Sobaya

Am I allowed to blog about something I ate without Alex photographing by my side?!?!?!  YES

Last night, I went to a Japanese place near St. Mark's called Sobaya for a middle school reunion (hi, guys!).  The place was really popular judging by the long wait for a table and the diversity of the crowd seated inside (many looked like tourists from abroad).

I was intrigued by the fact that, when we finally sat down, the manager himself came to take our orders!  Turns out I needed his direction because I was pretty unfamiliar with sorts of Japanese noodles.  Soba, as I learned is a relatively thin noodle made of buckwheat.  Contrast that with udon, which is a thicker, chewier noodle.  Sobaya serves both, but the manager nudged us in the right direction by asking us to consider that the restaurant is named after one, but not both, noodles.

The presentation of the food was beautiful in its simplicity. My bowl of noodles was glimmering black and white: black from the bowl and the broth, white from the warm light overhead and the strands of noodles floating about.  I got the mixed vegetable soba with random greens and sliced mushrooms. After looking upon this sexy bowl of noodles, I had really high expectations for the taste, but I was fairly disappointed. The broth was just barely flavored, but nothing stood out.  It didn't taste mushroom-y or meaty or anything, just kind of...salty. Nonetheless, I dutifully gathered some noodles into the spoon and then filled it with a little soup and slurped it all down.  I think catching up with old friends certainly improved the taste left in my mouth.