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Ginza Japanese Restaurant
14 Wintonbury Mall
Bloomfield
860-242-8289

By DANIELA ALTIMARI

The Hartford Courant

Published: 9/29/05

When we need comfort food, we always head for the nearest Japanese restaurant.

Let everyone else dig into a slab of meatloaf or a steaming plate of macaroni and cheese. In our book, nothing can soothe a battered spirit like a nourishing cup of miso soup or a brothy bowl of soba noodles. And it's hard to maintain a bad mood when presented with an artfully prepared sushi platter.

So the other day, when the kids were cranky, the weather was lousy and nothing was coming together, we jumped in the car and drove to Bloomfield. A friend has long raved about Ginza, set in a strip mall between a bakery and a cineplex. Moments after entering, we felt our mood brighten. Maybe it was the tiny pond with gently gurgling water and brightly colored fish or the friendly staff who seated us promptly.

By the time we settled into our chairs, we were happy.

We started our meal with a serving of edamame ($3.50), soybeans steamed until bright green and showered with salt. Addictive as chips, but far more healthful, they were polished off in minutes. Our waitress suggested the tuna martini appetizer ($9), and we're glad she did. Slices of fresh tuna topped with crunchy cucumber, seaweed and a spicy sauce, presented beautifully in a martini glass - this unusual starter was a hit. Only the vegetable tempura ($6) disappointed. The veggies - sweet potatoes, broccoli, zucchini - were fine, but the tempura coating was heavy and bland.

Unlike many Japanese places, which specialize in either sushi or steak, Ginza does both. And it does both well. The hibachi entrees come with all the theatrics generally found in a Japanese steakhouse if you sit at the grill table. Prices range from $11 for the vegetarian version to $26 for filet mignon and lobster tails and all come with mushroom soup, salad and egg fried rice.

In fact, hibachi meals are so popular that the restaurant is expanding to offer more of them, says manager Alex DePratti. Ginza is adding 2,500 square feet to accommodate three more tables to cook traditional hibachi meals.

The sushi menu is extensive and features some unusual choices. Our friend, a sushi aficionado, says she's tried combinations at Ginza that she's never seen elsewhere, such as an avocado-peanut maki roll ($3.50).

That same creative spirit infuses the children's menu. Besides pint-sized versions of grown-up meals, the restaurant also features fun entrees at reasonable prices, such as chicken "tempurggies," or tempura. Accompanied by edamame and a serving of soup, these crisp little nuggets are a steal at $8.

Normally, a bad day would demand an indulgent dessert, and Ginza's menu of David Glass treats more than fits the bill. But sated by our meal, we are able to forgo the chocolate-covered cheesecake and espresso-walnut torte in favor of a simple dish of coconut ice cream. Suddenly, the world didn't seem so cruel.

Popular dishes: Hibachi entrees (ranging in price from $11 for vegetables to $26 for filet mignon and lobster), tuna martini appetizer ($9), Chilean Sea Bass served on a bed of vegetables and topped with caviar ($21), various sushi rolls and combinations.

By STEVE & LISA ALCAZARI

Hartford Advocate

Published: 7/25/2002

Ginza Japanese Cuisine is within a few steps of a pastry shop and a movie theater making it a good starting point for a night consisting of the trinity of diversions -- dinner, dessert and a movie.

Lisa and I did just that when we paid a visit to the Japanese restaurant recently.

In Tokyo, Ginza is the high-end shopping district where one can get anything; there's a bit of everything at the restaurant too. Ginza is one large room with four main areas -- a sushi bar at the back, a tatami room separated by rice paper screens on one side, a hibachi grill station in the center and a few strips of booths filling the rest of the space. A splashing bamboo and stone fountain gurgles near the entrance.

We tried our best to sample a representative spread of items from the menu but still only scratched the surface. We ordered a mix from the sushi bar and a healthy smattering from the appetizers list. Whole sections of the menu remained unexplored, including the entrées, the noodle dishes, tempura, teriyaki, the chef's specials and the cook-before-your-eyes hibachi dinners. But we sampled about eight types of sushi and four appetizers.

We immediately homed in on numerous interesting-looking appetizers like nasu, a baked eggplant dish with a miso sauce, skewered eel, and a tuna and yam dish, which the restaurant was out of, unfortunately. We also ordered some fried squid and a dish of string beans and sesame seeds. The nasu consisted of half a small eggplant covered with a light amber sauce. We were unsure how to proceed with our chopsticks, but upon moving the eggplant we could see that it had been delicately scored into small diamond-shaped pieces. The sauce was faintly sweet, with the understated saltiness of a mild light miso and the nutty earthiness of tahini and sesame seeds. The meat of the eggplant was tender without having become slimy. This was the first of a few dishes that offered an interesting twist on standard Japanese flavors and ingredients.

Always in search of another variation on unagi, the delicious grilled eel, we were eager to chomp into the skewered eel. The tender fish was speared between pieces of grilled sweet peppers, red onion and thin strips of cucumber, just touched by the fire. Sort of a racy modification of yaki tori, this was quite good.

From the looks of it, the squid could have passed for onion rings; it was served with a sweet ton katsu (barbecue) sauce. The tangy sauce is a nice change from marinara. The string beans with sesame seeds were the least interesting appetizer we tasted -- firm and crisp, but without much flavor.

We also ordered a five-piece sushi sampler that came on a big platform of blond wood arranged with a large boiled shrimp cleaned of all but its tail, and pieces of brilliant orange salmon, shining deep garnet tuna, and pieces of halibut and yellowtail. The little touches are so integral to Japanese cuisine, and it wouldn't be fair to let the tiny sculpted butterfly made from carrot and a blob of wasabi go unmentioned. Good sushi is about texture. The salmon and tuna were buttery and smooth, with the subtle flavor of the fish passing by in a blink with the heady mix of the horseradish and soy sauce it was dunked in. The halibut was excellent, but a taste of the refrigerator clung to the yellowtail.

On top of the sushi, we also ordered three maki -- fish and other ingredients rolled in nori seaweed and cut into small wheels. For Americans, the rolls are easier to eat -- not as intimidating as the larger pieces of raw fish. As a result, a handful of rolls have been designed for the American palette. In fact, the Japanese, known for their improvements upon outside inventions, have even taken to some of the less traditional recipes, and some of the American-style rolls are becoming popular in Japan. We tried three rolls that veered away from tradition: the Philly roll (smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber), the spicy tuna crunch roll (tuna, asparagus and bits of crisp tempura batter) and the king crab roll (king crab and shredded lettuce). Sushi purists might frown at such deviations, but we enjoyed them. (Heat alert: watch out for the dusting of cayenne pepper on the spicy tuna.)

We had the added pleasure of being near the hibachi chef in action -- but not too near, like sitting close enough to hear the mariachi band at a Mexican restaurant but far enough away to avoid the obligation of attending to everything they do. The chef's routine started out with some fancy handwork: he juggled and flipped utensils, made over-the-shoulder catches, and as we were leaving he had just ignited some oil on the grill with a magician's flash.

We spent about $55, including a large beer split between us. We walked next-door to the dessert shop to cool down from the pyrotechnics with Italian ice, cannoli and espresso, and a few steps farther to the theater for the latest from Hollywood.

Hours: Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun., 12:30 p.m.-10 p.m.

Extras:

Bestsellers Hibachi entrees; Chilean Sea Bass served on a bed of vegetables and topped with caviar; Sushi rolls and combinations Cuisine Japanese/Sushi Meals Served Lunch, Dinner Parking Payment Method Visa, Discover Price Range Moderate Reservations Recommended on weekends. Services Catering, Carry Out Spirits Full Bar Website http://www.ginzacuisine.com Wheelchair Access Entrance and restrooms are accessible.