I like food.  So, I thought I might start writing about the food I like from time to time.

In keeping with the regular weekly tradition of date night, we went out for Japanese Friday night.  Always a treat, I went for two particularly niche options on the menu, that the average sushi fancier may not be aware of.  Here, for you, I present them:

Hamachi Kama:  The famous (infamous) Yellow Tail neck.  Delicious, pungent, full of bones and all sort of little bits of oily meat.  The particular restaurant we frequent offers it fried, sauteed, or marinated in a bit of miso and ginger.  I went marinated, and after a good twenty minutes, during which the odor of the neck permeated the entire establishment, was presented with the neck in several sections, sitting in a lovely soy broth.  I feel pretty strongly that Hamachi Kama is a dish that separates the hardcore Japanese cuisine fan from the sushi dilettante.  Should you ever find yourself in a place where it is available, have at it with zeal.  

Red Bean Ice Cream:  Having been a good wife during my Yellow Tail neck journey (a dish that she would never go anywhere near for any particular reason), the wife was able to partake in the second item on the list to the same extent that I did.  Red Bean ice cream is amazing.  You probably feel like you wouldn’t be caught dead eating it, assuming you have never eaten it.  If you have ever had a bowl of the stuff, then I’m certain you’ll always choose it over green tea, ginger, or whatever other flavors of ice cream your particular Japanese restaurant is offering.  It tastes like a very rich vanilla, with wonderful sweet red beans spread throughout.  It is magical.

So there are my suggestions for two rather unknown Japanese delights that you might think to avail yourself of the next time you find them on a menu.  And if you do give one or the other a shot, please drop a line and let us know what you thought.