Japanese Sake : All Japan News,Inc

By Aya Ota

There is a clean and pure-looking restaurant, located on a corner of the Union Square/Greenwich Village District, which makes you feel like stopping by. As you step into the place, absorbed and sucked in by the warm light overflowing from inside, an art nouveau style elegant space unfolds in front of you. You don’t feel any Japanese elements from either its exterior or interior, but here at “Pâtisserie Fouet”, you can enjoy French sweets and desserts accentuated with Japanese ingredients such as yuzu, sesame, and green tea.
This restaurant’s specialty is its rich menu that changes depending on the time of the day. After 11 a.m. is the Savory, which consists of sandwiches, salad, soup, Tapas dishes, etc., between 12 and 4 p.m. is Afternoon Tea, and after 4p.m. is prefixed dessert tasting. In the evening, you can enjoy meals and bar drinks. There are 4 peak times a day. You can order patisseries all day, and can also take them out.
What especially needs to be paid attention to, is the paring of dessert tasting and alcoholic beverages. You choose 1 out of the prefixed main 3 desserts of your choice, and pair it with Japanese sake, shochu, Japanese whiskey, wine, etc. as an option. “Yuzu Sugar Sugar” is a visually gorgeous item. You crack the globe made of sugar to reveal a refreshing sour yuzu mousse. “Green Tea Souffle” is eaten hot-out-of-the-oven with cold ice cream. An excellent harmony is created with the mild-bitterness of the green tea, sweetness of the vanilla ice cream, and sourness of the strawberry sauce. Flavors becomes enhanced when these delicately flavored desserts are paired with Japanese sake or shochu, which brings the goodness out of each other. 50% of the pastries are gluten-free, and there are many vegan items, which are very well received by highly health-conscious New Yorkers. All the sauces and ice creams are made in-house, which is reflected on the name of the restaurant (Fouet means a whisk). Their signature items are the souffle items. New flavors reflected upon each season; coconut, passion fruit, white sesame, etc., appear every month.
The Savory menu is also worth paying attention to. The tapas menu had existed since the opening, but from August of this year, they added more voluminous items such as beef stew, and hard liquor such as Japanese whiskey and shochu, to enrich the menu. Since then, more customers started to come to enjoy the place also as a restaurant or a bar, which has been contributing to the growing sales of the Savory and Alcohol beverages division.

“I had a long dream of having a kind of place where you can casually drop by to have a light meal with a glass of wine, and finish with souffle,” says Yoshie Shirakawa, partner/executive chef. She came to the US in 2008 as the executive chef, when a Japanese confectionery/cooking school came to New York to open a café. After the café closed, she launched her own business, selling whole-sale pastries, working at restaurants and cafes to brush up her skills. She is a well-rounded expert pâtisserie with a total of 28 years of experience both in Japan and the US. She said that she met a Taiwanese owner who runs sushi kappo and udon restaurants a few year ago, which triggered the opening of “Pâtisserie Fouet”.
It has been a little over a year since its opening. In the meantime, she had applied a trial and error process many times to hours of operation, menu structuring etc., and finally settled with the current form. I think you can hardly ever find a place where you can have various enjoyment in various times of the day without sticking to the image of “Pâtisserie”. They say that they want to further enhance the area of Japanese sake, shochu, and Japanese whiskey selections. I look forward to seeing their future changes.

デザートと酒のペアリングをお洒落に楽しむ

ユニオン・スクエア/グリニッジ・ビレッジ地区の一角に、ふと足を止めたくなる清楚な佇まいの店がある。中から漏れる暖かい光に吸い寄せられるように足を踏み入れると、アールヌーボー調の優雅な空間が広がる。外観や内装からは一切、日本的な要素は感じられないが、ここ『Patisserie Fouet』では、柚や胡麻、緑茶などの和食材をアクセント使ったフレンチ菓子やデザートを楽しむことができる。
同店の特徴は、時間帯で変化していくメニューの豊富さ。午前11時以降にはサンドイッチやサラダ、スープ、タパス料理などのセイボリー、午後12〜4時にはアフタヌーンティー、午後4時以降はプリフィックスのデザート・テイスティング、夜には食事やバーを楽しめ、1日に4回もピークが来るという。パティスリー類は終日注文できるほか、お持ち帰りも可能だ。
　特に注目は、デザート・テイスティングとアルコール類のペアリング。3品のデザートで構成されるプリフィックスで、メインのデザートを自由に選び、オプションで日本酒や焼酎、日本産ウィスキーやワインなどを合わせることができる。『柚シュガー・シュガー』は、砂糖で作られた球体を割ると、爽やかな酸味がきいた柚ムースが現れる、見た目にも華やかな一品。『緑茶のスフレ』 は、焼きたてのスフレに冷たいアイスクリームを合わせて食べる一品。緑茶のほろ苦さとバニラ・アイスクリームの甘さ、イチゴソースの酸味の調和が見事だ。これらの繊細な風味デザートに日本酒や焼酎を合わせると、お互いの風味を引き立て、格別の味わいとなる。ペイストリーの約50％はグルテンフリーで、ヴィーガンのアイテムも数多く取りそろえ、健康意識の高いニューヨークの客にも好評だ。また、ソースやアイスクリームなど、すべて店内で手作りしており、そのこだわりが店名の『Fouet（泡立て器）』に込められている。同店のシグニチャーはスフレで、ココナッツやパッションフルーツ、白胡麻など、季節の食材を活かした新フレーバーが毎月のように登場する。
　セイボリー・メニューも注目に値する。開店当初からタパス・メニューは揃えていたが、この8月頃から、新しくビーフシチューなどボリュームのあるメニューを充実させ、日本産ウィスキーや焼酎などのハードリカーを揃えたところだ。以来、レストランやバーとして利用する客が増え、セイボリー部門やアルコール部門の売上は順調に伸びているという。
「気軽に立ち寄って、ワイン1杯飲みながら軽く食事をつまんで、最後はスフレでしめる…という店を作りたいと、長年夢を温めていた」と話すのは、パートナー兼エグゼクティブ・シェフを務める白川仁恵氏。同氏は、2008年に日本の製菓・調理専門学校がニューヨークに進出し、カフェを開店した際、エグゼクティブ・シェフとして着任した。カフェ閉店後は、自身の企業を立ち上げペイストリー類を卸したり、レストランやカフェに務めたりなどして、活躍の幅を広げてきた。日米通算28年もの実績を誇る大ベテランのパティシエだ。数年前に、寿司割烹やうどんレストランを経営する台湾人オーナーとの出会ったことがきっかけで、『Patisserie Fouet』の開店に至ったという。
　開店から1年ちょっと、この間、開店時間やメニュー構成など試行錯誤してきたが、ようやく現在の形に落ち着いたところだという。“パティスリー”という枠にとらわれず、時間ごとにさまざまな楽しみ方ができる店は、他になかなかないだろう。今後、日本酒や焼酎、日本産ウィスキーなども強化したいとのことで、これからの変化がますます楽しみな店だ。

Patisserie Fouet
15 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003
Tel: 212-620-0622
www.fouetnyc.com
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10am-9pm
Wednesday-Saturday: 10am-10pm
Sunday: 10am-9pm

By Yuji Matsumoto

Sake Q&A

1. Cold or Hot
Many people think that high quality sake should be enjoyed cold but this is wrong. Compared to fine quality sake which you can drink without worrying about the temperature, sake that has poor balance should be enjoyed extremely cold.

2. What is good sake?
Certainly one standard is the price, but we need to think if we can find a sake that has the value to satisfy ones taste. It is important to find a "sake that suits me" instead of a good sake. There would be a tendency for one that likes fully body red wines to prefer a Junmai-Kimoto or Honjozo type, and one that likes a young, fruity chardonnay to prefer a gentle, strong aroma Daiginjyo type.

3. Tasting method
Sip it with air like you would with wine. For the glass, it is important to pour a small amount into a glass for white wines type and swish it around lightly to come in contact with air.

4. Drinking container
It is amazing that the taste can totally change with the glass you use not only for sake but for wines and beers also. If you want to enjoy the taste, especially examine the aroma, it is good to use a small white wine glass. If you are having it hot, it is good to use a smaller ceramic type container that doesn't have the shape to be smothered with alcohol steam and doesn't cover your nose when you put it to your mouth.

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日本酒Q&A

１． 冷か燗か
多くの人は、高級酒は冷して飲むと思っているが、これは違う。質の良い日本酒ほど温度にあまりとらわれず飲むことができるのに対して、バランスの悪い酒は、キンキンに冷やした方が逆に良い。

２． いいお酒とは
もちろん一つの目安になるのが値段だが、本当に自分になりに味わって価値を見出せるかを考える必要がある。いいお酒より「自分に合ったお酒」を見つけ出すことが重要。
フルボディーの赤ワイン系が好きな人は、おそらく純米生もとや本醸造系が気に入るだろうし、若いフルーティーなシャルドネが好きな人は、端麗で香り高い大吟醸系が気に入る傾向にある。

３． テイスティング方法
ワインと同じく、空気と一緒にすするように飲む。グラスは、白ワイン系のグラスに少しそそぎ、軽く回し空気と触れさせることが重要。

４． 飲む器
日本酒に限らず、ワインやビールでも飲むグラスによって味が全く変わるから不思議。味、特に香りを吟味し、楽しみたいのであれば小さめの白ワイングラスが良い。熱燗の場合は、アルコールの蒸気でむせないような形や口に当て鼻までかぶらない小さめの陶器系が良い。

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清酒Q&A

１． 冷飲？熱飲？
許多人認為高級的酒應為冷飲；但事實並非如此。越高品質的清酒，越不受溫度限制；相反品質偏頗的酒則冷藏後反而更好。

２． 何謂好酒？
當然，價格是準則之一；但亦必須考慮是否可以由自己「品嚐」出其價值。找到「適合自己的酒」比尋找好酒更為重要。
喜歡濃郁紅酒的人可能會喜歡生酛純米酒和本醸造系列的酒。而喜歡擁有清香果味的霞多麗的人，比較傾向選擇精緻而香味濃郁的大吟釀系列的酒。

３． 品嚐方法
像葡萄酒一樣，連同空氣一同吸入般喝下。至於酒杯，重要的是稍微倒進白葡萄酒酒杯中，並輕輕地搖晃數回，令酒能與空氣接觸。

４． 酒杯
令人感到神奇的是，無論是葡萄酒或者啤酒等，味道都會因酒杯的不同而有所改變。如果想享受味道，尤其是想品味香味，小白葡萄酒杯是不錯的選擇。選擇熱飲時，選用以不會被酒精蒸氣引致嗆咳的形狀、或者小型陶器系，飲用時不會蓋住鼻子的酒杯為佳。

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니혼슈(일본술) Q & A

１． 뜨겁게 마실 것이냐, 차갑게 마실 것이냐
대부분의 사람들은 고급 술은 차갑게 마시는 것이라 생각하지만 이는 맞지 않습니다. 질 좋은 술이야말로 온도와 관계 없이 마실 수 있는 반면, 균형감이 좋지 않은 술은 오히려 차갑게 마시는 것이 좋습니다.

２． 좋은 술이란
물론 가격을 하나의 기준으로 꼽을 수 있지만, 자기자신이 스스로 진정한 가치를 느낄 수 있는 술인지를 생각해 봐야 합니다. 좋은 술보다 “자신에게 맞는 술"을 찾는 것이 중요합니다.
풀바디 레드 와인 계열을 좋아하는 사람이라면 아마 쥰마이 기모토(純米生もと)나 양조 계열을 좋아할 것이며 젊은 감각의 과일향 샤도네를 좋아하는 사람이라면 깔끔하고 향기로운 다이긴죠(大吟醸)를 좋아하는 경향이 있습니다.

３． 테이스팅 방법
와인과 마찬가지로 공기와 함께 홀짝 마십니다. 화이트 와인 잔에 소량 따라 가볍게 돌리며 공기와 접촉시키는 것이 중요합니다.

４． 술잔
니혼슈뿐만 아니라 와인이나 맥주도 술잔에 따라 맛이 완전히 달라지니 흥미롭습니다. 맛, 특히 향기를 음미하며 즐기고 싶다면 크기가 작은 화이트 와인 잔이 좋습니다. 따뜻하게 데운 술의 경우, 마실 때 알코올 증기가 올라오지 않도록 입에 댔을 때 코를 덮지 않는 모양의 작은 도자기 잔이 좋습니다.