Ogawa Sushi & Kappo boasts a 3-course, 29-piece, 12-seat omakase experience, and it just opened its doors in the city last December. But this week, to zest things up a bit, Midnight Pasta Co.’s Natalia Lepore Hagan is joining Chef Carlos Wills for an Itameshi night.
Itameshi is a blend of Japanese and Italian cuisines. The melding of the two cultural bites first started in Japan in the 1920s and eventually became popular in the 1990s, a release notes. The name is a combo on its own as well: Itameshi comes from the combination of the Japanese word for Italy (Itaria), and the Japanese word for meal (meshi).
On Aug. 1, locals can get a taste of the dinner with two featured seatings: one at 5:30 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m. The dinner will boast 7 courses with an optional drink pairing to coincide the experience. What Philadelphians will get with every bite and sip is a collaborative dining journey that will marry the rich, robust flavors of Italian cooking with the delicate, nuanced flavors of Japanese gastronomy.
Menu items span miso soup, a sashimi platter, wagyu ravioli, spizzulus with uni, spaghetti alla chitarra, and more Itameshi style dishes. Reservations are currently available on Resy.
Ogawa restaurant hails from Chef Minoru Ogawa—who some may have seen featured in the Washington DC Michelin Guide while he was the chef at Sushi Ogawa (as well as the 21-seat Kappo DC) which features an eight-course Wagyu-centric tasting menu.
Philly’s namesake traditionally begins with a traditional and authentic omakase experience with cold appetizers to start, spanning Kumamoto oyster; crab with Hokkaido uni, and wagyu with foie gras; a sashimi otsukuri course of tuna, toro, ocean trout, shiromi, and ika, plus, some hot appetizers boasting a course of yakimono and chawanmushi. Then the 15 pieces of nigiri sushi; miso soup; and dessert complete the experience here.
To find out more information on the restaurant (310 Market St.) and to purchase tickets ($165), visit ogawaphilly.com
