Shimizu

[LPShanet]

Had been meaning to try Shimizu for quite a while, and was having a sushi craving on Tuesday (always a good night for sushi). Since my go-to, Ushi Wakamaru , has been closed for a bit due to an ongoing feud with the DOH, and Yasuda was fully booked all night at the sushi bar, I finally had my chance to check it out. Before heading out, I checked with eGullet's resident sushi (and all things Japanese) expert Raji, and he confirmed that Shimizu would be a wise choice. And I'm here to tell you, it'll more than hold us over until Hideo-san gets back to biz on Houston Street.

While the location is less convenient for me (I'm a downtowner), the space at Shimizu is light and pleasant, as are the staff. I made a reservation at the bar, and my girlfriend and I plunked ourselves down and asked Shimizu-san to give us whatever he saw fit. Because we ordered a few rounds of shochu, I'll do my best to recall what we had. It should be noted that Shimizu has a really great shochu selection. While I'm sure there are places in town that have a lengthier selection (though probably not many), Shimizu has done a great job of providing a variety of different types of shochu made from a really wide variety of source elements. In addition to the typical rice, potato, sweet potato, barley and other standard varieties, they also have one made from sudachi (a Japanese citrus fruit in the lime/yuzu category) and another made from dates. Both were great, and distinctly communicated their base in a subtle way and without any sweetness. It's really worth your while to try a few side by side.

But on to the sushi. We opened with a couple of marinated shiny skinned varieties. First up was sanma (sometimes known alternately as saury or mackeral pike), which was a very nice version of that...not my g/f's taste, but for those who like things in the mackeral/gizzard shad direction, meaning fish varieties marinated in rice vinegar it was a fine piece. Next up was kohada (gizzard shad), also really nice, and more subtle than the sanma (which in turn is more subtle than a typical piece of saba). Though neither piece blew my socks off, they were both good, subtle versions of their kind. But the good stuff was still to come. Since my memory of the order they arrived is a bit foggy, I'll just provide a list of the other pieces I can remember:

- Octopus (w/ sea salt and lime) - very clean and nicely tender

- Shima Aji (striped jack...in the yellowtail family) - perfect and buttery

- Uni (a good piece...I've had better, but it was very good)

- Ika (squid) served with ikura (salmon roe) on top - wonderful...the squid was tender, the ikura was the best I've had in NY apart from Ushi Wakamaru's (which is light years better than anyone else's. At it's best, it's like tasting a fresh bite of ocean, with no fishiness or stickiness.)

- King crab - the best piece I've had at a sushi restaurant. Tasted purely of crab, with no residual flavors of anything else.

- Engawa (fluke fin) served with shiso leaf and a tart red garnish - the tartness and herbal shiso flavors really brought the gentle taste of the engawa to life.

- Hamachi (yellowtail) belly - rich and very nice

- Chu-toro - one of the finest pieces of tuna I've had in recent memory. The cut and flavor were both flawless, and my g/f wanted to double up and get another.

- King Salmon - managed to be really flavorful without having any bottom-feeder/fishy taste. The two traps of most salmon to my palate are either being bland or tasting like leftover cheap lox. This one had all the good qualities of top notch gravlax without any of the negatives.

- Otoro - Another great piece of tuna. The g/f, who usually gravitates towards akami and leaner tuna cuts, really dug it, despite it's decadent richness. She was right. All the things we crave in a rich, fatty piece of toro, but still clean and perfectly textured.

- Mirugai (giant clam, specifically geoduck) - a really good, flavorful piece, with firm but not chewy texture. First rate.

- Anago (sea eel) w/ grated ginger - really nice. The ginger was a nice element to counter the richness of the meat and sauce.

- Ama ebi (sweet shrimp) - We have been craving botan ebi since they went out of season. This will have to hold us over till they come back. Shimizu also served us the tempura fried heads of the shrimp, which is pretty standard in sushi bars in LA and Japan, but for some reason very few places in NY do this. Very glad to see that here.

- Spicy tuna (3 pieces of a roll) - I was honestly a bit surprised to see this. Not typically something you get at a traditional sushi bar, but a good version, and quite tasty.

At this point, you might imagine we were getting quite full, and the g/f called it quits and tapped out. But I'm always good for a few more pieces than the average Kodiak bear, so I soldiered on with:

- Seared white tuna - Very nice, but nothing really special.

- Aji (horse mackeral/Spanish mackeral) - very good...always a fave.

- Awabi (abalone) - not the best I've had, but I'm always eager to try it when available.

- Seared hotate (sea scallop) - Really good. Normally, if there's a really good scallop, I hate to see it get any kind of cooking, but the sear (with a blowtorch) was just brief enough to make it interesting without doing any harm to the first rate scallop.

I'm leaving out a few pieces in the shochu haze, but I think I covered a pretty good percent of what I ate. Overall, it was one of the best sushi omakase outings I've had in New York. If I had to choose, I'd say I still like Ushi Wakamaru a little better. The main reasons being Ushi's wider variety, more exotic stuff, more perfect rice (Ushi's is warmer and slightly looser than that at Shimizu, but this is a subjective preference in style), and slightly greater creativity. Still, I'd say Shimizu is in the same league or better than some of the really good places I've been, such as 15 East, Esashi (a bargain but not as good as the others mentioned), Sasabune, etc. It's a more than worthy addition to any serious sushi fan's list, and I highly recommend you go there if you appreciate serious sushi. For those jonesing for the return of Ushi Wakamaru, you'll be really glad to discover this place.

Of course, as soon as the feast was over, we walked the couple of blocks over to Kyotofu (Raji and I think they should start up some sort of cross-promotion setup), and proceded to eat a three-course dessert kaiseki with sake pairings.

Edited November 8, 2007 by LPShanet (log)

[skiter53]

How much did your meal come to?

[LPShanet]

How much did your meal come to?

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Don't remember the exact total, but I want to say it was about $180 for two, including a couple of shochus and lots of sushi. In general , I remember prices being about the same as Ushi Wakamaru or Sasabune for the amount eaten, and less than Yasuda.

[banquo]

Around $220 or so is my typical total for 2. We typically get about 18 pieces each. It's a good deal, given the quality.

I agree with LPShanet's assessment of Shimizu. I'm surprised it doesn't get more publicity on the boards.

The one drawback with the place, I think, is the variety of fish. But, no doubt, what he does have is 1st rate. A second drawback (perhaps just my preference) is the temperature of the rice. In my opinion it is too cool. I prefer the temperature of Yasuda and Ushi's rice, although I do not prefer the looseness with which those two places pack their rice.

[LPShanet]

Around $220 or so is my typical total for 2.  We typically get about 18 pieces each.  It's a good deal, given the quality.   

I agree with LPShanet's assessment of Shimizu.  I'm surprised it doesn't get more publicity on the boards. 

The one drawback with the place, I think, is the variety of fish.  But, no doubt, what he does have is 1st rate.  A second drawback (perhaps just my preference) is the temperature of the rice.  In my opinion it is too cool.  I prefer the temperature of Yasuda and Ushi's rice, although I do not prefer the looseness with which those two places pack their rice.

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I agree 100% with the above comments. And I think the price I mentioned was before tip, so it's probably very close to the same. My only divergence would be that I like the looseness of the rice from a taste perspective, but agree that it's slightly trickier to deal with.