Sugiyama

[vivin]

That makes sense to me. I think I did have the more expensive menu both times I had kobe beef not knowing that it differed in only that one respect.

Thanx for the info on Makato. I will try and go next time I am in DC area.

[raji]

I am going to Sugiyama Friday night. I don't see an update to this thread for 3 years - is there a new king of kaiseki in Manhattan or just trendier ones? Speaking of which, the last kaiseki I've been to this year was earlier this year at Megu, when I was fully aware that I was paying for the address, room, and staff...

[Eatmywords]

I am going to Sugiyama Friday night. I don't see an update to this thread for 3 years - is there a new king of kaiseki in Manhattan or just trendier ones? Speaking of which, the last kaiseki I've been to this year was earlier this year at Megu, when I was fully aware that I was paying for the address, room, and staff...

←

Though, I haven't been to Sugiyama in a long time (and only because it's super pricey) it stands out as one of my best kaiseki experiences. Out of some 8 courses all are done with such refined precision and level of execution that will leave you and your guest(s) awwwed and ahhhhd. The cook-it-yourself toro and other sashimi over hot rocks was a unique and memorable one (sorry, I can't ellaborate on the rest, it's been so long). That said the room continues to be full (I walk by frequently as live a block away). I w/stick with your ressy and come back and tell us what you thought.

[raji]

OK, unfortunately I don't have pictures to provide. I was brought to Sugiyama tonight by a friend of the owner and we were promptly seated at the counter, front and center. Pictures woudl be verboten.

The lighting is a bit bright and the decor pales in comparison to a lot of places that have opened in the past 3 years. That said, Nao-san's (Sugiyama) warm smile more than makes up for it. The sake (nihonshu, "sake" is a general term for alcohol) was flowing tonight, and we moved from Sapporo Reserve at first to 3 bottles of superior Niigata nihonshu.

Thanks to the heavy flow of alcohol I cannot provide an exact account and if I get the order wrong, forgive me.

At first we started with a trifecta of ANKIMO (my favorite), crab innards and the roe from a a fish I forget. Next was a course of Japanese otsumame such as edamame, a small crab, a gelatinized pit of a peach, sweet beans, and more. Soon came a course of sashimi that included scallops, kanpachi (yellowtail belly), tuna, uni, and more. After that, a light soup made of an egg wrap that included the same scallops. The coup de gras was a course of WAGYU, real kobe beef shipped from Japan, marvelously marbled. We cooked it ourselves over a heated rock alongside various mushrooms, with special salt and butter supplied. This was sublime. The beef itself was unlike any you can get in NY. Mushrooms and peppers we cooked in the resulting tallow and butter, and we ate them along with the included garlic chips. The next course included a Tuna tataki tossed with greens, a kunamoto oyster, and more. The last course before dessert was a broiled TARA (codfish), where the fish meat tasted almost as good as the beautifully carmelized skin, accompanied by a sort of CHAOHAN (fried rice) and whatnot. Last was a dessert of some sort of dairy alongside some sort of citrus.

We drank 3 bottles of amazing sake and the cost was upwards of 2.5 c-notes per person. This is not a place you go every week. But, with the ingredients employed by Nao-san, I cannot blame him for the cost. An equivalent meal in Tokyo would cost the same. The beef, scallops, and many of the vegetables are simply unattainable here.

Is there better sushi, sashimi, yakiniku and rice dishes at separate Japanese restaurants? Perhaps. But Sugiyama excels at a complete tour of Japanese cuisine, supremely matched by a perfect sake list. All of the the sashimi was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth. The Wagyu (true "kobe" beef) was sublime. In one sitting, I don't think you can do any better in NYC. Still, highly recommended.

And guess what. Nao-san says "irraishiemase" as much as he does "thank you very much"! Meaning, round-eyes, enjoy!!!! Hit me with questions!

Edited January 8, 2006 by raji (log)

[SobaAddict70]

I'm glad to know that Nao-san's magic hasn't flagged in the time since I've been to Sugiyama.

Come to think of it, maybe it's time for a return visit. As I recall, the meal was sublime. Highlights -- though it's been some time, about three years: stunning sushi and sashimi; soup served in a ceramic pot with a bit of yuzu; the afore-mentioned beef and lobster on a hot rock (although at the time it was Kobe and not Wagyu); and a grapefruit sabayon for dessert.

[Todd36]

I've never had from Japan beef served at Sugiyama, I'll have to check on that. It's always been US beef. I eat there several times a year, it doen's seem to change, good as ever.

Disclaimer. I know the Sugiyama family.

[raji]

Well, check the time-stamp of my original post - I posted that after an alcohol-fueled evening and can't go back and edit it. I could be mistaken.

I know it was Wagyu, I suppose it could have been American-bred Wagyu, though I remembered the chefs saying it had been shipped.

Now that Japan only recently began importing US beef again, the US only recently began importing Japanese beef again. Recently, as in, less than a month ago. Me and my friend recall Nao-san saying it was from Japan, but we didn't give him a polygraph.

Either way it was Wagyu and delicious, but maybe you can tell me if I was lost in translation.

But how can you say "never" and then say you could be mistaken?

Edited January 15, 2006 by raji (log)

[Todd36]

Well, check the time-stamp of my original post - I posted that after an alcohol-fueld evening and can't go back and edit it.

But, I know it was Wagyu, and I'm not sure if it was American-bred Wagyu, but I thought I remembered them saying it had been shipped.

I believe this is the case because now that Japan only recently began importing US beef again, the US only recently began importing Japanese beef again. Recently, as in, less than a month ago.

Either way it was Wagyu and delicious, but maybe you can tell me if I was lost in translation.

←

Even three or four years ago, they were serving American beef. It's a cost thing. Mr. Sugiyama will admit that he doesn't usually buy the most expensive of any ingredent. He thinks that at a certain point, more expensive ingredents doesn't mean a better ingredent, or at least any better than 99.999999% of people can tell. Sugiyama operates at a lower price point than Masa, which does tend to buy the most expensive ingredents available. Although I did a chef from Masa gathering ginko nuts in Central Park....

[raji]

The tab was over $250pp

[raji]

Even three or four years ago, they were serving American beef.  It's a cost thing.

That's because the US began it's ban of Japanese beef in 2001. Before then, and before the celeb-spouting "Kobe"-beef stupidity, real Kobe and Matsuzaka could be had in NYC. I think Seryna had steaks of them, i dunno that was a while ago.

So, it's not cost so much as the law. Law notwithstanding, if they can flash-freeze fly over fish why not beef? Mind you, that beef is pretty damn expensive in Japan too!

Edited January 15, 2006 by raji (log)

[Pan]

[...]Mr. Sugiyama will admit that he doesn't usually buy the most expensive of any ingredent.  He thinks that at a certain point, more expensive ingredents doesn't mean a better ingredent, or at least any better than 99.999999% of people can tell.  Sugiyama operates at a lower price point than Masa, which does tend to buy the most expensive ingredents available.  Although I did a chef from Masa gathering ginko nuts in Central Park....

←

Perhaps Central Park ginkgos are the highest quality they can find? Shall we expect to see "Central Park ginkgo nuts" appearing in quotation marks on our menus from now on?

[Todd36]

[...]Mr. Sugiyama will admit that he doesn't usually buy the most expensive of any ingredent.  He thinks that at a certain point, more expensive ingredents doesn't mean a better ingredent, or at least any better than 99.999999% of people can tell.  Sugiyama operates at a lower price point than Masa, which does tend to buy the most expensive ingredents available.  Although I did a chef from Masa gathering ginko nuts in Central Park....

←

Perhaps Central Park ginkgos are the highest quality they can find? Shall we expect to see "Central Park ginkgo nuts" appearing in quotation marks on our menus from now on?

←

I did think it was pretty amusing. He was in full uniform no less, and I wondered about paying $500 at dinner for......

[Sneakeater]

At least you know they're really fresh.

Hey, you could get really fresh squab there, too . . . .

[raji]

Venison too...

[Todd36]

Even three or four years ago, they were serving American beef.  It's a cost thing.

That's because the US began it's ban of Japanese beef in 2001. Before then, and before the celeb-spouting "Kobe"-beef stupidity, real Kobe and Matsuzaka could be had in NYC. I think Seryna had steaks of them, i dunno that was a while ago.

So, it's not cost so much as the law. Law notwithstanding, if they can flash-freeze fly over fish why not beef? Mind you, that beef is pretty damn expensive in Japan too!

←

I had dinner at Sugiyama last night. It's American Beef, produced in the US by a Japanese company (Nippon Ham). You might have misunderstood Mr. Sugiyama.

Sugiyama was as good as ever.

[raji]

Actually that was cleared up for me last night too - who knew that Nippon Ham was producing American Beef - thanks for asking. Well it was delicious.

[gaf]

Attention Please New York City Entry #84 Sugiyama

Restaurants can be good or they can be grand, and the difference can be summed up in a single word: attention. Recently some friends and I ate at Sugiyama, a restaurant that is, by all accounts, one of the prime kaiseki restaurants in New York, that Japanese cuisine that channels seasonal cuisine, tied closely to market availability. Having just returned from a pair of astonishing kaiseki meals in Kyoto (at Kinmata and at Yutaka), I can report my meal that Sugiyama was quite as rapturous. In both of those wonderful Japanese meals I had the full attention of the chef. For the first I ate in my room at the lovely Kinmata ryokan (an elegant and historic Japanese inn), served by the chef; at the second a colleague and I were the only diners at a superior establishment where my companion had a connection with the proprietor.

At Sugiyama, the three of us were not dinning alone, but we held down a corner of the counter, having an up-close and personal view of the action. As one of us was a longtime friend, well-known to chef Nao Sugiyama and his staff and family, our meal was appropriately sublime. The chef was at our service, laughing, joking, gossiping, and creating a meal filled with surprise and cunning. In such a situation, one cannot generalize from the vigilant service, but the staff seemed attentive to all. If only it had been comped, I could have returned once a week to taste the chef's work as the seasons and their meals evolve! But such gratification does not come cheap. (Because the meal was off-menu and I missed some explanations my descriptions may be inexact and rough).

Sugiyama is an engaging space. It lacks the stark refinement of Masa or Sushi Yasuda or the lapidary brilliance of Jewel Bako, but it pleases. Not one of the stellar Manhattan rooms, Sugiyama has its design charms, cherry, birch, tatami, and black and white river stones abound.

To start we were presented with a trio of small appetizers, fish pate, roe with spinach, and, the last, a tactile masterpiece of sea urchin and raw quail egg to be quaffed with a smug smile of delight. The urchin and egg cocktail was sublime even if it required a touch of bravery in our age of avian flu.

These amuses were shortly followed by a severely fresh plate of sashimi - otoro, salmon, squid, kamachi (I believe this was kamachi-kama or yellowtail collar), oyster, tai (sea bream), sea urchin, scallop, and squid. These delicacies were at Tsukiji fish market yesterday and frolicking in the waves the morn before. I have never had an oyster fresher than the kumamoto oyster, a texture to which even oyster haters must admit fealty, and the otoro, kamachi, and scallop were no less distinguished. However, for me, perhaps the most startling and monumental was a little pile of spring green wasabi, a treat as fresh as the fish and so different from the contents of wasabi packets. If I cannot always judge the precise freshness of fish, the same can't be said of my wasabi. Little things can matter so much. Sugiyama wasabi is now my desired complement for matzo for Passover 2006: no more crimson horseradish at seder.

Chef Nao's third course was a panoply of small appetizers: white fish cake, omelet, tuna cake, edamame, a bit of shiso, a little fried crab that was a miniaturist's dream, and one of the night's delight, a small cube of bayberry wine jelly, surrounding a small tart fruit (peach?), what Jell-O could become in the hands of genius.

Next appeared a clear dashi soup, pure smoke and sea. Dashi is a soup stock traditionally made from kelp and bonito flakes (the latter newly arrived we were informed). Floating in this Japanese broth were little egg cakes and rice cakes, flowers and hearts. Simple, elegant, and composed with traditional art.

Now is lobster time, served with a bouquet of sea urchin roe, mushroom, red pepper, and asparagus. I admired the pure tastes of the ingredients, but confess that this was a less startling dish, not a remarkable treatment of lobster in a city whose caress of crustaceans makes it seem Kennebunkport on the Hudson.

We tucked into the chef's sushi and maki selection. I especially relished the maki that combined shrimp and cucumber. The lovely bonito was a delightful treat. Yet, truly unforgettable was a simple pile of fresh bamboo that was to be dipped in a tart yuzu sauce.

Then kobe-style beef (from a Japanese owned-ranch in Texas, I believe). To ogle a cube of "kobe" is to understand the meaning of marbled. Lines of red and white composed what might have been a Jackson Pollock production, had the Dripper been as enamored of protein as he was of pigment. On a heated iron bowl we placed mushrooms, pepper, and cubes of meat worth their weight in truffle. The doneness was left to each of us, and when my internal clock was ticking the melting meat was cow-butter. The additional butter pat was what Thorstein Veblen might have derided as gustatory emulation had he encountered the Japanese leisure class.

Unlike Western meals, Japanese dinners slide to a close without explosions of caloric luxury. We received a palate cleanser: a subtle mushroom soup, served with a rice, vegetable, and fish mixture, served in a traditional leaf (reminiscent of fine dim sum) and pickled vegetables. Finally appeared a gift of grapefruit compote in wine jelly - sweet, sour, and creamy. At Japanese restaurants there is no tradition of pastry chef: one meal, one chef.

Perhaps other diners at Sugiyama will not be treated to a dinner of such precise calibration. Yet, the basic structure of Chef Nao's kaiseki meal will surely be recognizable by others. And if, like us, one sits at the counter, the show of artistry deepens one's appreciation of a meal in which a chef's performance is as aesthetic as the product. At many Western restaurants a chef can train assistants to carry out the tasks of cooking while s/he travels, promoting the brand. Such a division of labor is hardly possible in a culture in which the doing of perfection is at the heart of cuisine, techniques that reach for eternity. An absent chef is no chef at all.

Sugiyama

251 W. 55th Street (at 8th Avenue)

Manhattan (Midtown)

212-956-0670

My Webpage: Vealcheeks

[Sneakeater]

A couple of days ago I had the two-course "pre-theater" meal at Sugiyama. That's obviously no way to judge this restaurant. But it was good enough to make us all eager to return for a proper kaiseki. I had excellent octopus (with citrus sauce), grilled salmon, and miso soup (for $32! there are deals to be had in this City's top-level Japanese places!). Service was nonpariel. I can't wait to go back and see what they can really do.

[raji]

It's good to hear that the prix-fixe is on point; I've never had it, but at $32, seems like a really good deal for their quality.

gaf - I always enjoy reading your prose! And I would call Sugiyama, still, THE pre-eminent kaiseki (without securing a bank loan to go to Masa) in NYC and is thankfully an experience that evokes what can be had in Japan. Great review for a great meal.

As huge a fan of Sugiyama I am, I'm surprised how similar the meals were between yourself, myself, and SobaAddict a few years ago. A successful recipe not to be altered all that much??

[ulterior epicure]

gaf.

wow. thanks for that very thorough and delightful report/read. could your "peach" be umeboshi?

may i ask how much a "regular" might pay for a kaiseki at sugiyama?

[edited to add: nevermind, i looked up the sugiyama menu online and see the prices.]

u.e.

Edited April 8, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[ckkgourmet]

I think Nao's lobster stuffed with sea urchin is one of the best dishes in NYC!

[Todd36]

Had a quick dinner at Sugiyama Saturday night, before the ballet. In the interest of time, tried the 5 course option, which is $52. That is the cheapest meal I have ever had there.

First course was the monkfish liver mouse (which I always like) and grilled eggplant, which was good.

Second course was sashmi, which was very good.

Third course was boiled octopus with miso sauce---very good.

Fourth course was assorted seafood, great shrimp, on a hot plate. This was not a cook it yourself on a rock deal. Also included white rice, very good miso soup and pickels.

And grapefruit jelly for dessert.

It's very good, although it doesn't include the super expensive ingredents and doesn't show the kitchen to full advantage. On the other hand, at $52 you are basically competing with a complete meal at a local sushi joint, and Sugiyama us much better, even in the $52 version.

[BryanZ]

After the big hullabaloo over Gilt not re-opening as planned, I was able to get a last minute reservation at Sugiyama at the bar. I had wanted to show the g/f the finer side of avant garde cooking at Gilt but instead settled on taking her on a condensed journey through traditional Japanese fine dining.

For this, I can't recommend Sugiyama enough. It's a great restaurant that allows less experienced diners the opportunity to get true tastes of Japan. Is it as good as some of the top meals I've had in Japan? No, not quite. But it does evoke the spirit and essence of authentic Japanese cooking.

We had both the eight-course standard kaiseki and the upgraded "omakase" eight-course meal. While similar, the upgraded version does provide more choice bites and shows how complex Japanese cooking can really be. If I were to go again for a high-end Japanese fix, I would save the money and stick with the cheaper option, but for a semi-blow out meal/special occasion, the upgraded meal is quite luxurious.

Many of Sugiyama's broths, custards, and fish cakes, are about as good flavor-wise as I've had, and I've enjoyed VERY high-end dining in Japan. Where Sugiyama can't compete is in the protein-dominated courses and in refinement. The sashimi here is great, probably on the short-list of New York, but isn't life-changing. The same can be said of the of beef and seafood cooked on the hot rock.

The mood of the room is more like an izakaya than traditional kaiseki restaurant or ryokan. This isn't a bad thing, but without the zen-like surrounding I do feel that part of the magic is lost. It is great to watch the chefs and ask them questions, something that would be unheard of in a similar restaurant in Japan.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself. The meal was transporting not in a revolutionary way but in one that undoubtedly brought me back to Japan. The fact that Yakitori Totto is right next door only added to that feeling. I realize it's unfair to compare this place to my dining experiences in Japan, so barring that I do feel as though this is a great restaurant for kaiseki in the US.

Edited August 23, 2006 by BryanZ (log)

[jogoode]

gaf.

wow.  thanks for that very thorough and delightful report/read.  could your "peach" be umeboshi? 

←

Could be yamamomo, aka mountain berry, but perhaps better translated as (please, Japanese speakers, correct me if I'm wrong) "mountain peach."

Thanks for the great report, gaf.

[LPShanet]

Has anyone been to Sugiyama lately? (As in within the last year) Was thinking of doing kaiseki, but hadn't been here in the last 3-4 years, and wasn't sure if this was still a great option. Was going to do Kyo-Ya, but they stopped doing kaiseki in July, at least temporarily.

Edited October 16, 2008 by LPShanet (log)