Live it Up in Scottsdale--Roka Akor

"He wants steak, she wants sushi" is a typical argument of what's for dinner.  At the Roka Akor, why not have the best of both worlds?

We arrived shortly after they opened.  Very few people were there and we were seated quickly.  There are a couple of seating choices, including the patio, the bar, a table or at the robata bar.  A robata bar is basically a sushi bar that serves open grilled choices as well.  This is a great way to interact with the chefs in front of you and enjoy a great meal.  We chose a table but observed the chefs talking often with those who had chosen the robata bar seating.  The atmosphere was romantic Japanese with a touch of high class elegance.  I would recommend getting dressed up and not showing up in shorts and a tee-shirt.

Once we sat down, our server asked if this was our first time here and when we indicated that this was our first visit, he was able to explain the menu options and choices in great detail and without effort.  We first asked him what types of soft drinks were available,  he immediately recommended the"Honey Yuzu" lemonade.  He explained that the "Yuzu" was similar to a Japanese tangerine and it was mixed with a sharp lemonade.  He warned that we could become addicted to it and it was an incredible refreshing drink with a zing.  It was an amazing compliment to rest of our meal.

We started with a few choices off the "hot plate" appetizer menu.  The first one was a Roka Akor specialty "Kobe Beef and Kimchi Dumplings".  The tender Kobe beef with the tang and spicy kick of the kimchi was an excellent balance of the yin-yang of flavors.  When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be  crispy pan fried dumpling, but when I bit into it, it had the flavor of pan fry but had the texture of a freshly steamed soft dumpling.

Next came another specialty called "Robata Grilled Scallops with Yuzu Shiso and Wasabi".   We were served two perfectly grilled scallops, well garnished and sliced in half for ease of eating with chopsticks.  Even though there was not much there, these scallops will melt in your mouth and remain in your memory for days!

As this restaurant was named one of the top 10 Sushi spots in the United States, we had to order a maki roll.  We chose the Unagi (fresh eel) roll.  The eel was freshly grilled and also melted in your mouth.  It was well balanced with the cucumber and cool sushi rice.  Though the eel that was placed on top was well made, the remainder of the roll lacked imagination.  It was plain green on the inside and that was it. 

Next came the main course.  If you like what she's having and she might like what you are having, then this restaurant certainly does encourage the romantic sharing of meals.  The two entrees that we chose were based on the server's description of a tempura lobster tail and his recommendation to pair it with the "(12oz.) Rib Eye with Wafu Dressing" -kind of like a "surf and turf".  So let's start off with the Rib Eye steak.  It was cooked perfectly to a ruby red medium rare then cubed to save us the agony of cutting our own meat (with chopsticks-no less). The Wafu dressing was a ginger based sauce that did not overpower the meat in any way.   

The lobster tail meat was removed, cut into bite sized pieces, battered and cooked as a tempura then placed back into the tail shell and served with a creamy wasabi mayonaise and another sauce similar but different to a soy sauce.  To have the lobster tempura without any dipping sauce was fine.  But when you dip it into the wasabi mayo it was better.  Then I tried it by dipping it into the wasabi mayo as well as the soy-like sauce and experience a flavor explosion in my mouth!

Like I have said in the past, I don't normally like to order dessert from a restaurant.  But I was so impressed by the entire meal that when the server suggested a dessert menu, I simply asked him "what would you recommend to 'wow' me".  He asked a few questions about food allergies and we added some additional food preferences and he said "I will bring it out to you".  We had no clue what it would be until he placed it before us.  We waited with anticipation and speculated on what could possibly top off a meal like this.  He returned with the dessert plate called "Panna Cotta". 
On the left was a custard cup topped with pie cherries and resting on a mint leaf.  On the right was a Yuzu ice cream with honeycomb crisp.  The honeycomb crisp tasted as if you had pulled a comb straight from the hive and placed it in a toaster.  It had a sweet, flaky crunch.  The Yuzu ice cream was a mix of sweet and tang from the Yuzu fruit but not as strong as the lemonade.  The fantastic part of this was when you placed it on your tongue, you felt a fizz.  This was balanced with the creamy custard cup which by itself was a little on the bland side.  To have only have a part of this dessert would have left you feeling completely unbalanced.  The crunch of the honeycomb crisp, the fizz of the ice cream, and the smooth creaminess of the custard makes this one of the best desserts I've ever had.

I know I have spoken very highly of the food.  But there is a down side to this restaurant.  Please look online to see if this is a restaurant you can afford, even with a coupon, we spent three times as much as we normally would.  But it is worth every penny and a nice option for special occasions.  For example I think this would be perfect for Valentine's Day but get reservations, they have a special 5 course meal plus dessert specially for that day.

It is located at 7299 North Scottsdale Road and according to their website also in Chicago.  So for that special occasion, if you haven't tried Roka Akor, try it now!