Mika opens in Manhattan's Soho

Nation's Restaurant News, April 17, 1995

NEW YORK -- Mica Sharon, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and an alumna of TriBeCa Grill, has opened Mika, a Japanese bistro in Manhattan's Soho district.

Mika is a stylish but casual restaurant with a menu featuring contemporary Japanese fare. A traditional sushi bar is part of its operations.

The menu was developed by chef Deborah Aronoff, who has previously worked at such restaurants as Montrachet, Vong and Flowers. Although trained in classic French technique, Mika offers Aronoff s interpretation of Japanese and American cuisine.

Known for favoring vegetable and fruit juices as the base for sauces, Aronoff is also a practitioner of using dry rubs and marinades to achieve depth in flavor in meats.

Among some of the dishes are thin slices of salmon, house-cured, with an array of Eastern spices over a disk of soy-marinated rice, pickled mango and pureed avocado; grilled shiitake and portobello mushroom salad with smoked tofu; wasabi-crustect, sauteed salmon fillet, coated with a mixture of Japanese bread crumbs, creme fraiche, and served on a bed of roasted beets and potatoes and tossed in a tangy red-wine dressing; and Japanese barbecue duck with five-spice spaetzle.

The restaurant seats about 60 and has an entree price range of $11 to.$18.