Matsugen

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
October 27, 2008

INAKA SOBA [CLOSED]
241 Church St
@ Leonard St
New York, NY 10013
212-925-0202

The first time I visited Matsugen was to test it out. I was considering going some place I hadn’t tried for an upcoming dinner, but since it was a first meeting, my reputation was on the line, and I didn’t want to risk it. So I decided to go for lunch first. My main goal was to see how authentic the food was. However, checking out the menu beforehand, my heart sank. Sushi at a soba restaurant? Not so authentic. But I took it with a grain of salt since this is a Jean-George establishment, and authenticity is not his main objective.

So on a Sunday at noon, I ventured out with a companion to have some soba for lunch. It was like being back in Tokyo, where I frequently sought out reputable soba restaurants on weekends. Though the words “soba cuisine” are largely displayed in the window on Leonard Street, Matsugen, with its high ceilings, contemporary furniture and sparse décor, hardly looked like a traditional soba shop. Granted Honmura An — the now-closed New York outpost of a famous soba restaurant from Tokyo — had a modern feel, but the interior still had the warmth of a traditional Japanese restaurant.

At the door, we were greeted by a host who allowed us to choose our seats. We picked high chairs at the long bar table in the dining area where we could face the chefs. Throughout the meal, there were never more than ten customers in total, but I attribute this to their location and the impression the large modern restaurant makes as more of a glamour nightspot. Besides the design, Matsugen’s size also suggests it deters from the traditional. A large restaurant, seating 165, including a bar and lounge, it’s located in the space of Jean-George’s former Chinese venture, 66. I actually liked the minimalist décor and the atmosphere, but an empty restaurant can sometimes seem sad.

Despite the non-traditional atmosphere, I was still looking to have a simple soba luncheon, with one or two appetizers, soba and beer. So we ordered uni shooters, Japanese omelet (always a good test to see the true talents of a chef), inaka soba with goma dare (sesame sauce) for me, and a kamo nanban (soba in hot broth with duck and scallion) for my companion. To accompany my meal, I just wanted an old school Japanese beer, and Asahi Super Dry was always my beer of choice when I lived in Japan, so even though the Asahi here is brewed and bottled in the U.S. and doesn’t taste quite the same, I still have a fondness for it. When I asked for it, however, the waiter told me they were out, so I asked for Kirin Light, the other common Japanese beer on the menu. They were out of that, too, so he recommended Echigo, the popular Japanese export beer that was nearly twice the price of the other two. Price would not have mattered had I wanted the Echigo, but I am not a fan. Ultimately, I felt coerced into it; not the best way to start a meal.

But the soba more than made up for it. Matsugen’s soba is excellent! It’s the best quality we’ve had in the City since Honmura An closed. They serve three different types: rin (the most refined that has no husk and looks like angel hair — see image above), seiro (the most common type with medium husk), and inaka (the coarsest, with husk). Both the rin and inaka are only served cold, to showcase the true texture of the noodles, a philosophy true soba-purists follow; in fact, I always eat my seiro cold, too. My companion, who ordered the kamo nanban, learned his lesson after trying my inaka soba. The hot broth just killed the texture of his seiro, and while the soup was fine, the dish was totally lackluster and sub par because of the limp noodles.

The waiter’s recommendation of the inaka soba with sesame sauce was much appreciated. I was set on just eating my noodles with regular tsuyu (dipping sauce) to test the basics, but the goma dare was unexpectedly refreshing. It comes with four ingredients to add to the dipping sauce: shredded shiso, grated ginger, sliced scallions and ginger shoots. And all four really add their own unique taste that’s just slightly piquant and abundantly fresh.

In fact it was so fantastic that I couldn’t stop thinking about it and went back the following Sunday for lunch again. This time, I tried the rin with the regular dipping sauce, too, and it was also excellent. The texture of the noodles was perfectly springy and so smooth that it was hard to tell that it’s soba. My new love, the inaka soba with goma dare, did not disappoint either. The rough texture of the noodles with the husk is just so satisfying to chew, and a stark contrast to the refined rin texture. And to top it off, this time, I got my Asahi Super Dry!

Outside of the soba, Matsugen may be a little frou frou, in terms of the rest of the overpriced menu and the haughty airs, but if you stick to their core competency, you’ll see that it’s quite remarkable to find such quality soba in New York City. I wouldn’t hesitate to make a first impression on new dining companions by taking them to Matsugen. And in the meantime, it’ll certainly be my regular soba joint.

Also in Japanese, Noodles, Soba, Tribeca