Tag: now & zen

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Culture Food & Drink Living

Zen years

If not for the current pandemic, Now & Zen chef/owner Toshi Sato would be planning a party to celebrate the restaurant’s 10th anniversary this month. Instead, he and his staff will continue to offer limited, socially distanced indoor dining and takeout. Photo by Zack Wajsgras

By Will Ham

Just 10 days after opening Now & Zen in 2011, chef/owner Toshi Sato’s hometown on the east coast of Japan was struck by a devastating tsunami. The disaster in Kesennuma was dubbed the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the seismic activity destroyed large parts of the region, spilling fuel from the town’s fishing fleet, which caught fire and burned for four straight days.

“It was such a chaotic moment,” says Toshi, “I couldn’t reach anybody for multiple weeks, and, as the restaurant had just opened, I was having to work day and night. Fortunately, all my family and friends were okay and they still live there in Kesennuma.”

It was a difficult and uncertain time for Sato, but he persevered by focusing on his new restaurant and connecting with the community by creating food that he loved. A decade later, Now & Zen is a successful, beloved Charlottesville restaurant, and Sato finds himself once more calling on his resilience during another disaster—the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite unexpected challenges, Sato considers himself fortunate to have realized a lifelong dream of bringing his culinary creativity to his own restaurant. The chef was in graduate school studying constitutional law when he realized that wasn’t his true calling, so he transferred to a Japanese cooking school. After a few years apprenticing in Tokyo restaurants, he emigrated to Charlottesville in 1987 and, through a mutual friend, was introduced to Ken Mori of Eastern Standard Catering. Together they opened Tokyo Rose, where Toshi spent seven years refining his skills. Sato then joined the kitchen staff at Keswick Hall, where he stayed for 17 years before striking out on his own to open Now & Zen.

Sato says that in Charlottesville he’s found an encouraging and vibrant culinary community that helped him foster his talent and passion for traditional Japanese cooking. “I love my job and living near nature,” he says. “I didn’t even think about moving to another place.”

And foodies keep coming back to Sato’s place for his adventurous signature dishes, such as the tuna carpaccio, a green salad topped with thinly sliced tuna, and a citrus-wasabi vinaigrette, and the aburi salmon, a sweet and spicy seared salmon nigiri prepared with maple-soy glaze, cracked black pepper, and fresh jalapeños.

“Our menu is so different compared to other Japanese restaurants,” says Sato. “I hope I can keep creating interesting and original dishes.”

Employee Brian Moon, says it’s Sato’s life experience that makes him, “the best boss I’ve ever had, a great person. …From coming to Charlottesville from Japan decades ago, working in various restaurants, to eventually starting a successful establishment, I think his story is wonderful.”

And clearly, Sato is on a roll.

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Culture Food & Drink Living Uncategorized

Take us out: Local restaurant favorites will make you happy at home

Monsoon Siam’s Fresh Rolls are made with spring mix, avocado, and carrots, and wrapped in rice paper and served with a tamarind peanut sauce. Image: John Robinson

Restaurant dining has changed dramatically due to coronavirus, but we still want our favorites— and a night off from the kitchen. We asked our writers and staffers to give us their best takes. Keep watching for more, and send in your own to living@c-ville.com. Oh, and save the griping for Yelp. We want to support the hard work our restaurants are doing and see them through this COVID winter. See our Take Out Guide for your next order.

Selvedge Brewing has been open since midsummer, but only started offering takeout recently. The menu is brewery food, but with Chef Tucker Yoder at the helm in the kitchen, it’s elevated above average pub fare. Online ordering was simple and pickup was quick. The food did not disappoint. Bibb lettuce salad with garlic dressing was nicely accented by slices of smoked pork jowl and house-pickled red onions that were just the right balance between sweet and sour. Croutons made from pretzel buns brought a bit of crunch. The chicken sandwich is the best I’ve had in town, a pickle-brined thigh fried with light batter that reminds me of Japanese tempura, topped with a generous amount of pickles and some white barbecue sauce. Their small-batch, craft beer is available for takeout only in 32-ounce “crowlers” (single-use cans filled on demand). I opted for the Poplin, an Italian-style pilsner that was light, full of mildly sweet biscuit flavors, with just a hint of bitterness on the finish.—Paul Ting

Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie offers alternative pizza, but it has so much more. Everything on the diverse menu is made from scratch. To partake of the deliciousness involves a short drive (pickup only; no delivery) to North Garden, and the process is easy. On what appeared to be a pretty busy night, my order only took 20 minutes to prepare, and it was ready for me when I arrived.

A Dr. Ho’s meal is not complete without the Fat and Sassy. This pull-apart garlic cheese bread is a shareable appetizer that looks like a pizza. Mozzarella and cheddar cheese are melted on hand-tossed pizza crust made from homemade dough loaded with cloves of roasted garlic. The Fat and Sassy is traditionally served with marinara sauce and homemade ranch, but the ranch is so good I skipped the marina and opted for two ranch dressings. (The ranch dressing is so popular, Dr. Ho’s sells it by the pint and quart.)

On this night, I wasn’t feeling pizza, so I decided to go for another staple—the burger. The cheeseburger is made with local grass-fed beef, sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato. The burger was cooked perfectly to the temperature I specified, and the toppings tasted fresh. It comes with a large helping of hand-cut French fries—so many that I couldn’t finish them all. It was super satisfying comfort food.—Laura Drummond

C-VILLE Weekly staff takes:

Al Carbon remains a gem. The chicken itself is delectable and tender with just the right amount of rich smokiness. The South American spices are different from almost anything else in town. And the caramelized plantains are heavenly.—Ben H.

Citizen Bowl and Monsoon Siam: Ready on time, always fresh, always correct, and COVID protocols followed.—Nanci M.

I recently ordered delivery from Lemongrass via DoorDash. I had the mango curry with tofu, and it was the perfect blend of sweet and savory. However, beware if you’re getting delivery in the evening and have a taste for sushi—for the second time in a row, I ordered sushi to go with my entrée, but the restaurant was out of it.—Brielle E.

We have loved our experiences at Oakhart Social and Now & Zen. Delicious options and safe, easy pickup at both locations! We love Oakhart’s pizzas and shaved salad. I am so happy to be able to get my Green Giant roll to go from Now & Zen. The Bodo’s drive-through experience is fantastic too. The lines move fast and the process is easy.—Anna H.

I have ordered Maru from DoorDash recently. I was happy with the items I picked and they traveled well. The food and service was excellent, and I will definitely be ordering from them again.—Gaby K.

During the heart of COVID stay-at-home restrictions, the fact that Chimm would deliver to Lake Monticello every Saturday was a godsend. A bowl of hot pho on a cold April day made me feel a little normal again.—Tracy F.

Up 29 North is the Timberwood Grill, which has kept us supplied with Honey Fire Tenderloin Tips; Stoplight Enchiladas; Wild Mushroom Ravioli; and BEER (build-your-own sampler = four different brews for $7.95) since the pandemic started.—Susan S.

TEN sushi to go was the perfect choice to celebrate a birthday with a small group during these careful times. The chef’s omakase nigiri was a glistening, jewel-like array of fresh, perfect slices over rice, the rainbow roll of sashimi wrapped around the kani avocado roll was a decadent, fun conversation starter, and the spicy toro roll stood out with chu toro, avocado, pickled jalapeño, crunch, spicy sauce, and tobiko sending an exhilarating rush of heat and umami across the palate. The easy curbside pickup and careful packaging made for an impressive home dining experience.—Tami K.

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News

Sick leave: At least 25 get ill from pop-up dinner

Now & Zen owner/chef Toshi Sato said he believes the bean sprouts or spinach were to blame for pop-up dinner customers getting sick. Photo by Elli William

A crucial part of learning to be a sushi chef is food safety. So imagine Now & Zen owner/chef Toshi Sato’s horror when he learned that people who attended a special pop-up ramen dinner February 16 at his restaurant got sick.

“All my good customers,” he says. “I was terrorized. I didn’t know what caused it. It’s a scary thing.”

Comments started appearing the next day on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “There was something wrong with the ramen last night,” says one. “Four out of five people in my dinner party got sick. I had to skip classes today because I was feeling so terrible and haven’t been able to keep anything more than half a bottle of water down.”

“My wife and I both got sick after eating these ramen last night,” says another.

Reports of “gastro-intestinal complaints” started coming into the local Virginia Department of Health office as well, says Thomas Jefferson Health District epidemiologist Kerry Morrison. No one went to the hospital, and although she can’t provide specific numbers, she says, “We believe at least 25 people became sick.”

So far, the health department doesn’t know what caused the outbreak, and it can take several weeks to investigate, says Morrison. She calls it a “single, isolated event.”

She also says it’s health department policy to not identify the business unless it’s an immediate threat to public health.

Sato has his own theory. “I think it was the vegetables,” he says, naming the bean sprouts or spinach.

He emphasizes that the dinner was a special event and sushi was not served that evening.

Morrison contacted people who became ill to understand their symptoms, when they began, what they ate and whether they’d had other contacts that could have made them sick, for example, with an unwell animal.

“The owner sent an online survey to customers,” she says, noting he was “very cooperative.”

She also collected food samples from the restaurant and requested stool samples from the stricken.

Such foodborne illness outbreaks are relatively rare in the area. The Thomas Jefferson Health District had one last year and two in 2014 that were caused by norovirus and salmonella, says Morrison.

Eric Myers is the environmental health supervisor with the department of health, and he, too, investigates outbreaks within 24 hours to make sure best practices are followed in the kitchen of a restaurant, school or anywhere else food is being served to the public.

He says risk factors include personal hygiene of food preparers, improper holding of hot and cold foods or not cooking at proper temperatures. He also checks employees’ health to make sure no one has been ill in the past week and that contaminated equipment has been properly sanitized.

And with the popularity of pop-up dining and food trucks, Myers says, “Anytime food is served to the public, it’s required a permit be posted.”

Myers says, “The owner has been very cooperative. We feel good about the control measures put in place.”

Sato canceled a second ramen pop-up on February 17, and a week after the outbreak, he still sounds shaken. He doesn’t see any more ramen nights in Now & Zen’s future. “Mentally,” he says, “I don’t think I can take it.”