Haruki East
172 Wayland Avenue
Providence
by Bob Mariani
Sixteen years ago, Haruki’s restaurant in Cranston set the standard for Japanese cuisine here in Rhode Island. Now as a very welcome addition to the Wayland Square area, they’re bringing their incredibly diverse menu to Providence’s East Side.
With its very sleek new minimalist interior and a sushi bar that gracefully curves along the back wall for the length of the room, Haruki East captures your imagination instantly. Scrubbed blond wood floors and polished metal details give the place a clean, sleek look.
Early on a Tuesday night the place was buzzing. The menu is almost dauntingly broad and filled with everything from the exotic to the more down-to-earth. Haruki is not all about sushi by the way, although sushi-lovers have a lot to choose from here. To wit, entrées such as Sushi Deluxe, ($18) with eight pieces of nigiri-sushi, six pieces of California roll, and six pieces of tuna roll; or the Maki Roll Combo "A" ($12.50), with California Roll, Tekka and Sake maki. (Yeah, it’s fun to say and even more fun to eat.)
As we watched items arrive at surrounding tables, they reminded me of little trays full of colorful jewels exquisitely arranged— a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. After much deliberation, I chose a soft shell crab appetizer ($9.50). Deep fried and light as a feather, all it needed was that touch of zippy ginger sauce and I was in heaven. My wife had the Miso soup ($1.75), a classic, heart-warming brown broth with mild, comfort food seasonings.
Parts of the menu are a bit laconic. From a section called simply "Cooked" I ordered "Manhattan."($6), which was a California roll with flying fish roe. How could I possibly pass up something that sounded so exotic. Three dainty little packages of wrapped shrimp, perfectly cooked arrived on a tray, their outer skin twinkling with a seductive scarlet crust. Each one was about a mouthful and yielded a slightly sweet seafood flavor. I guess flying fish roe is a bit tamer than it sounds.
My wife chose another appetizer for her entrée, the enigmatically named "Crab Meat Chili Relleno" ($9.50). Just back recently from New Mexico, we were curious to see the Japanese take on the Southwestern classic. What came to the table was an entrée-size dish of mild, green "Anaheim chili peppers" stuffed with crabmeat and then whisked into a fluffy omelet. There were several layers of mild, tantalizing flavors and the soft, mouth-friendly texture was just outstanding. Another terrific meal-in-itself—and as good as any of the more robust high desert chili rellenos we’d had a few weeks back.
My entrée was something called Fillet Katsu ($8.50) and it consisted of several potato chip-size medallions of pork tenderloin coated in crunchy Panko breadcrumbs and deep fried. The meat slices were doused with a dark barbecue sauce and there was a container of thin, mustard-flavored dipping sauce. This might be a good choice for a meat-lover who thinks all Japanese food is from the sea. In fact, Haruki features quite a few dishes to attract carnivores— Kibe Beef marinated in wine served with their own demi-glace ($14); the ever-popular Beef Teriyaki ($16.50), a grilled rib eye steak with their own homemade teriyaki sauce; and a grilled chicken breast fillet in the teriyaki sauce ($13.50).
For dessert my wife ordered Haruki’s ginger ice cream, which was creamy and rich and served simply in a clear glass dish. What’s not to like about ginger ice cream? I had their version of a ginger cheesecake, which had the creamy consistency of your classic cheesecake but was far less sweet. More "cheese-y" than "cake-ish." It was kind of a nice, soft way to finish what had been a very interesting and satisfying meal.
The many, many choices at Haruki make this the kind of place you’ll want to re-visit often. It truly is a vast sea of options, and there’s something good here for everyone from the most adventurous to the most timid.
Haruki is open for lunch, Monday through Saturday from noon to 3pm and for dinner, Monday through Thursday from 5pm to 10pm; Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 10:30pm, and Sunday from 4:30pm to 10pm. For more information call (401) 223-0332.
Bob Mariani is a Southeastern New England freelance author. Besides his "Table for Two" restaurant reviews found here, he also writes jazz articles on allaboutjazz.com.
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