Join Cencibel in a sumptious Japanese dinner at Fuji Restaurant and enjoy the meal with wines from Spain presented by the winemakers and importers. We will explore a range of Spanish wines including Cavas (Spain's sparkling wine), white wines made from Spain's native varietals, and red wines from the famed Ribera del Duero and Priorat regions. After all, our group is named after a Spanish wine grape!

Special guests Marcell Sabate of Bodegas Castell Roig (www.castellroig.com) in Penedes and Juan Esteban of Valderiz in Ribera de Duero will take time from their busy US promotional trip to share their wines and knowledge with us. These winemakers will be accompanied by their US importers, Chris Campbell and Jorge Pedro of C&P Wines, LLC.

Matt Ito, chef and owner of Fuji Restaurant, will prepare a 6 course dinner especially for us. The menu will include both his famed sushi (we expect a vegetarian alternative to be available) as well as his special cooked dishes (think Iron Chef Morimoto). Chef Ito has more than 30 years cooking experience both in Japan and America. He combines eastern and western cooking ideas to create his own style of dishes. We will have further detail on the menu shortly, and the complete menu will be provided to the participants a few days before the dinner to allow our chef to take advantage of the freshest available ingredients.

Here is the menu Chef Matt designed especially for us and the wine that will be paired:

Here are the reviews for some of the wine above by our local wine geek extraordinaire, Mark Squires.

Cost:

Member & first-time women guests - $93 via Paypal

Non-member - $104 via PayPal

(payment covers food, wine, tax & gratuities)

Date:

Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 7:00PM sharp.

Location:

404 Rt. 130 North, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077

Directions and parking info can be found at www.fujirestaurant.com/direction.html.

Your payment is your reservation!! We will accept ONLY Paypal at this point.

This event is open to gentlemen guests, too. Seatings are limited to 30 people, and we have only 6 spots left, so don't delay and sign up now!! RSVP deadline is May 5!!

We look forward to seeing you!!

Craig LeBan, Philadelphia Inquirer - three bells

"Such a little place. Their special secret. Tucked away on a gritty South Jersey highway, just where no one would ever look - the restaurant and its brilliant, unsung chef. My source and his sake-swilling pals would gladly keep him to themselves, thank you. And yet, there was a deliberate tone of temptation in my source's voice, so many superlatives, that I had to find out for myself. How is it possible that a chef of such talent could cook at the same place for 20 years and remain in relative obscurity? And what exactly was it that Masaharu "Matt" Ito can do?

This would be, logically-speaking, a two-bell stop. But I have said before that on rare occasions a chef's exceptional skill would propel a restaurant to three-bell status despite a lack of other trappings. And Ito has done just that. My three meals here rank among some of the most memorable I've eaten in the Philadelphia area."

www.BYOBguide.com

"Fuji, of Cinnaminson, is a first-class Japanese dining experience with a simple interior. Chef-owner Matt Ito has created “wower” meals like his fabulous sushi or the king sized kaiseki menu. I don't know why people are always talking about other sushi restaurants and not Fuji. The sushi is top rate and the service is as good as it gets. Funny thing I once saw a sushi chef from another sushi restaurant eating here, that only cemented my opinion of the place."

AOL City Guide

"Bring your own wine, beer or saké to this little Japanese cottage amid the fleshpots of Route 130, and ready yourself for the meal of your life (outside of Nobu or Japan). You'll find beautiful waitresses in kimonos, a very friendly atmosphere and only the freshest ingredients; chef Matt Ito is a member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, so you know that there will be surprises and top-notch preparations. Order a week ahead of time for a multi-course kaiseki meal that could include tuna with osetra caviar, foie gras in a bitter orange sauce, sparkling fresh oysters, dainty squab and frog's legs with fiddlehead ferns, and loin of New Zealand lamb. The sashimi is so fresh and unusual, it could have just jumped out of the ocean, and they even have a talented executive chef, Douglas Oyama. This may be the Japanese restaurant you've always dreamed of, but never could quite find."