docsconz

I could see how that could be a turn-off I guess it might be better to stick to "live" product there! ← Not so sure actually, in some places, the live fish tanks are so crowded that if you look at them closely, you will notice that half the fish there is motionless (i guess they died from suffocation?) Some fish will actually begin nibbling on their defunct tankmates. Not a happy sight. ← True, but at least you should be able to judge just by looking at the tanks and the apparent health of the fish or other live sea critters as well as the general level of crowding

I could see how that could be a turn-off I guess it might be better to stick to "live" product there!

I really enjoyed my meal at WD-50 for the reasons I stated above. Since I was the only one at the table who wanted to order a tasing menu we didn't do it, although they did let us order dishes from the tasting menu. I started with the lamb sweetbreads, green daikon, black bean and chocolate powder, which had a subtle lambiness to them and great texture, as my appetizer and then the squab with beet powder encrusted golden beets and sweet potato reduction for my main course. It was under Chef Dufresne at 71 Clinton that I first had squab. It was a revelation then and it still is under his expert hand. The beets and sweet potato juice reduction were also delicious as well as intellectually interesting and visually beautiful. We had an array of desserts all of which were beautiful, fantastic and previously described on this board. The tonka bean ice cream was particularly fun as the only other place we have encountered tonka beans was at Can Roca in Catalunya (actually my wife had them as I was sick that day and didn't partake:sad:).Contrary to some on this board, though, I found the cotton candy to be fun and extremely tasty. The wine list, though not extraordinarily large, was interesting, eclectic and fairly priced. We had a gorgeous red from the Balearic Islands that went very well with our diverse, but red-wine friendly meals. It was too dark to get good photos of our meal, but afterwards I did ask to meet Chef Dufresne since I wanted to tell him how much we enjoyed his meal and his restaurant. Amazingly to me, when I introduced myself to him by my given name (the reservations were in my friend's name), he recognized it and referred to me as "docsconz"! We had an interesting conversation about eGullet (He admits to lurking ), his food, Spain and culinaria in general. He invited us to tour the kitchen and observe some preparation. He was also gracious enough to allow me to take some photos. Even with a digital camera, it is not possible to fully determine when a photo is really good enough. That being said, a few of the photos didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped and I still missed some opportunities that in retrospect I wish I had taken such as getting a better visual handle on the sous vide cookery. Some photos from the kitchen of WD-50: Chef Dufresne cooking at his station. The finishing station. Sam Mason checks an order. An action shot. From pan to plate. Finishing touches by Pastry Chef Sam Mason With Wylie

I really didn't notice anything that I thought was out of the ordinary or unsanitary. You got me curious, Ya-Roo. Tell us more!

The fish didn't look too bad to me. The crabs I ultimately bought were ok, although not particularly special.

I specifically looked on Mott and surrounding streets and was surpriseed to not find anything. Interestingly, it was specifically blue crabs that I was looking for.

I probably shouldn't have brought Nobu into this topic since it isn't exactly apples and apples, but it was the closest thing in terms of reputation, style and price compared to Kuruma and Yasuda that I had previously been to. My comments about Nobu were probably too strong, although I still have no desire to return there, especially with Yasuda a comparably priced and better alternative in my book. Anyone willing or able to compare these to Jewel Bako or any other alternatives?

On a recent visit (one week ago) I only found two stands on Canal. While I didn't do an exhaustive search of the side streets, I did look around and didn't find anything else worthwhile. Was it my imagination or has the number of seafood vendors in Chinatown slipped? By the way, both of the Canal vendors seemed decent, albeit unspectacular.

Hopefully this is reflective of opening just before the holidays and will sort itself out soon.

The Zen of Sushi. This makes sense, although evidence of quality is apparent or not in any Sushi restaurant so therefore one sushi restaurant can be demonstrably better than another. Beyond a certain level of quality is where I believe your point, Steven has validity. Both Kuruma and Yasuda are beyond that and at the point at which preference really becomes entirely subjective. As for Nobu, JJ, you are correct, it wasn't really sushi, although there was sushi on the omakase as I recall. Nevertheles, that was one of the most disapppointing high end meals I've ever had. I have no desire to return, although I can't say that I have ever experienced the world of Shin Tsujimura.

I'm a newbie because I've never quite had sushi at this level before. I had an "omakase" menu at Nobu, but that was garbage compared to these. That isn't even close to being in the same league as these restaurants.

Great post and excellent photos. I'm curious, is it customary to tip when you sit at the counter at a Japanese restraurant? ← Very good question, Hiroyuki. I assumed that it is so, though that may have been presumptuous. I would be very happy to find out otherwise as it takes my costs from the outermost stratosphere.

Tana, that most certainly is possible. When it comes to this level of Sushi dining I am a newbie.

All that other stuff is fine, but for me agood oyster is perfection simply with a little fresh squeezed lemon. Yum.

I believe that the shrimp werre in fact the shiro ebi that David mentioned. As far as the itemization, I asked for a list of what I had eaten. They assumed I wanted an itemized price list which they supplied, but which I have misplaced (thus the lack of specific detail). As for the price, I was served a lot more exotic and foreign fish at Kuruma. Yasuda sources a lot of his fish from here in the US. I also ate a lot mor toro at Kuruma. I can't really say that I'm too surprised that Kuruma was more expensive, but at this point to my relatively unsophisticated Sushi palate I cannot say that the difference if any was worth it to me. As far as the newbies and the regulars, it may very well be that I benefitted from that practice at Yasuda since I was there with JJ who is at least somewhat known to the retsaurant and Yasuda.

Magnificent.

Ellen, I can't believe I have missed this until now - awesome report. Your photos are truly outstanding. Thanks.

David, I recently returned from a week in NYC and simply had to follow your lead and go to both Kuruma and Yasuda. I will say that though I have enjoyed all kinds of Sushi for some time, I am by no means an expert nor at this point capable of discerning the subtle differences between the two restaurants, although I follow a lot of what you had to say based on my experiences. They were simply the two most outstanding sushi experiences of my life so far. No other experience has been even close except for perhaps my initial awakening years ago, but that is a different story. I went first to Kuruma with my wife. We had an omakase lunch that even though I was expecting it to be expensive, I didn't quite expect it to be that expensive. The total for two with sake, tax and tip was over $500. Nevertheless it was extraordinary with a lot of great fish and pretty darn good rice too. We had a lot of toro (as you described so well) in addition to a number of other unusual items such as special Japanese fish and a particular Japanese yellowtail only available at this time. I have a few photos for illustration. Our view at the bar A solitary slice of toro sashimi. Fluke with the pnzu dipping sauce. This was sublime and my favorite dish of the meal. Toro sushi. I believe this was more toro prepared in a slightly different way, though I could easily be wrong. Yellowtail? Japanese shrimp - raw. Uni. This was the first time my wife ever tried uni. She wasn't disappointed. Eel. Delicious. Me munching. We ate much more at Kuruma, but these were the only photos that turned out reasonably well. Overall the experience was excceptional. I would certainly return, though not frequently because of the cost. I ate an omakase lunch at Yasuda with jogoode and bondgirl. This lunch was also exceptional as we sat diectly in front of Yasuda himself, who also waxed eloquently to us of many of the same topics he did with David. The rice at Yasuda was exceptional, but then so was the fish. The instruction for each piece was a bit clearer at Yasuda as none was given at Kuruma. We were also instructed to just use our hands and not chopsticks for eating the sushi. I liked the fact that almost all the sushi was presauces ideally by Yasuda. Following are a few photographic details: Yasuda at work. His hands were constantly in motion. A couple of pieces of sushi including toro. Sea Scallop. Toro closeup. I was amazed with the toro here and at Kuruma at the pale pinkness of it. I had never had it before other than cooked as ventresca. The uni box. Uni sushi closeup. King Salmon Roe that was fresh and had not been presered with salt. This was amazing. Fresh Florida shrimp cooked directly in front of us. This had the essence of shrimpness. Omelette. This was sweet, but not overly so. This was a good contrast to the seafood. Toro roll. Uni roll. JJ eats as Bondgirl watches. Both meals really were extraordinary and I would love to go back to both. Sushi yasuda is the one I expect to frequent more regularly as the cost was much more affordable. It cost me $110 plus tax and tip for an omakase that included 23 pieces of sushi and sake as well as tea. Both spaces are excellent as well. David, thanks for inspiring me to this exploration and JJ and Yaroo, thanks for accompanying me for part of it!

Alas, that wasn't on the menu the evening we visited.

The Olive oil gelato is that good

I was there last week and met the man himself who personally helped me bring gift baskets out to the curb. While the product is excellent as was his personal service, I have to say that I found the instore service somewhat frustrating. My initial interest was in buying chocolate santas. I went last Thursday to discover that they were all out. They told me to return the following morning, which I did. Once again, they didn't have any. I was then told that they only make one or two per day and they sell immediately. Had I known that on Thursday I wouldn't have returned on Friday as I had a lot to do, but given that I was there I thought I would take care of some of my gift needs by buying some gift baskets that they did have in stock. Unfortunately they couldn't ship from there (that would have to be ordereed directly from the Dumbo location only)and I couldn't carry them at the time. I suggested that I pay for them then and that they hold the baskets for me until the next day when I would pick them up. Amazingly I was told that they couldn't do this! As tempted as I was to simply walk out, I ultimately prevailed upon them to do this very thing and the next day I got help from Chef Torres himself. We had a nice conversation, although I didn't think at the time to relate this story to him, which I should have done. As for what they carry - all sorts of truffles and bon bons as well as a variety chocolate bars, hot chocolate mixes and chocolate covered items such as pretzels. They also have gift baskets and a bar for fresh hot chocolate and such. They were busy making a lot of product while I was there. I wish them well with this new store and hope that my experience was an aberration due to growing pains as I suspect it was.

It could be, but I'm not sure that he'd want to be seen in my company.

I have to admit that I am very sceptical of this technique given that its general adventure is getting the end products to equilibrate at a precisely desired tempersture. If I were to cook beef this way for example and the temperature equilibrated at 160 degrees F, I don't think I would be very happy, whereas for chicken it might be fine.

I would think that the "ideal" meat to cook would depend on what the temperature range of the device in "keep warm" mode was. Cooking time may also be hit or miss as the meat should achieve its iideal temperature as an equilibration with the surrounding medium.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to go into a lot of detail at the moment, but I dined at WD-50 last week and in a week of eating at all sorts of wonderful restaurants including Ducasse, Kurumazushi, Babbo, Sripraphai, Sushi Yasuda, Franny's this was my favorite. It is my ideal of a New York restaurant. The food was beautiful, interesting, delicious and fun. The room has received some bad press, though I found it and the service very comfortable. The space, attitude and indeed the food are all perfect for its location. Would I go back? In a heartbeat. My comments on WD-50 are not meant to disparage any of the other restaurants I mentioned. They were all great in their own ways, but none resonated with me quite the way WD-50 did. The two closest were probably Sushi Yasuda and Babbo.