Value comes into the equation at all levels of the dining pyramid. I had a rather empty feeling after spending $225 for two at Café Gray, not because it was bad, but because it felt like a $150 experience. I'm not planning to rush back. Most of the people posting on this thread, including me, haven't actually tried Masa. We must therefore rely on critical consensus, and just about everyone who's written about it says that Masa is mind-blowingly good. This presumes you've eaten enough Japanese food to know the difference, and that you can afford to make this kind of investment in one meal. There are probably very few of us for whom that's true. FYI, the lowest round-trip airfare to Tokyo right now is $2,870 on expedia.com. That's a coach fare. You'll also need a hotel. Based on that, if the one thing you're after is an amazing sushi experience, Masa looks like a bargain. ← The best Japanese food I have ever eaten was at Morimoto in Philadelphia. I usually opt for his tasting menu's which start at $80 and go as high as your willing to spend. Each course is laden with caviar, toro, kobe beef, and whatever other specialty he has gotten in for the night. A scallop app that was ordered I watched him extract the scallop from the shell the size of a dinner plate. He grates his wasabi fresh also which I had never seen before. He offers blowfish if you are up to the challange as well. I find his food to be imaginative and I am never dissappointed with "The Iron Chef" when I spend my money there. I could easily spend the $500 a head price there if I had the money burning a whole in my pocket but my point is it is a choice eating there. You could just have a few pieces of sushi and go home if you wish or you can go all out. It's nice to have a choice and be able to sample fine food. Oh, a trip to Philly is a lot less than Japan.
