Ryan and I got to go to Ooka in Doylestown for Sushi today because Donna went bowling with Jojo and left us to make our own lunch. I have gotten several recommendations from Facebook friends and Chowhounds on how good the sushi is at Ooka so eating there has been on my Foodie to-do list for quite a while. The recommendations were spot-on; the sushi was top notch, the venue was very comfortable and the service impeccable.
Both my meal and Ryan’s meal came with Miso Soup and Garden Fresh Salad with Ginger Dressing. The Miso Soup was one of the best miso soups I have ever had. A hearty broth with delicious pieces of Mushrooms, Tofu and Scallion floating in it. The Garden Fresh Salad was pretty typical of other Japanese restaurants’ salads with the exception of the Ginger Dressing which was Creamy and with a Delicate Ginger Flavour as opposed to the usual version that comes with overwhelming ginger flavours. We also tried some Japanese beer and went for the Sapporo brand. I actually like the match up of beer and sushi so it was working for me. 
It was a little strange for me to have appetizers after soup and salad but that’s the way they do it at Ooka so we rolled with it and enjoyed them when the came. The Fresh Edamame were served piping hot with Sea Salt. The little pods of Soy are fun to eat, slightly salty and moist to the bite. This maybe the perfect appetizer to go with beer, a sort of the Japanese version of peanuts. The other appetizer was Shumai, little steamed shrimp dumpling with a Ginger Sauces. The dumplings were the perfect size and had a delicate flavour of shrimp and that dumpling flavour that seems to come with all dumplings. My Friend Doug over at American Greetings introduced me to Shumai a few months back and I am glad he did. They were excellent at Ooka.
Ryan went for the N.Y Steak Teriyaki Bento Box.The Angus beef steak came with and order of rice, two California Rolls, Shrimp & Broccoli Tempura and a Japanese Treat. The steak came medium rare and coated in sweet teriyaki sauce. The rice was perfectly cooked. Both Shrimp and Broccoli Tempura were perfectly cooked and crispy but leaving the shrimp and broccoli fresh and delicious. The California Rolls were classic and even a little larger in diameter than I am used to getting. The dish also came with two Gyoza Pan-fried Pork Dumplings served with a Ginger Sauce. Ryan had not tried Gyoza before and despite being stuff from all the previous food he liked the delicate pork flavour, the slight char from the pan frying and the gentle ginger sauce. He shared one with me so I knew he was pretty full when he starts to share his food.
I went for the Sushi and Sashimi Lunch Special. It came with 3 pieces Sushi, 5 pieces Sashimi, and a Spicy Tuna roll. The Special usually comes with a Salmon Roll but I upgraded to a Spicy Tuna roll. Both the Sushi and Sashimi were very fresh and the cuts of fish were perfect. The Tuna almost melted in my mouth, the Salmon the same and Shrimp was fresh and sweet. The Special also included Octopus. I think Octopus is a great test for a sushi restaurant, cut it wrong and it tough, keep it too long and it’s tough, cook it too long or too short it’s tough. The Octopus on this plate was tender and flavourful. The Spicy Tuna Roll was creamy with a good tuna taste and spicy enough to make it interesting but no over powering like so many second class sushi places. The Whitefish and Yellowtail were delicate in flavour and perfect in texture almost little works of art. The overall presentation, and I love good presentation, was excellent for this dish as well as the ones that preceded it.
Great flavours, great textures, great presentations, great service and great company – my son. Net-net a great meal for us. You should try Ooka if you haven’t already.
Read other reviews about Ooka here, here and here.
Ooka - 110 Veterans Lane, Doylestown, PA 18901-3412 (215) 348-8185
We made it to Canada for the Labour Day Weekend and to be with our daughter for her operation. While the debate for health-care choices goes on in the USA we are going to see the Canadian system upfront after the weekend. I am sure it will work out but it gives me a great reason to visit Wendy, Steven and my Mom before returning to the USA. While we are here, we have to eat so I intend to share some of our Canuck food adventures.
My first Lobster Roll, Donna can’t do seafood or it will be ugly for everyone, to report on was at Fisherman’s Cover Cafe in Lord’s Cover, Deer Island. It was served on a simple toasted bun with Jumbo Chunks of lobster meat coated in Mayo and mixed with fresh Celery. Topped with some Red Paprika it was a simple but delicious and a classic summertime sandwich. I have had Lobster Rolls over the years but I was impressed with density of lobster meat, both from the body and claws, that made up the majority of the sandwich. The sweetness of the lobster and crunch of the celery and bun gave the sandwich nice contrasts in textures. It was a great Lobster Roll so let’s grade this first one as an “8″ and measure the next few rolls against that score. In case in comes down to cost, and I hope it doesn’t this one was $12.95 CDN or about $10 USD.
Chowhound CW and fellow bloggers Lynne Goldman and Rich Baringer over at 
The Duck Deli positions itself as the best North Carolina BBQ in Bucks County and although has local ownership it keeps true to the North Carolina BBQ traditions. Knowing that, I had to try the North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich. I was reward with a delicious sandwich with the a generous portion of Carolina pulled pork made moist with their apple vinegar dressing. I had the Coleslaw on the side because it was a take-out order but I added the crunchy slaw to the sandwich before eating it thus giving it some crunch and some sweetness from the slaw dressing.
The Duck Deli offers it’s BBQ Wings in orders of 5, 10 or 15 in either Buffalo, Honey or Western sauces. I got 5 of Buffalo and 5 of Western. These wings were a little different than the other hot wings reviewed here on the blog. These were BBQed over a wood fire as opposed to deep fried and you get the whole wing including the tip as opposed to just the two smaller sections. Both types of wings were fall off the bone tender and the different sauces either brought some heat or a sweet smokey flavour to the already mosit and tender chicken meat. The small slivers of Celery were crisp and perfect for dipping the creamy Blue Cheese Dressing. The dressing had nice chuncks of blue cheese making the mayo based sauce tangy. Very good BBQ wings.
WebMD Account Exec and Dublin Mayor-in-waiting Chris recommended that we try Luberto’s Trattoria after reading the bunch post about the 
The first thing you notice walking into the modern spacious dinning room is the Wood-Burning Oven located in the center of the room. I don’t think I have ever had Pizza from a wood-burning oven so I knew what I was going to have. 
Co-worker, Neighbour and Facebook friend Tricia and I hit downtown New Hope Friday evening for Happy Hour Cocktails and Appetizers. Tricia was celebrating her big success at a social media conference in NYC and I was celebrating Happy Hour. LOL.
We planned to meet at the bar at Marsha Brown to have cocktail and appetizers there. I have found the bar to be more relaxing than the more formal dinning room upstairs in the refurbished church. As I arrived Tricia had already picked out a nice Rose wine. I forget how good roses can be especially in the summer. I eventually got a glass to go with my appetizer and found the Rose to be very refreshing and matching the saltiness of the seafood nicely.
I like to try the different signature cocktails at restaurants. Marsha Brown offers 6 signature cocktails and I went for the Morgan French Manhattan. Served ice cold, the cocktail was a classic Manhattan, (rye whiskey, Sweet Vermouth and a maraschino cherry) with the addition of some Grand Marnier. Come to find out Morgan was our bartender and he had created this cocktail. I liked it, as I do like Manhattans but this one had a strong orange note from Grand Marnier. The sweetness of the orange match well with strength of the Rye Whiskey. A very good cocktail. Thanks Morgan.
Tricia went for the Basin Street Mussels as her appetizer. The menu describes them as being “Prince Edward Island Mussels simmered in a Creole barbeque sauce“. When they arrived there was a great smokey aroma that drifted down the bar. It was a great BBQ smell that reminded us of grilled Andouille Sausage. Tricia shared a few mussels with me and they were sweet and the BBQ sauce gave them a little heat and a smokey flavour that matched well and completed the dish.
