Tabé Log held a mixer for its first Food Blogger Awards Offcial Judges Panel in New York City at SakaMai on the Lower East Side. Tabé Log is the top food review site in Japan (with over 50 million users) and has now launched in the US.

A number of the top food bloggers in the city were invited to attend this event. I spent a wonderful evening with my foodie buddy Jean-Philippe from I Just Want to Eat and Kenta Hirai who is the COO Tabé Log, USA.

 

SakaMai is the first sake lounge in New York City, featuring Japanese inflected small plates. Chef Takanori Akiyama churns out really creative combinations of contemporary cuisine combined with Japanese flavors creating a whole new kind of cuisine – a kind of Americanized Izakaya.

 We were also treated to a multitude of Sake’s and cocktails from the 2012 world champion mixologist Shingo Gokan.

 

 

 The evening was spent mingling with fellow foodies and bloggers and noshing on stand out dishes such as Croquettes filled with lobster, lardo, iberico and sansho pepper and Tsukune Sliders with chicken meatballs and foie gras.

 A huge thanks to the entire Tabé Log and SakaMai team who put this wonderful event together.

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

Temari Sushi

 

 

Filet Mignon Tartare

 

 

Croquette

   

 

Carrot Dashi Puree

 

 

Tsukune Slider

 

Secreto Iberico Pork

 

 

Strawberry Compote