N/Naka: Then vs. Now

A lot has changed in the last 6 years and I'm taking some time to reflect on how far I've come.  6 years ago Ryan and I had been dating for about a year and went to N/Naka for the first time.  Around this time I also started the first version The Skinnie Foodie.  I'm so glad I have photos and notes from our first trip to N/Naka because we haven't even tried to get a reservation since because it's so challenging.  Ever since they were featured on a Netflix episode of Chef's Table, it's been nearly impossible to get a reservation.  In fact, we had a hard time even getting take out during quarantine, but we finally did!  Now, it definitely wasn't the same experience as the first time, but it was still absolutely delicious.

This Polaroid is from our first trip to N/Naka in 2014 and I still carry it around in my wallet.  If you want to learn more about the full kaiseki N/Naka experience, click here to read my original N/Naka review.

So every Saturday at 10am, I've gone to N/Naka's website to try to order one of their to-go boxes.  I'll be honest, the first few times I tried to get a to-go box, I was logging on at 10am on Sunday, so naturally the boxes were all sold out since I was 24 hours late.  But last week, I discovered the secret and was finally able to order us the basic bento box.  How did I do it?  Their website takes about 30 seconds-1 minute after 10am to refresh and show their open time frames, so you have to be patient and continue to refresh the page once the clock strikes 10.  Naturally, I panicked and accidentally almost ordered only 1 bento box and then realized and went back to order 2.  At that point, I knew it was too late to upgrade to their premium bento box, so we went with their $38 basic bento box.  The thing is, it was still absolutely delicious and 100% worth the price.  

What's in this box?  Starting from the top and going clockwise:

• Matcha white chocolate cake, peach kanten, fresh peach slice
• Kabocha potato sald w/chef's garden pickles
• Albacore sashimi salad with garlic miso dressing & shio koji-marinated tomato
• Miso-marinated sea bass w/sunchoke puree.  Tuna karaage w/coriander lime sauce. Wagyu stuffed shishito.  Shoyu butter corn.  Tamagoyaki.
• California & japanese rice w/pickled ume.
• Bottom: sushi roll with crab (I think), nigiri with salmon, albacore & tuna.

This box was delicious and well worth the effort, but we definitely want to try the $85 kaiseki box.  There's really nothing that compares to great sushi/Japanese food and this place really does everything well.