Over the past five years or so, Michael Collantes has thrown numerous concepts at the proverbial wall to see what sticks. Taglish, his Filipino fast-casual eatery, slid off in 2022. Perla’s Pizza went splat after six months, but Collantes will fling it once again this fall. Sushi Saint’s concept and pricing are still being tinkered with, while Soseki — the crown jewel in Collantes’ budding restaurant empire — is an omakase house in a sea of omakase houses. But Bar Kada, a sake and small-plate lounge, is arguably the stickiest. While it’s glued to Soseki’s coutured hips, the moody, unfenestrated den of drinks and delectables is so unaffectedly chill, it’s hard to resist lingering. Especially at the bar, where bottles of sake are presented with a healthy dose of rice wine education courtesy of sommelier Benjamin Coutts and his head sake sidekick, Daniel Lugo.
The pair can talk your ears off about every facet of sake production, from rice varieties and polishing ratios to koji mold strains and filtration. They have such a spirited zeal for rice wine that you can’t help but get caught up in the swell of their excitement. Needless to say, I’ve sampled a broad spectrum of Bar Kada’s best in the form of flights ranging in price from $40 to $75. Maybe even too broad. So it’s a good thing Collantes has chef Mike Vang to plate some equally notable Japanese-leaning dishes to go along with those prized quaffs. Even better is that the global flavors Vang incorporates into his cooking never feel derivative. Beyond the addictive nibbles of complimentary za’atar-spiced chickpeas, a bar-side pour of “leche de tigre” made from condensed milk and Thai chilies into a sashimi plate of kanpachi ($18) with daikon and basil is a crowd-pleaser — so much so that drinking the liquid from the plate is a common sight. (I’ve done it twice.)
On one visit, my companion, who won the burden of my company in a fundraising auction by Ricky Ly of Tastychomps for World Central Kitchen following the massacre of their aid workers by Israeli Defense Forces, was all but ready to lick the ponzu beurre blanc coating a plate of maitake mushrooms ($12). She just had a lot more decorum than me. That said, there may have been some licking of the curried sauce with Thai chili, lemongrass and cilantro adorning the mussels ($16).
What you’ll eventually come to notice, as we did, is how the menu reflects Vang’s Vietnamese heritage. The handsome presentation of wagyu tartare ($23), for example, is his play on bò lúc lác, or Vietnamese shaking beef. Pickled diced cauliflower circling an egg yolk atop sesame-flecked Aussie beef is as appetizing as it looks. Vang sides it with wagyu tendon chicharrones and sourdough bread from Olde Hearth. Japanese A5 wagyu is also offered, and if you indulge in the Kagoshima ribeye ($50 for 2 ounces) glossed in black garlic butter with fried shallots, it won’t disappoint.
Honestly, nothing on the menu will, and that includes less razzle-dazzle items like salt and vinegar chips ($12) served with a dip made from purple murasaki sweet potatoes embellished with chopped eggs from Lé Koopé in Clermont, or chicken wings ($15) in a Vietnamese preparation of fish sauce caramel or Korean gochujang. If faced with a choice, however, I’d pass on them in favor of superb mandu-like dumplings ($19) of corn, pea, ginger and scallion graced with chili crisp and radish sprouts, or slivers of pepper-rubbed bluefin akami ($19) decorated with wee curls of pickled cucumber and grated daikon topped with tapenade. The tuna, BTW, swims in a liberal pour of ponzu.
Speaking of, Lugo was kind enough to liberally pour Momotose’s 30-year aged sake to enjoy with a capper. Sipping on the ruby-hued dessert wine along with a “pudding” ($8) of toasted coconut, peaches, mango, white chocolate ganache and crackles of lime zest meringue proved highly enjoyable. It made parting with the linger-worthy lounge such sweet sorrow.
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This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2024.
