A Dog’s Life – Chibi’s Sake Bar
I finally got to experience Chibi’s bar in Soho. Jerin took me out for my birthday. The windows were lined with Sake bottles however, everything was a little heavy on the cocktail umbrellas. This place was nice and quiet – Jerin had it almost to ourselves except for a gabby poor man’s sex-and-the-city quartet next to us.
The best thing about going to Chibi’s is seeing Chibi himself – the owners french bulldog. Tres cute and outfitted with a snazzy red bandana. Chibi is pretty down to earth for being the star of the show. He seems happy being petted but I think he’s really just sniffing the ground for crumbs off the table.
The sake tasting we had was interesting and well thought out. Jerin had the same flight as I did but his was served in 3 matching glasses. Mine, on the other hand was served in a mish-mash of 3 crazy glasses. Maybe all the matching glasses were in the dishwasher and they needed to improvise. Or, they just knew I was the waaaacky one with the messy apartment. In any case, we both got them served on a cute tray along with a card explaining each sake. Here’s the rundown on the 3 sakes we tasted from Chibi’s sake tasting menu.
1) Haraushika Shiboribana Junmai Ginjo “spring deer” from Nara Prefecture. Nihonshu-do: +5, Seimaibuai: 60%. This sake was yummy and lightly sweet. It had the nose of a fruit cocktail and fruit tastes on the tongue as well. I liked it!
2) Koshi No Homare (Shiboritate a.k.a. “freshly pressed sake”) “The Pride of Niigataâ€. Sake Meter Value: +5; Acidity 1.6. from NIIGATA Prefecture. This sake was dry and round and had a full dairy taste.
3) Kamikokoro Junmai Daiginjo from Okayama Prefecture. This Sake had a sharp taste with strong peach-y tones and a balanced acidity. This one was my favorite.
So all in all the night was great. I would go back for the sake, but I would fill up on food beforehand as the food portions are small and expensive. This is a great place to go for a sake on a weeknight.
