Seasonal Shochu Cocktails

We've updated our shochu cocktail menu with some seasonal (read: hot) drinks!

Now serving:

YUSO HOT: yuzu extract, simple syrup, hot water, shochu

RINGO SUTA: hot apple cider, cinnamon, shochu

SHISO HOT: shiso mint, lemon, simple syrup, hot water, shochu

Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that's often compared to grapefruit. That probably is the best way to describe it to someone who's never tried it before, but trust us, it has a wonderful flavor all its own!

Ringo means apple in Japanese, and to really "get" the name of that cocktail you need to say it the way you would in Japan--which means skipping over the "u" sound between two consonants.

Ringo s ta...ringo staa...ringo starr? A bit of a stretch, maybe, but absolutely delicious!

Seeing Green

On our menu, all of our vegan dishes are printed in green ink for easy reference!

If you'd like a preview before coming in, they are also listed here:

edamame steamed premium soybeans with salt

housemade vegetable bun filled with seitan and veggies

maitake tempura organic maitake mushrooms, tentsuyu

yaki zucchini grilled zucchini with tare sauce (or salt and pepper for the gluten-free version)

kinoko grilled king oyster mushroom with garlic ponzu

shiitake shiitake mushroom tempura with yuzu salt

shishito Japanese green pepper tempura with yuzu salt

green salad with housemade carrot onion dressing

tomato avocado with fried shallots and mushrooms, soy wasabi dressing

There's also a vegan ramen in the works (due to popular demand), so stay tuned for that!

The agedashi tofu, miso soup, and grilled iceberg lettuce are NOT vegetarian because they all include fish in one form or another--the dashi broth served on the tofu and the miso soup broth are made from fish stock, and the house made caesar dressing on the lettuce has anchovies.

The nasu dengaku (Japanese eggplant) is vegetarian, but not vegan, because it has mascarpone, a type of cheese.

Weekday Specials: the latest

There have been some changes to our weekday specials!

TUESDAY: Sapporo night! 2-for-1 Sapporo draft beer from 6PM to 9PM only! (Sapporo drafts are $4 each)

WEDNESDAY: Ramen night! One free Sapporo draft with a ramen order, from 6PM to 9PM only! (We no longer carry Asahi beer)

THURSDAY: Sake night! One free glass of sake (house chooses) with a minimum $10 per person food order. From 6PM to 9PM only!

So come early, come often, and don't forget that Tuesday October 13 is a doubly special night! Beem plays Skweee live from 8PM!

Skweee with BEEM

They say the third time's the charm, and the third Skweee Tuesday will be the most exciting yet!

Bacteria Records and Sui Ren are proud to host Beem from Finland for "skweee, take three!"

Come early for 2-for-1 Sapporo draft (from 6-9PM) and enjoy skweee by Beem while you eat and drink! Music starts at 8PM and goes till late!

Check out our Facebook event page for details--see you there!

Gluten-Free Menu

Photo: usuzukuri

Eat gluten-free at Sui Ren? Yes you can!

We've had a few requests for gluten-free menu items, and several of our dishes are naturally gluten-free!

They are:

edamame steamed premium soybeans with salt
usuzukuri thin sliced fluke sashimi with tomato sorbet and ponzu sauce
yaki onigiri gilled riceball with seaweed and spicy cod roe
shishamo grilled smelt with salt

The following items are gluten-free when ordered with the salt & pepper option (instead of tare sauce):

tori momo chicken thigh grilled on a skewer
tori tsukune ground chicken grilled on a skewer
buta to uzura berkshire pork belly with soft yolk quail egg, grilled on a skewer
yaki zucchini grilled zucchini on a skewer

For pictures and for our complete menu, click here.

Enjoy!

Skweee Tuesday: the sequel

Once again, Sui Ren and Bacteria Records are proud to present Skweee Tuesday! Join us for music, drinks, and delicious food. If you missed out on the first live Skweee event in Brooklyn, now's your chance to get in on the fun!

We're open at 6PM as usual, and the music starts at 8PM and goes till late! Tuesdays are also 2-for-1 Sapporo Draft night (only $4!) so bring a friend!

What is skweee? It's also called 'Synthetik Scandinavian Funk,' and it's a brand-new type of electro music influenced by funk, R&B, and dancehall (among other things). At this time Sui Ren is the ONLY PLACE in New York City where you can hear skweee live!

If you'd like to know more about skweee, we recommend Spin Magazine's April 2009 article which examines the origin and rising popularity of this new genre of electro-music--it's good stuff!

There is no cover charge for this event.
Click here for Sui Ren's menu.
Click here for Sui Ren's beer list.

Take a bite; you'll be hooked!

Shishamo is one of the simplest, most delicious items on our menu, and yet the idea of eating an entire fish in two bites can make even adventurous eaters hesitate.

Shishamo means "willow leaf fish" in Japanese, and in English we call it smelt. It's a small, sustainable fish that has high levels of protein as well as healthful omega-3 fatty acids.

The easiest way to eat shishamo is to first remove the fish from the skewers. Then simply use your chopsticks (or fingers--we don't judge) to pick one up and take a big bite! You'll be surprised by the flaky, lightly crunchy meat and the natural, salty (not fishy!) flavor. Try it with some beer--see how nice that is?

You've still got two and a half shishamo left--enjoy!

Backyard Botanicals

It's so gorgeous out today, I can't help but think how the beautiful summer evenings are slipping away from us and soon we'll be holed up indoors, cursing the cold rain and bumping up our Netflix subscriptions to 3-out-at-a-time.

But we're not there yet! So I wanted to go ahead and promote our popular back yard space, and if you haven't been back there yet we highly recommend it!

We get a lot of questions about the tree with purple flowers. It's called a "Rose of Sharon," which is a very common tree actually, but because of how this one has been pruned it looks different from the usual bushy varieties.

Along the back wall you may notice a small herb garden. We actually grow and use several herbs for our food and cocktails, including rosemary, shiso, basil, mint, and more!

Our back yard can accommodate large groups (we've sat 25+ together!) so if you're looking for a place for your next big gathering, just call for a reservation!

New Thursday Special!

Thirsty Thursdays at Sui Ren just got better!

Now get a free 3 oz. glass of Oninoshitaburui sake with a minimum $10 food purchase! (Must be 21 or older, not available for take-out).

Oninoshitaburui means "devil's tongue" in Japanese. It's a honjozo, which means it has a small amount of distilled alcohol added during the final stages of sake fermentation. Think of it as a junmai sake kissed lightly with extra alcohol--making it drier, lower in acidity, and, some say, easier to drink.

Oninoshitaburui is dry, rich, and refreshing. It goes well with all types of food, but especially with robust, meaty fare like our Crispy Duck Confit Bun or Buta to Uzura (Berkshire pork sausage with soft-yolk quail egg).

Kampai!

Beer here!

We find ourselves in the middling grounds between the end of NYC Craft Beer Week and Octoberfest, so naturally we have beer on the brain! What better time to write about what's pouring at Sui Ren?

The beer list on our printed menu is still pretty basic (read: no pictures,) and we don't yet have our beers listed on our website--so for beer fans (and the beer-curious) here is a rundown of the suds we're slingin' this season:



Baird Angry Boy 6.2%
I put this one first because it's my favorite. You know how the Japanese tend to take things that other countries invented, and then make them better? They hit it out of the park with this English brown ale. A must-try.





Baird Red Rose 5.4%
An amber ale that manages to be equal parts refreshing and robust--an all-around crowd-pleaser.







Hitachino Nest White 5%
A light Witbier from Japan, slightly citrusy, interestingly gingery, and just the thing to swig between skewers.







Ommegang Rare Vos 6.5%
This Williamsburg/Greenpoint bar-favorite needs no introduction: it's a medium amber ale where aromas and flavors of caramel, orange, and hops have all been detected. Eminently drinkable.






Schlenkerla Maerzen 5.4%
Its tagline says it all: Self-Defined Style: Smokebeer.
We are so excited to spread the word about this amazing beer: it is the most intensely smokey, delicious thing ever bottled. It just begs to be drunk with grilled food. The first time we tried it was at The Diamond on Franklin Ave, and we've been drinking it ever since!




Brooklyn Local 2 9%
Your favorite local brewery has combined European malt and hops, Belgian dark sugar, and raw wildflower honey from a New York family farm to create this big, bold brew. And we mean big: the bottle is 25 oz and well worth the investment. Can you handle it?




Hacker-Pschorr Weizenbock 7%
A smooth, balanced, fruity weiss beer considered to be particularly drinkable in colder weather. Find out for yourself!





Paulaner Hefe-Weizen 5.5%
Sparkling, unfiltered, and delicious! Natural wheat, slightly sweet, and a fine example of the hefe-weizen style.






Sapporo 4.9%
The most popular Japanese beer in the USA, and our only draft beer! Tuesdays at Sui Ren are 2-for-1 Sapporo drafts (only $4!) and on Wednesdays get a free Sapporo draft with every ramen order. Score!

Time Out New York Review!

Sui Ren was recently reviewed by Time Out New York, earning a respectable 3 out of 5 possible stars (obviously they wanted to leave room for improvement so they have an excuse to come back and do a follow-up report!).

You can check out their food critic's take on the dishes they sampled (as well as a nice 5-photo mini gallery) here:

Time Out New York reviews Sui Ren

For a restaurant that's barely been open for three months, we've been happy to see so many reviews on personal blogs, neighborhood sites, and magazines! If you're curious what others have been saying, check out the "news and events" section of our website, here.

Of course, the reviews that matter most to us are the ones that come from our customers. You can send an e-mail, use the comment card that comes with the check, or just do it the old-fashioned way and talk to us!

So stop on by, give new dishes a try, and don't be shy!

Hot Plates Live!

On Monday, Morgan Chang (owner/manager) and Jun Hiroshima (head chef) traveled down to Gowanus to participate in Metromix's Hot Plates Live event.

They served one of Jun's original creations: bachi maguro to udama (marinated big eye tuna, Korean seaweed, and a soft-yolk quail egg).

This has been one of our most popular menu items, and even people who don't necessarily consider themselves adventurous eaters have raved about it!

Check out the rest of the photo gallery from Hot Plates Live at Metromix.com!

Skweee Tuesdays!

What better way to kick off Sui Ren's brand-new blog than with a one-of-a-kind event?

Starting tonight at 8pm, great food, drinks and atmosphere aren't the only thing you'll find at Sui Ren--we're now the only place in Brooklyn where you can listen to skweee live!

What is skweee? It's also called 'Synthetik Scandinavian Funk,' and it's a brand-new type of electro music influenced by funk, R&B, and dancehall (among other things).

Sui Ren has teamed up with Bacteria Records to create Skweee Tuesdays, two nights of live music, drinks, and delicious food. Tuesdays are also two-for-one Sapporo Draft nights! Only $4!

If you'd like to know more about skweee, we recommend Spin Magazine's April 2009 article which examines the origin and rising popularity of this new genre of electro-music--it's good stuff! Come have a listen!

There is no cover charge for this event, and indoor and outdoor seating is open as usual! If you can't make it tonight, the second Skweee Tuesday is two weeks from now on Sept. 29th.

Please feel free to link to this post or contact us (via Facebook, phone, or e-mail) with questions.

We appreciate your help in spreading the word about this exciting and unique event, and hope to see you there!