Rosanjin

[Nathan]

where's Raji when you need him?

Bruni reviews this place tomorrow. I've never heard a word of it.

its website is here: www.rosanjintribeca.com

its confusing at first until you realize that the three menus on the website are all for delivery.

the restaurant itself serves a kaiseki menu running in the $105-150 range.

anyone been?

how does it compare to say, Tsukushi?

[Sneakeater]

All I know is that it was initially ALL delivery (I think), and only recently added an eating-in option.

[BryanZ]

Indeed, I think it was Eater and Grub St. that broke the fact that this place offering high-end kaiseki for take-out/delivery. Since then not a lot has been said. It'll be interesting to hear what Bruni has to say. From what I've seen it's certainly not modern Japanese but perhaps more so than Sugiyama, what many consider the gold standard for kaiseki.

[oakapple]

There has been only one review. Paul Adams in The Sun enjoyed himself, but thought Sugiyama was better at half the price.

[BryanZ]

Bruni awards Rosanjin the duece. That'll certainly put this place on the map.

[oakapple]

Bruni awards Rosanjin the duece.  That'll certainly put this place on the map.

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I give Bruni some credit here. I haven't been to Rosanjin, so I can't say whether the review was justified. But most of Bruni's rave reviews have gone to places those in-the-know had long ago discovered. To paraphrase the old saying: he didn't lead fashions, he followed them. As far as I can recall, this is the first time Bruni (assuming he is correct) could actually be credited with putting a place on the map.

[Nathan]

the last lines seemed almost like a plea for people to start eating there....I imagine they're doing somersaults at the restaurant right now.

[BryanZ]

I could also see the owner sweating it big time. How does one go to serving only a couple tables a night to getting an extremely laudatory review in the NYT in a style of cuisine that is vastly under represented in the city. Then again, there are certainly worse problems to have in life.

[raji]

Yo!

I get a prevoius tenant's NY Sun and actually caught this review when it was first printed... As for Mr. B, I don't follow the cult of Bruni as most do here so I really don't know what the precedent would be....

I wouldn't really compare it to Tsukushi. Tsukushi is somewhere in between a snack or izakaya and a kaiseki, or perhaps an izakaya or nomiya with a very very good osusume menu. And it's quite different in that Tsukushi wouldn't be Tsukushi without it's one-of-a-kind, badass chef.

Speaking of which, there's this guy named Nao who's staked out a spot in Hell's Kitchen...

I dunno if Bruni is giving 2 stars to this particular restaurant or 2 stars to the ritual (and dinnerware) of kaiseki. Has he reviewed Sugiyama and Kai as well? (I'm sorry if I'm too lazy to search)

There's just a number of things that rub me the wrong way about this place. They say they feature the cuisine of Kyoto; if that's the case they should put the spotlight on the chef, who should be from Kyoto?!?

$150 course and feeling hungry 2 hours later? $105 vegetarian kaiseki????

I've patronized restaurants that just started delivery service, but not the other way around...

And while they are clearly featuring authentic and traditional ingredients creatively, well, displayed, where is the seasonal and exotic that would warrant the price tag?

It would have been a welcome addition 10-15 years ago when your choices below Canal were Nobu and Zutto on Hudson, various bentos and the Menchankotei in the trade center...

Hey I wish I was a critic and could give this place a try, but based on those 2 reviews it would be best to go windowshopping at Rosanjin, then head to Sugiyama with some Totto for dessert!

[oakapple]

I dunno if Bruni is giving 2 stars to this particular restaurant or 2 stars to the ritual (and dinnerware) of kaiseki. Has he reviewed Sugiyama and Kai as well? (I'm sorry if I'm too lazy to search).

Bruni is about the last guy on earth to give two stars to a ritual. He's about as unimpressed with ritual qua ritual as anyone. The two stars were for this restaurant. Sugiyama and Kai were reviewed by previous critics, and Bruni gave no indication of having tried either one.

$150 course and feeling hungry 2 hours later? $105 vegetarian kaiseki???? 

I've patronized restaurants that just started delivery service, but not the other way around...

And while they are clearly featuring authentic and traditional ingredients creatively, well, displayed, where is the seasonal and exotic that would warrant the price tag?

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Bruni is fairly price sensitive. In his reviews, there's an overwhelming sense that the more they charge, the better it has to be. For $150, you can be sure he was awfully impressed to give out two stars.

[Nathan]

I completely agree.

[raji]

I don't follow the cult of Bruni as most do here so I really don't know what the precedent would be....

Edited March 28, 2007 by raji (log)

[Sethro]

There was invariably tempura at some point. It was always crisp, never sodden and, in the case of one piece, completely eye-opening. A shiso leaf had been wrapped around uni, then battered and fried. I’d never had anything like it.

Its been on the ala carte menu at Nobu for about 12 years.

[Todd36]

A friend of mine orders delivery from Rosanjin pretty often. In her view, it is pretty good, but portions are small and its pricey. She has thought that eat-in is too expensive, delivery is paid by her company. She thought two stars by Bruni was fair, with at least with respect to delivery, eat-in at Sugiyama is better.

[Nathan]

the delivery menu (available online) is nothing like the kaiseki menu that Bruni described.

[jimk]

How does one go to serving only a couple tables a night to getting an extremely laudatory review in the NYT in a style of cuisine that is vastly under represented in the city.  Then again, there are certainly worse problems to have in life.

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It appears that their approach to this "problem" is a rather unexpected one. Was eating at Blau Gans last night (next door to Rosanjin) and noticed that Rosanjin was dark and locked up tight as a drum as of about 9pm. Can imagine there are a lot of restauranteurs who would close their doors on a their first weekend dinner service after going from obscurity to two Times stars.

[dabestspooner]

There's just a number of things that rub me the wrong way about this place. They say they feature the cuisine of Kyoto; if that's the case they should put the spotlight on the chef, who should be from Kyoto?!?

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I've seen the press releases and the chef is south korean, not zainichi even.

[Nathan]

wrong.

the chef, Koji Ishii, is Japanese.

the owner is Korean.

[raji]

I noticed this review of 15 East and Rosanjin by Adam Platt for next week's NY Mag

http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/31787/

Once again the reviewer has to waste 3/4 of the review describing kaiseki rather than objectively rating the restaurant

Either way he awards it one star out of five.

I still heartily recommend Sugiyama

[BryanZ]

But Platt seems to subtract a star based on the fact that he doesn't really like the kaiseki experience.

[raji]

So by the same virtue, is Bruni _adding_ a star in support of kaiseki in general?

[BryanZ]

I didn't read it that way to be honest. Bruni seemed to separate the food from the kaiseki experience when it came down to the rating. Platt, in his scratchpad, made it quite clear he wasn't into kaiseki as a whole and therefore didn't award another star--specifically there was some two vs. one language there that I think can be extrapolated to his final star rating.

[oakapple]

Once again the reviewer has to waste 3/4 of the review describing kaiseki rather than objectively rating the restaurant.

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It's more like 1/4, not 3/4, which seems to me appropriate, bearing in mind that it's only a 2-paragraph review.

In restaurant reviewing, like any other kind of writing, you have to make a judgment call about what the reader can reasonably be presumed to know. In a general-audience magazine like New York, Platt can't just say "kaiseki" and assume his readers know what that is.

But Platt seems to subtract a star based on the fact that he doesn't really like the kaiseki experience.

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It's another tough judgment call. How do you write, "I don't like it, but if I did like it, I would award N stars."

[Nathan]

yeah, but the fact that Platt can't get a whole segment of dining (i.e. anything that's delicate and not big trencherman cuts of offal) makes him worse than Bruni....and almost as bad as Lane.

[raji]

Once again the reviewer has to waste 3/4 of the review describing kaiseki rather than objectively rating the restaurant.

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It's more like 1/4, not 3/4, which seems to me appropriate, bearing in mind that it's only a 2-paragraph review.

In restaurant reviewing, like any other kind of writing, you have to make a judgment call about what the reader can reasonably be presumed to know. In a general-audience magazine like New York, Platt can't just say "kaiseki" and assume his readers know what that is.

Yeah, you're right... and despite all appearances, I'm not a Japanese food snob, rather, if I can share my experiences and be helpful I'll try....

Kaiseki isn't all that different than a chef's tasting menu, save the occasional course of pickles or broth that are strange to western palettes... I guess the point at which the reviews fail for me is that neither seem to have or want to draw upon any experiences with this type of cuisine... it's not even a different type of cuisine in most cases, it's refined, seasonal Japanese cuisines served at a very deliberate pace and order.