a simple 2009 Hogue Cellars Riesling Late Harvest (USA, Washington, Columbia Valley) tonight to save our palates for the giant reds we'll be tasting!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

What’s there to say about a chilly Friday October night in New Jersey?  Well, with the Spirit Walk going on in Bordentown this weekend, we decided to take a stroll out that way, and the cold weather was calling for some good warm noodles, so Tsukasa was out spot!

Walked in and saw just 3 tables open, so we picked one furthest from the door since it was so chilly.  Sat down, and popped and poured a 2006 Kosta Browne Gary’s pinot noir.

I’m sure I’ve talked about this before, but Tsukasa is a great little family run gem.  The father is always rolling the sushi while his wife is working in the kitchen, creating soups, tempura, teriyaki, etc.  Their son runs the front of house, taking care of drinks, taking orders, and running food to the tables.  They are such a great family, and they are living their dream, and I am sure that the residents of little Bordentown City find them to be a great asset.

We both started off with rolls tonight.  Zelda opted for the spicy salmon roll, and I went for the spicy tuna roll.  As always, these came out fast, and they were delicious.  They were nice and plump, and fresh and delicious.  Enough said.

We both ended up going for the soup tonight since it was a chilly evening!  Zelda went with the tempura udon, and I went with the tempura soba.  This is a nice Asian styled broth with noodles, the udon being a fat noodle, and the soba being a skinny noodle.  The tempura shrimp and vegetables are then served on the side, consisting of onion, broccoli, sweet potato, green beans, and potato.  There were 2 pieces of shrimp, and several pieces of vegetable, and as always, this is good.  Great comfort food on a chilly night, and just a joy.

As usual, another great meal at Tsukasa, and the family there is always so nice, and the prices are cheap!  We’ll be back again several times over the winter for sure to get our soup fix to stay warm!  Cheers!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Another nice dinner in Bordentown.  Full review to come by the end of the week!

Thanks for your patience!

Cheers!

2006 Taz Pinot Noir Fiddlestix

Unfortunately, this didn't measure up to previous vintages, but it was still very drinkable. Paired nicely with sushi at Tsukasa. Formal notes to come!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant

What can we say other than another great dinner at Tsukasa tonight. Formal notes to come: Appetizer: shrimp tempura Rolls: Spicy Tuna Roll, Philly Roll, Spicy Salmon Roll, California Roll, and Shrimp Tempura Roll... 1 1/2 Crosswicks Street Bordentown, NJ 08505 Phone: (609)298-3838 12:00pm - 9:00pm Tuesday - Saturday 3:00pm - 8:00pm Sunday (609) 298-3838 http://tsukasarestaurant.blogspot.com/

2004 Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon

Another outstanding release from Kathy Joseph and her team at Fiddlehead. They are turning out some of the tastiest wines, and great summer drinkers! Please keep them coming!

Tonight we enjoyed this at Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant in Bordentown, so feel free to check out their review. We frequent Tsukasa quite often and absolutely love this place!

Great nose of citrus, oak, and floral notes make this wine a pleasure to smell. On the palate, this wine is a little on the acidic side, but more hints of lemon, pear, grapefruit, and apricot. The acid seem to mellow out in the glass, and this wine drank wonderful. This is a wine that makes it hard to keep your glass full as it is just so tasty. Hard to believe that this is an '04 as it is still drinking well, and probably will for another 2 years or so. 90 points! Cheers

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

I know what you're saying, another review of Tsukasa? Don't these two ever eat anywhere else other than the same restaurants in Bordentown? Well, when it's such a great restaurant in a great little town, how can we stay away? Tsukasa was filled to capacity tonight, and again, we were lucky enough to grab the last table. We got a great table in the window where we could see the hustle and bustle of Crosswicks and Farnsworth Avenue, and we also ran into some friends in town, Joe & Jackie, as well as Rob & Wendye. And of course they too had a great meal! Tonight we started off with edamame. This is such a fun appetizer, and absolutely tasty. My dinner tonight also came with miso soup, and even though I am not a big fan of the miso, this was great, and I really loved the fresh green onion on top! YUM! Zelda opted for sushi tonight, and went for the shrimp tempura roll, California roll, and salmon avocado roll. As usual, these were rolled nice with generous portions of fish and vegetables. Everything was served nice and cold, and it came out very fast considering how busy the restaurant was! I went with the "Dinner Box," and what a great treat this was! First in the box were 3 shrimp Shumai. These were awesome, and very hot right out of the kitchen. Perfectly cooked with a nice hot temp. Also included was a piece of grilled salmon that was perfectly seasoned, a piece of steak teriyake that was to die for, and chicken teriyake that was also awesome. To top if off were 2 shrimp tempura, along with tempura vegetables, and as always, their tempura was fabulous. Add a side of steamed broccoli and carrots, and you have a gorgeous, large portioned dinner for $15.95. For the price, this is going to be hard to beat! Everything paired wonderfully with 2004 Fiddlehead Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon...so feel free to read the review for that as well when I get it up. All in all, another outstanding meal with great value and great service! Kudos to the family at Tsukasa!

2006 Silver Beach Sauvignon Blanc

Another good bottle and great QPR from Marlborough New Zealand, possible the new king of sauvignon blanc. Well, maybe not the king, but they are indeed making some great sauv blancs in this region!

Paired well once again with sushi at Tsukasa. Great light straw color in the glass, with hints of lemon, lime, passion fruit, grapefruit, and grass on the nose. Very fragrant wine, and the smells seem to really come out as the wine warms in the glass. On the palate, more of the same, with lots of grapefruit and lemon/lime. Slight acidity on the finish, but a pleasure to drink. Drink now!!! I don't see this wine getting any better in the bottle. Great summer wine, but then again, most of the Marlborough sauv blancs are at this point. Would purchase again in a heartbeat. Similar to other notes we've had from previous bottles. 87 points.

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

I know what you're thinking, these two eat at the same places all the time! Well, not entirely true, but with the heat, we didn't feel like going too far, and sushi was just thing thing to satisfy our cravings on a very hot Jersey night in June. It was the perfect night for a New Zealand sauvignon blanc blanc, and what better to pair it with than sushi! See the review above for the Silver Beach sauvignon blanc that we enjoyed very much with our sushi!

Only two other tables in the restaurant when we arrived, but for the most part, it seemed as all of Bordentown was pretty slow. We really love visiting Bordentown for dinner since it is so close by, and it is a pleasure to frequent the many different restaurants there. Especially the 3 different BYO's that we frequent the most.

As usual, the family at Tsukasa was friendly, with Mom in the back kitchen cooking, Dad rolling away at the sushi bar, and their son taking care of the front of house waiting tables. These people are so nice, and we really look forward to seeing their business grow. That being said, if you live in Bordenown, you really need to support the the best you can. B-Town needs this restaurant, and right now I really think that the town is supporting them which is great.

Tonight we started off with edamame which is was no surprise, and nothing out of the norm. They came out nice and hot, and came out in a bowl that was yet anoter generoud portion. Lightly sprinkled with sea salt, you just cannot taste this tasty treat. Who would have thought that soy beans would taste so good, and make for such a tasty treat!

We opted yet again for sushi, and I know, we really need to try some of their hot teriyaki or tempura dinners or combination boxes. Their sushi is just so hard to pass up!

We ordered the usuals again, so I won't bore you with the desciptions again, but we had two tempura rolls, a Philly roll, spicy tuna roll, salmon and avocado roll, and a California roll. As usual, the did not disappoint, with great, fresh fish and vegetables. What can we say, another great meal in Bordentown!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Yet another great meal once again at Tsukasa. Tonight was a perfect night for sushi, so we grabbed a bottle of the 2007 Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc and headed to Tsukasa.

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It was a slow night at Tsukasa, but it was also 8PM by the time we got there, and there was only a table of 4 having dinner as well. One more table did however come in before we left, so it is good to see that the Bordentown locals are supporting this great little restaurant!

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Tonight we started with edemame, and it is always a treat here, being nice and hot, and sprinkled ever so lightly with sea salt. Sushi wise, I opted for the Philly roll, made with fresh salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese, as well as my staple, the spicy tuna roll, and a shrimp tempura roll. Zelda opted for the California roll, salmon and avocado roll, and a shimp tempura roll. Everything was rolled to perfection, and the fish was at perfect temp for me...COLD COLD COLD! I love biting into sushi and feeling that burst of cold fish, and tonight it was absolutely perfect! Kudos once again to this family for opening a great sushi bar in Bordentown! I promise, one of these days we will review their hot food! =)

2007 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

Kim Crawford has done it once again, with another delicious sauvignon blanc, and another great QPR! Marlborough really has figured out sauvignon blanc!

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Twist off the cap and poured tonight at Tsukasa, this always pairs well with sushi! Upon first sniff, oddles and oodles of peach were prevelant on the nose, with hints of passion fruit, grapefruit, lemon, and pear. Other hints of straw and grass made their appearance known as well.

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Tons of citrus on the palate, with hints of grapefruit, pineapple, peach, and pear. The finish was short, and showed a prevelant hint of green pepper.

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Could this be our "Wine of the Summer" two years in a row? It's hard to say at the moment, but this is definitely one that we will consume by the caseload. Another great vintage from the Kim Crawford crew in New Zealand! 90 points. Cheers

2005 Melville Pinot Noir Estate

Another greawt release from Melville! Popped and poured at Tsukasa Japanese Restaraunt in Bordentown, NJ tonight, this wine showed a nice ruby red in the glass. Surprisingly, very little alcohol showing on this wine, even though it was in the mid 15's. This wine would definitely benefit from some open bottle time, but I really have no complaints all considered. I think this wine will also show better with another year in the bottle.

On the nose, lots of dark cherry, spice, and earth...it had that typical Santa Rita Hills soil smell. On the palate, more of the same followed, along with hints of plum and red fruits. This wine was a little spicy when first popped, but it settled down nicely in the glass, making it a joy to drink, and a great QPR. Will purchase more of this in the future, and will be great with another year in the bottle. All in all, yet another from Santa Rita Hills worthy of 90 points! Cheers!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Another great meal at Tsukasa! Kudos to this family, and we'll do whatever we can to ensure that they are successful! A nice fresh breath of air, and just what Bordentown needs! It's nice to have another option other than Italian in the "little city with a lot of charm." Upon walking in, we were lucky enough to snatch up the last table, so it was great to see their business thriving during this "Street Fair Weekend." Skipped the white wine tonight and enjoyed a Melville pinot noir with dinner. Not the best pairing for sushi, but it definitely worked! See the review here as well! Tonight we opted to do a soup and sushi combination. No, this is not a combo on the menu, but one that we created ourselves. Zelda opted for the Tempura Udon, which was a nice soy based soup, with big, thick, white udon noodles. We've never tried the udon before, and I do think that I prefer the soba over udon personally. I opted for the Tempura Soba, made with thin buckwheat noodles, and made from the same soy based broth. Both soups came with 2 nice sized shrimp tempura on the side, as well as a nice pairing of tempura vegetables. A lot of places will serve the tempura in the soup, however I think that it is much more enjoyable when placed on the side, so you can really enjoy that tempura crunch! On the sushi side, I opted for the delicious Philly roll, containing salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, as well as the spicy tuna roll, which is a staple at Tsukasa...at least a staple for me. Zelda opted for the salmon and avocado roll, as well as a California roll. As always, the fish was very fresh, and very enjoyable. This sushi chef has some skills, and he knows how to make some damn good rolls! If I had to pick a gripe, I would mention that I would enjoy the rolls to be about 10 degrees colder, as I like my sushi very cold, but the temperature that it is currently served at is probably right at industry standard. As always, the service was great and friendly. It really is a pleasure to dine with the folks at Tsukasa! Check it out and support them! They need to stay in Bordentown! That's my 2 yen. Cheers! 1 Crosswicks Street Bordentown, NJ 08505 Phone: (609) 298-3838