January 5, 2012
This week, 14850 Dining is enjoying the cuisines of Asia, at Asia Cuisine. This downtown restaurant specializes in Korean and Japanese dishes, but also delves a bit into Chinese items like a tangy sesame chicken.
On the Japanese side of the menu, share some sushi to start, such as a grilled eel roll or spicy tuna hand roll, or experiment with a sushi assortment. Among the cooked sushi items are the delicious deep-fried Ithaca roll, featuring tuna, salmon, avocado, and crab. There are also gyoza, a fried dumpling appetizer, soba noodle dishes, and bento boxes, the original combo meal. For $15-17, the bento boxes offer such entrees as chicken or salmon teriyaki, plus salad, tempura, dumplings, and sushi.
The Korean menu begins with a spicy rice cake appetizer called dduk bokki, and we're fond of the Korean style of BBQ that's available here. The bulgogi, a thinly sliced marinated beef dish, is served on a cow-shaped cast-iron platter. (It's also available as a bento box.)
On a particularly cold day, there's nothing like bibim bap, a Korean mixture of steamed vegetables and rice with either beef or tofu, topped with a fried egg, and served in a hot stoneware bowl. The bowl will keep the food, and you, warm for an hour. (A less-expensive version is available in an ordinary bowl, which we suppose is fine if it's not cold out.)
A favorite special on a hot day is the sashimi bibim bap, a creative variant served cold with glass noodles, chilled vegetables, and raw fish. The Korean entrees all come with an array of side dishes, or banchan, such as kimchi and marinated tofu.
Of course, there are plenty of meaty dishes, seafood dishes, and purely vegetarian dishes here, as we find is true at most Asian eateries. Delicious hot tea is offered at no charge, and there's a nice selection of hot or cold sake available.
Plan on spending $12-25 on a meal. Find Asia Cuisine at 126 North Aurora Street at the corner of East Seneca, or call them at 607-256-8818 and tell them you heard about them here.
