When I’m alone, I really love dining at the bar. This may sound kind of dorky, but when I’m at the bar I always find it easier to eat less and savor my food more. Usually I can get away with one or two small plates and a very carefully sipped glass of wine, and I feel like I got to experience a restaurant without the caloric overload so often associated with a full meal out.
Here are three bar meals I’ve really enjoyed lately:
At Zen on Ten Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar I ate this really tasty plate of hamachi serrano ($10) — a riff on Nobu Matsuhisa’s recipe. The sauce on the bottom is a blend of soy, yuzu (Japanese citron) and olive oil. I got a bowl of wonderfully chewy brown rice still in its mahogany husks and a small house salad. After the fish was gone, I surreptitiously poured the sauce over the rice. (Hat tip to Jonathan Baker at Citysearch for the recommendation.)
This restaurant has a pretty typical Thai/sushi bar thing going on, but it’s a lot less busy than other …