Japanese Restaurants!

[Todd36]

I had a bad experience at Japonica a few years back and I will not set foot in the place. Everything is in the eye of the beholder, but Yama is to sushi as McDonald's is to hamburgers. My Japanese friends either will not set foot in Yama, or after one try, will not set foot in there again. A place I wouldn't go out of my way for, but with decent sushi and probably better cooked food, is Marumi - 546 La Guardia Pl. (between Bleecker and W. 3rd Sts. - NoHo, Manhattan, New York City ) 212-979-7055. NYU Japanese grad students tend to eat there, it's close to NYU. My current favorite around there is Ushiwakamaru, which is on the north side of Houston near Sullivan I think. Try the 10 pieces of Chef's choice for about $39. It's first class and a bargain for the money.

[SobaAddict70]

While not exclusively Japanese, I would not hesitate to add Jewel Bako to this list.

Soba

[juuceman]

On non-sushi places, has anyone been to either Forbidden City or Kasadela (both in EV)? I've been hearing good things...

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i've eaten at both.. forbidden city was a while ago.. the chefs or owners (or both??) are ex-Blue Ribbon guys, for what it's worth.. the food was pretty good, although the pricing was a bit out of line with other options and i haven't been back since.. i remember a decent selection of dumplings as well as the ubiquitous black miso cod, etc.. solid decent food, good for apps on a night out but not really a destination in and of itself..

kasadela is the new itzayaka (sp??) place in the east vill.. been twice in the past few weeks.. nice saki selection, with two or three natural or live yeast varieties.. the prices are extremely reasonable, we're talking $50 for two- all in for five or six apps and a carafe or two of saki.. it's getting a lot of press on chowhound, but check it out for the grilled chicken skins, the seared beef tataki salad, the age dashi tofu, tuna tartare with taro chips, and whatever else appeals to you..

minca seems to have fallen off slightly lately.. the meats and broth have both been a little too fatty, resulting in an unattractive pile next to my bowl by the end of the meal.. i still love their gyoza though..

[sarahoc]

I had a really bad experience at Yama on Houston. That was my first and last time at a Yama.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, moderately priced sushi place near Grand Central?

[Todd36]

Another unusual Japanese Restaurant, which I mention with caution. It's called Tsukushi. The address I think is 300 East 41st Street. It's very close to the southeast corner of 41st and Second Avenue. There is no sign outside, look for a long awning that comes close to the street. It's open till about 2:00 in the morning. This is a quiet Japanese bar, usually with one waitress (who speaks at least some English) and a chef behind the counter, who is the owner and who speaks a little English. They serve beer, sake and hard stuff. Sake is $8-10 a glass for premium stuff. They serve very good food. Last night I had Japanese cucumber with miso, a bean sprout dish, broiled cod (very good), the best Japanese pumpkin I've ever had, decent sashmi, very good cold Udon with mushrooms and I'm not sure what else. The catch is that there is no menu. I don't mean no menu in English, I mean no menu, in English or Japanese. It seems the food varies from day to day, and depending upon how the owner feels, you get what he wants you to get. Pricing is also random, I paid $45 a person last night for food, plus a required 15% tip. I've been told pricing varies from visit to visit, and also depends on how many drinks you order. There is a very small hand written Japanese language menu for noodles and rice dishes, for which choice is allowed (they end the meal). They also do have the drink menu in English.

I'm cautious about mentioning this place for a couple of reasons. The lack of a menu, random pricing and limited English makes it risky. I've always gone with someone Japanese, and am not sure how someone alone who is not Japanese would fare. They play light music, and it is a small, bright place. It does not fit your stereotype of a Japanese bar. The lack of a sign indicates they are not looking for random customers.

The food is good. Lighter, less oily and less salty than typical for this sort of food. Several levels above the average NYC izayaka.

[mascarpone]

Another unusual Japanese Restaurant, which I mention with caution.  It's called Tsukushi.  The address I think is 300 East 41st Street.  It's very close to the southeast corner of 41st and Second Avenue.  There is no sign outside, look for a long awning that comes close to the street.  It's open till about 2:00 in the morning.  This is a quiet Japanese bar, usually with one waitress (who speaks at least some English) and a chef behind the counter, who is the owner and who speaks a little English.  They serve beer, sake and hard stuff.  Sake is $8-10 a glass for premium stuff.  They serve very good food.  Last night I had Japanese cucumber with miso, a bean sprout dish, broiled cod (very good),  the best Japanese pumpkin I've ever had, decent sashmi, very good cold Udon with mushrooms and I'm not sure what else.  The catch is that there is no menu.  I don't mean no menu in English, I mean no menu, in English or Japanese.  It seems the food varies from day to day, and depending upon how the owner feels, you get what he wants you to get.  Pricing is also random, I paid $45 a person last night for food, plus a required 15% tip.  I've been told pricing varies from visit to visit, and also depends on how many drinks you order.  There is a very small hand written Japanese language menu for noodles and rice dishes, for which choice is allowed (they end the meal).  They also do have the drink menu in English.

I'm cautious about mentioning this place for a couple of reasons.  The lack of a menu, random pricing and limited English makes it risky.  I've always gone with someone Japanese, and am not sure how someone alone who is not Japanese would fare.  They play light music, and it is a small, bright place.  It does not fit your stereotype of a Japanese bar.  The lack of a sign indicates they are not looking for random customers.

The food is good.  Lighter, less oily and less salty than typical for this sort of food.  Several levels above the average NYC izayaka.

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I also have a problem with "no menu, no price" situation where the tab is just recited at you at the end of the meal. It happend to me at Dominic's at Arthur Ave. I walked out with a bad taste in my mouth (not from the food, however).

[Todd36]

I also have a problem with "no menu, no price" situation where the tab is just recited at you at the end of the meal. It happend to me at Dominic's at Arthur Ave. I walked out with a bad taste in my mouth (not from the food, however).

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Yes, I'm not thrilled about this either. I don't think Tsukushi serves anything really expensive (it's not a sushi bar, and they don't have, I think, things like toro or uni), so I think the risk of a $100 food bill is limited, unless you really eat a lot. Still, they basically give you a bottom line total and that is that. Most of their customers are Japanese business types using company money and I've been told this sort of pricing is common in Japan (worse yet, it's considered bad manners to set a price in advance in Japan, which can lead to bad surprises, my very Japanese friend has had this happen to her). This sort of thing is why I like Sugiyama (where everything is prix fixed) and Ushiwakamaru, which has very good high end prix fish sushi options (where for example they tell you on the menu 15 pieces for $49 and it is good stuff). I mention Tsukushi becuase I think it's pretty good. I also think the end number you will be shown is typical for this sort of place in NYC, places that cater to Japanese businessmen are not cheap.

[milla]

I tried Sushi Yasuda (Fat Guy's pick for best sushi) last year, and liked it very much as well, though Japonica still tops my list. The pieces are smaller, and they have a colorful omakase. I suspect the purists who prefer more authentic sushi will like Yasuda.

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Yasuda is for purists but Kurumazushi on E. 47th is still the be all. It is not for everyone, and way expensive. The fish will blow your mind. Sit at the bar NOT at a table and let the chef decide.

[alacarte]

OK, all you sushi fans, I give you...

THE SUSHI SPREADSHEET!

I get no credit for putting this together, it's courtesy of Jennifer Leuzzi, who writes the Epicurious Corner Table column. Apparently, the spreadsheet was compiled by Greg Lippmann, a securities trader at Deutsche Bank in New York who eats sushi as many as six times a week.

Having grown tired of friends' endless requests for recommendations, he created what might one day make him the Robert Parker of raw fish: The Sushi Spreadsheet.

….. In less than three years, the file has grown from about 25 listings to 91, with addresses and notes on each, from Jewel Bako ("Get the Omakase. Tell Jack and Grace you know me") to Teriyaki Boy ("McDonalds of Sushi"). It has also earned a certain renown among chefs.

[Todd36]

OK, all you sushi fans, I give you...

THE SUSHI SPREADSHEET!

I get no credit for putting this together, it's courtesy of Jennifer Leuzzi, who writes the Epicurious Corner Table column. Apparently, the spreadsheet was compiled by Greg Lippmann, a securities trader at Deutsche Bank in New York who eats sushi as many as six times a week.

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It's interesting, but I disagree with some of the rankings. Like everything else, people's taste in sushi varies.

Tome has been unimpressive to me and I don't think it's close to #5 in the city.

Blue Ribbon is mediorce (like my spelling), and shouldn't be as high as #11.

No way is Taka #15, its decent at best and was poor last time I ate there.

Zutto isn't even Japanese, its Korean and not #27.

I like Esashi, it should be higher than #36.

Sushi Seki should be higher than #12 (you really think Blue Ribbon is better??????)

Soba Nippon is not my favorite but #86???? Same thing with Omen at #64.

Nadaman Hakabuki at #55????????????? I've never eatan there, but people I trust have, and it's a top 25 place, although it's not a sushi place. Their sushi can't be thaty bad. Described as "very Japanese" in the spreadsheet. Sure, its in a major Japanese owned hotel.....

I haven't eaten at Megu either, but at #30, you have to wonder. Overpriced it may be, but #30??????

Other strange thing is that the spreadsheet contains many references to WIner '04......

[Todd36]

Stopped by Bar Masa tonight, it was empty at 9:00 PM, 4 other people in the Restaurant. Had the sushi sampler, for I think $68. Good, but way overpriced. The wasabi was real though. 3 pieces cucumber roll, 3 pieces tuna roll, and I think 9 pieces Nigri. And 3 odd rolls of chopped things. Standard fish choices, like Salmon. No uni, or anything top shelf at all. Fish Quality was good, but equal to about $35 sushi deluxe at most places. For example, tuna was ordinary and not even medium fatty. The most shocking thing is that at least according to my taste buds, the rice was no good. According to bartender, they recently reduced the price (and Masa does not make the sushi himself). At least at the bar side, I think they are having trouble. The menu is very expensive, across the board, and I don't think the food is that good.

[philadining]

Couldn't think of a better place for this post, so bumping a dormant topic...

A friend had made a note about Umi No Ie a few years ago when it got mentioned in the Times, but we'd never gotten around to checking it out. We finally did over Labor Day weekend, and are regretting that it took so long. It's an appropriately casual little spot, with a few tables and a small bar. They have a pretty deep selection of Sochu, we just asked them to suggest a couple, and we enjoyed what they selected. One was made from dates, the other, I can't recall...

But we came for the food. The home-style preparations from the Goto islands sounded very appealing. And of course they offer some familiar standards as well. We liked everything we had, it's all pretty simple and straightforward, but it was all well-made, satisfying and different enough to be interesting.

The one thing that has remained rather vivid in our memories is a simple bar snack - Dried Manta Ray Fin.

It was grilled to give a nice toasty, roasted edge. It was chewy, but not as tough as some dried seafood snacks I've had. The ridged texture was really nice, and the mild fish flavor worked very nicely with a dab of Kewpie mayo and togarashi.

OK, they're not all that exotic, but I am powerless against the lure of Gyoza, and these were very good.

They look a little too perfect to be homemade, but they were so tender and delicate that I have a hard time believing that they're a commercial product. Either way, I'm getting them again next time, they were really delicious.

We'd forgotten that sometimes Japanese fishcakes cam be pretty bland, but we took a a chance on the Cucumber in Fishcake.

It was fine, but nothing exciting.

Much more vibrant were the pickles.

Again, I haven't got the slightest idea whether these were home-made or out of jars, but they were quite delicious, and different from most Japanese pickles I've had. We ended up getting a second order of these, they were such a great accompaniment to the other things we were eating.

The Karaage was a fairly standard preparation, but very good - tender chicken in a nicely crunchy coating.

I could really picture just sitting at the bar, going through their Sochu list, snacking on that stuff. But they have a few more hefty offerings as well.

They're somewhat known for Pork Belly. I don't think it was on the regular menu, but I suspect it's a semi-permanent special.

It presented more like a long-braised pork shoulder, except for the telltale ribbon of fat. It was falling-apart tender, rich, but overall somewhat mild in flavor. The bowl came with a dab of spicy mustard on the rim, which I somehow managed to NOT get in the photo, but a smear of that condiment on the meat made a huge difference, it was a great combination. I'd get it again.

I quite liked the Meatballs. They were large-ish, maybe a little bigger than raquetball-sized, served in a flavorful dark gravy, and topped with fried eggs. The texture and flavor both reminded me of Shanghainese Lion's Head. Like most of the food we tried, it was hearty, homey, satisfying.

We did not sample their famous Udon, served in a flying-fish broth, but hope to next time. Our waiter had a bowl for his own meal (it was really slow when we were there!) and it looked great.

The music was generally pretty terrible: sappy Japanese pop, but otherwise it was a really comfortable vibe there. The space is a little shabby around the edges, but in a charming, casual kind of way. I'm looking forward to heading back for Udon, and more of most of what we ordered. Especially that Manta Ray Fin... I've been really craving that...

Edited September 9, 2009 by philadining (log)

[Pan]

Wow, what awesome photos! How much did your meal cost?

[philadining]

Wow, what awesome photos! How much did your meal cost?

It was about $80 before tip (for two of us) but I'm not at all sure how much of that was two glasses of Sochu. I thought the prices were very reasonable.