Dining Out

Karl Wells

Basho

283 Duckworth St.

Ph. 576-4600

"Have you found your basho?" an anxious Miki Ishiwata would regularly ask her son Tak as he searched for a location for his new restaurant. Basho is the Japanese word for "space" - translation: "Have you found your space?" In the spring of 2005 Tak Ishiwata finally found his basho but several months of hard work would follow before his restaurant would open to the public.

Tak’s parents, Miki and Noboru Ishiwata, are both St. John’s business people. Given their backgrounds it’s understandable that they would be more than concerned for a son starting a business in the notoriously risky restaurant game. Indirectly, their business lives were somewhat responsible for Tak’s decision to become a professional chef. As he told me, “My parents were so busy with their businesses they didn’t have time to cook, so I started cooking for myself at home. I love food. I love to overindulge.”

I was amused by the reference to overindulging since I was looking at a thin, 20-something man, smartly attired in an open-collared black shirt and black pin-striped pants who appeared the complete opposite of someone prone to overindulgence. My impression was of an intelligent guy with self-confidence and self-discipline, someone with a definite goal and the determination to achieve it.

“When I made up my mind to go into the restaurant business, I wanted to do it the right way,” he said in a quiet, warm voice. “I took business courses and studied for two months at the Culinary Institute of America.”

Just after finding his basho - which he would ultimately name Basho - Tak Ishiwata traveled to Tokyo to study and work for four months in the kitchens of Nobu Tokyo. It’s one of a worldwide chain of restaurants owned by actor Robert De Niro, famed restaurateur Drew Nieporent, chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa and two other investors.

With newly acquired knowledge, better cooking skills and a few Nobu recipes Tak Ishiwata returned to St. John’s and busily prepared Basho for a December 2005 launch. Since opening, Basho Japanese Fusion Restaurant and Lounge has been generating good word-of-mouth. Those who doubted whether a high-end Japanese restaurant would appeal to St. John’s diners have been proved wrong. Since my conversation with Tak Ishiwata I have dined at Basho with friends. The experience was memorable…

Basho was sleek in design, employing clean lines and plain colours. Tables were free of cloths. Instead, each was laid with place settings that featured black napkins, white plates and wooden chopsticks carefully positioned on smooth grey stones. A narrow vase containing a single stem with several flowers was placed at the centre of each table.

There was a theme of contrasting light and dark carried throughout the restaurant and upstairs in the martini lounge, which featured an illuminated white bar top. Large plain glass vases showed up here and there throughout, containing bright yellow and other freshly cut exotic flowers. A striking vase of great height stood from the floor in the centre of the main dining room. In the lounge I noticed decorative white dishes containing cupfuls of very small, round stones.

In addition to the main dining room there was a small room at the back of the building containing just a few tables. Indirect lighting, as in the main room, came from a fluorescent shelf covered with smooth stones. On the walls of both dining areas were large impressionistic paintings, created by Tak Ishiwata’s late grandfather. They featured kabuki characters with shaggy, brightly coloured mops of hair. I particularly liked the piece in the main dining room, a man and woman sitting side by side. Their body language displayed an intimacy that, for me, warmed the room.

Basho’s bar man, Sheldon O’Neil of St. Mary’s, has a special talent for creating martinis. The martinis menu contained 20 of them - I suspect he can do more. Some had straightforward names like “lychee martini” or “the Basho,” while others were playful, like “hand lotion” and “apple pie.” I tried an apple pie martini. The bowl of the glass was filled with chilled Stoli vanilla vodka, McGuinness melon liqueur and apple juice. The rim was coated with nutmeg and cinnamon. It tasted like apple pie in a glass - a must for apple lovers wanting a fun drink.

Richard Fox, our server, dropped the large black napkins in our laps as if he were an orchestra conductor striking the downbeat for an overture. In retrospect the flare in the action was an appropriate way to start the meal. Palate teasers arrived first: small pieces of ginger tuna in a bowl, a salad of greens with tomato and sliced cucumber - dressed with a combination of safflower oil, mustard, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce - and miso soup containing pieces of green seaweed and small cubes of soft tofu that melted in my mouth.

Our appetizers included salmon tartar in a sesame infusion with garlic toast. Amongst pieces of raw salmon, flavoured by smoky sesame oil, bits of avocado provided a creamy texture and subtle vegetable flavour. Basho’s salmon tartar was a memorable succession of small mouthfuls of pleasure.

Basho’s halibut carpaccio with organic greens and parmigiano was flavoured with a powerful combination of 12-year-old balsamico, fresh basil oil and truffle infused oil. It looked like a green topped storm cloud and brought extraordinary taste with each coated bite of thinly sliced raw halibut. It was an excellent example of fusion that works, combining traditional Japanese sushi preparation with western ingredients like parmigiano and balsamico.

I wouldn’t have been surprised to see someone swoon after tasting the Newfoundland snow crab creamed croquettes. They were a combination of béchamel - substantially thickened through cooking - and crab formed into small cakes, coated in panko - Japanese breadcrumbs - and deep-fried. The result was like biting into a soothing dream that brings pleasure far too satisfying to quantify.

The new style sashimi featured fish or beef. I tried one of halibut and one of beef. Both were delicious and similarly presented. With a grape tomato at centre, thin slices of raw fish or beef were fanned around the plate and drizzled with soy sauce and sesame seeds.

My dish of asparagus with egg sauce and sautéed lobster was a stunning presentation. Built up from a base of egg sauce that coated the plate was a layer of lobster claw meat, topped with a 3-tiered pile of perfectly cut 3-inch asparagus spears. On top of this was a large dollop of glistening red flying fish roe that matched the red skin of the lobster beneath. Obviously, it was a feast for the eyes but the contrast in flavours and textures opened many new possibilities for the preparation of lobster.

Basho’s game dish of grilled caribou medallions in a miso demi glaze and dark chocolate was superior to any caribou I’ve tasted in restaurants. The caribou meat was of the highest quality and was so moist and tender it reminded me of the finest filet mignon.

Two different cakes finished our meal, a flourless chocolate torte and Basho’s mandarin orange cake. Both were delicious. The chocolate torte tasted of quality dark chocolate, dense and rich. The mandarin orange cake was a wedge of smooth, feather-light dairy, flavoured with mandarin orange throughout.

The most expensive wines on Basho’s wine list were the Caymus Napa cabernet at $184, Katnook Estate Odyssey 2000 at $156 and Veuve Clicquot champagne at $132. Other, less expensive options ranged from $28 to approximately $78. Our choice was the modestly priced but decent Italian red, Banfi Col di Sasso at $32.

A three-course dinner for two at Basho - including a $32 bottle of wine and gratuity - cost approximately $175.

Best Points:

Superb food, service and décor.

Ratings Category:

Basho Japanese Fusion Restaurant and Lounge gets 10 out of 10 points.

7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 = good, 8 = very good, 9 = excellent, 10 = perfection