Sake may seem intimidating to many, but there’s no better way to get over the intimidation factor than to jump in with both feet. Of course, having a sake sommelier lead the way doesn’t hurt either. We got our feet wet by attending an Omakase dinner hosted by Hachi, a modern Japanese restaurant at Red Rock Hotel, Casino and Spa.

Hachi’s sake sommelier Melanie Dagenais paired easy drinking sakes with an Omakase menu designed by Executive Chef Linda Rodriquez, who has the notoriety of being the only female chef trained by famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Melanie moved us through the sake experience by serving light sakes in the beginning and slowly transitioning us to heavier ones. Her philosophy is to pair spicy foods with sweet sake so as to calm the palate.

But before we get carried away with a rundown of the fantastic pairing menu we sampled, we wanted to add that Hachi makes it really easy to give sake and modern Japanese cuisine a whirl as they currently have a menu that features 38 tastes for $8 and under. This way you can try anything from their chilled sashimi dishes, sushi rolls, and kushiyaki (skewers) to hot and vegetable dishes. We were particularly smitten with the Spicy Kabocha Coconut Soup on the 38 Tastes menu, it had a very thick and creamy texture that was equally as inviting as the soup’s flavors.

Now let’s get our feet wet. The first Omakase item we savored was a Kobe Beef Carpaccio in a Wasabi Saffron Aioli. It had a really big rich taste, more so than the usual Carpaccio, which was probably because the beef was Kobe. The Carpaccio was extremely well-spiced and paired well with Spirit’s Soul, Kamidoro sake which had a crisp earthiness to it but with fruity and floral aromas. We thought it was a winner.

Next up was Broiled Chilean Seabass in a Sweet Miso Sauce paired with Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake. We have had the seabass at Hachi before and it never ever disappoints. Its melt-in-your-mouth-quality has made it one of our favorite dishes in the Las Vegas Valley. But we had never experienced the seabass with Hou Hou Shu. When consumed alone, the sake has a very sour, tart taste of apple but once it was paired with the miso sauce of the seabass, the sweet side of the sake really came out for an exceptional pairing.

We then very much enjoyed a Seared Tenderloin of Beef and Foie Gras served with Sweet Potato Mash and Sake Soy Butter Sauce. It was nicely paired with Golden Crane, Kamotsuru Tokusei sake, the first sake ever made in Japan. It’s a very versatile sake so made a nice pairing with the tenderloin and sweet potatoes, but its highpoint was the way it brought out the richness of the foie gras.

We finished with a trio of crème brulees: Fresh Ginger, Green Tea, and Macadamia Nut Guanduja. The creamy trio was paired with two sakes from Sake 2 Me: Green Tea and Ginger Mango (other available Sake 2 Me flavors include Asian Pear and Macadamia Nut). The lightness of the Green Tea Crème Brulee counteracted perfectly the bite of the Ginger Mango sake. As for the Green Tea sake, it was light and subtle and in turn blended very well with the stronger tasting Fresh Ginger Crème Brulee and the Macadamia Nut Guanduja Crème Brulee which had overtones of chocolate.

Editor’s Note: In our column last month which featured SC Prime Steakhouse, the signature cocktails were actually created by the restaurant’s former sous-chef Ben Reynolds. We regret this error.

Subscribe Today! - Click here.