Giving the gift of dinner is such a delight for a food lover.  The eater can enjoy the meal solely based on the quality of the food and service.  This is how Lauren and I found ourselves at Kaitjitsu, the vegetarian Japanese tasting menu restaurant that was located on East 9th Street.  I had been aching to try Kaijitsu, as I am a lover of both everything Japanese AND veggies.  Often, vegetables have not been featured in the forefront of the food world.  This is a shame because veggies are DELICIOUS, versatile, relatively inexpensive, and dare I say the “N” word… Nutritious!  Luckily now, there is a huge trend toward highlighting artisan & Heirloom produce as well as utilizing the entire product (sort of a nose to tail philosophy but think leaf to root).

The food and sake pairing were simply divine.  The food, though not simple, had the feeling of such and offered an ease of eating.  Each sake and plate were carried to our table one at a time, placed delicately in front of us, and the edible offerings were served up on serene earthy serve ware and within dainty etched glasses.  We could not help but catch ourselves eating and conversing in a matter that mirrored our surroundings.