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While leafing through the “2011 Zagat Guide,” I realized there’s been a boom in the number of restaurants which have opened in the Fairmount neighborhood. Visitors to the Art Museum or Academy of Natural Sciences can walk across the parkway and discover all kinds of cuisines.
Doma is one of the area’s newest additions. It is Japanese/Korean and I looked forward to a hearty lunch on a blustery day with my friend Jim.
The restaurant is BYOB. I rarely have a glass of wine or beer during the day, but Jim and I wanted to toast the upcoming New Year. I brought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. I knew its crisp, grassy almost grapefruit-like flavors would marry well with the Asian fare.
The interior is bright and modern. A banquette runs the length of one wall and there’s a small sushi bar as well. Our server brought an ice bucket for the wine. Jim and I took a sip and toasted to good health.
Lunch began with a large, square white bowl filled with salted edamame in their pods ($4). The portion could’ve easily served four people. We munched happily away as we tried to decide which dishes we wanted to sample. Everything sounded so good.
Jim has a sense of adventure when it comes to trying new foods. He tasted his first Moroccan dishes with me. On another occasion, he admitted he really enjoyed our Indian meal in October.
“I like sushi,” he said. “Although I like shrimp, I prefer some beef.”
With this in mind, we began lunch with kalbi skewers ($7), which consisted of two skewers of marinated chargrilled Korean beef short ribs and scallions. The meat was filled with a smoky flavor and was so tender that it was easy for me to simply pull it from its stick and enjoy with chopsticks. Beef and scallion makes for a tasty marriage in all Asian cuisines and this dish did not disappoint. A small bundle of frisée sat in the middle of the plate.
Although I wanted to try the shrimp shumai, Jim preferred the pork. Wasabi pork shumai ($6) were four plump dumplings filled with seasoned pork. The wrappers were homemade and light. A dab of Asian mustard, which looked like and had the consistency of peanut butter was so delicious, I continued to eat it plain with the tip of my chop stick. Some julienned pickled turnip and a ramekin of ginger/soy vinaigrette beautifully enhanced the dumplings.
Jim and I decided on a hot roll and sushi.
“Have you ever tried eel?” I asked.
“No, but I am willing to give it a try,” Jim said.
Dragon roll ($12) was fashioned from top-quality eel, cool cucumber and sliced avocado wrapped in a crunchy tempura and topped with a slightly sweet tobiko glaze. I hesitated as I watched Jim pop a piece into his mouth.
“This is really good,” he said as his blue eyes lit up.
“Next time, we will try it raw,” I said.
This roll was perfectly prepared. The combination of flavors, colors and textures was on the mark. The six-roll portion was generous as well.
Tuna is a favorite so we tried something new. The sushi chefs at Doma make a crunchy spicy tuna roll ($6.50) which was a tasty surprise. Although wrapped in sushi rice, the addition of panko bread crumbs was added for the crunch and the tuna packed a bit of a kick. We dipped the roll into soy sauce and simply let the flavors come to life in our mouths. Sliced ginger and wasabi was obviously included, but I preferred the mustard. So did Jim who admitted he is not too fond of wasabi.
Service was excellent. Our waiter took fine care of us and Doma’s other patrons. He filled our water glasses, served and cleared with ease and paced our meal to a T. We were never rushed.
Doma is a marvelous addition to the Fairmount neighborhood. Our waiter told us the restaurant delivers within a four-block radius.
Three tips of the toque to Doma. SPR
Doma
1822 Callowhill Street
215-564-1114
BYOB
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