Kasadela Summer Gift

Last night it was about 85 degrees, 100% humidity.  All I could really think about eating was some Japanese food - light, clean and to the point. My friend and I popped into Kasadela on East 11th, a time-tested, five year old isayaka.  Our first choices - Kyo Ya and Kajitsu - were closed Monday, but sometimes an oldie is a goodie. And such was the case with Kasadela.

We had a pretty ideal meal, beginning with two enormous salads - hijiki and sesame green - and a plate of blistery shishito peppers.  My friend couldn't forgo the kimchi sauteed pork belly and for me, it was garlicky shrimp calling my name.  We were drinking Ohyama Tokubetsu Junmai Nama sake from Yamagata, which had a wonderful fruity taste. Fruity but rich. Enjoying a long overdue hang session and conversation, we decided to order a little more food, opting this time around for a donburi with shrimp and a platter of tempura shitakes ("Doñez food if I ever saw," my friend said - Doñez being ye ole nickname for yours truly).  Both fantastic! I will make donburi at home now. Easy, simply, yet incredibly flavorful.  And the 'shrooms, well I am partial to all fungi but I really think these were special.  We paired our second round of dishes with Tsukinokatsura "Kohakuko" Junmai Ginjo Nama sake from Kyoto.  This one seemed to me to cut through the food more. It was a little sharper than the first - ideal since we were eating heavy food at that point.

All fulled up, we ordered up the check, which came with the Kasadela Summer Gift! What a surprise!  I don't consider myself a cheapy.. but who doesn't like themselves some free shwag! The T-shirt's the best part of running a NYRR race, right? This was like that but better because we each got a Japanese clothe thingy.

When I got home, I opened the thingy up.

I wasn't sure what it was for a while - a table runner? a wall tapestry? But then I decided it must be a headband.

And then I started to wonder - if this is the Summer gift, is there a Fall gift as well? And a Winter prize?  I'll will have to go back to see ;-)