Tsukushi

[Sneakeater]

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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Raji took a bunch of us here last month. Nobody's written about it yet. I think it's because, even though everybody liked it a lot, nobody really knew enough to know what to make of it. I was happy to find Todd's review from a few years ago, because it seems to capture Tsukushi really well.

Tsukushi is on a surprisingly obscure stretch of East 41st St., just east of 2nd Ave., right before the street starts to go into Tudor City. As Todd says, it's unmarked and easy to miss.

I don't mind the fact that there's no menu and they just bring you what they have on hand that night. In fact, I enjoy that. And I don't mind that you don't know what it'll cost, only because the price ends up being so reasonable. (OTOH, I would like to shoot the people behind Il Mulino, where you're sitting there minding your own business eating dinner and suddenly you find out you're in the hole for hundreds of dollars.)

As for the food, I have no idea what to say about it. It's a type of food I've never eaten before -- something like Japanese home cooking (as opposed to restaurant cooking). Some things were better than others, but the good things were REALLY REALLY good. (I remember a cold soup with an egg in it as being one of the best things I ate last month.)

We went during the week between Christmas and New Year's, when Tsukushi's regular Japanese expat clientele has pretty much vacated North America for Japan. I don't know if we'd even be able to get in otherwise. And I don't know whether non-Japanese-speakers can wander in and expect to be seated. So I don't know that I can recommend you actually go to this place. If you find yourself there, though, I think you'll be happy.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[ned]

I'm not Japanese. I've wandered into Tsukushi a number of times and had an excellent experience. Never felt a bit unwelcome. It's a really nice littlespot. The NYT did a laudatory piece on the restaurant a couple of years ago. I can't remember in what part, maybe 25 and under.

[raji]

Yeah I think Meehan did it in his $25 and under column when it is decidedly not. And they're not open for lunch from what I know...

Todd's report is misleading, or at least it can be read as though it's someplace exclusionary. I will tell you why a foreigner might get turned some kind of establishments in Japan and it's not because we're hairy dirty animals, it's because that place probably lacks any staff with enough English speaking ability to be able to be helpful or explain the unique cuisine or cultural context of what they're going there and/or not cause some sort of scene that is going to slow down business. Right here in NY, a perfect example are the many piano bars (hostess bars) dotting Midtown. Joe Blow just in from Idaho might be expecting a lapdance for his $100, and now we've got a predicament. If I owned a business like that after a few incidents like that I would probably do what I could to only bring in Japanese and those who understand those places' role in Japanese business and corporate culture, which is why you see them similarly "hidden" and out of the way as is Tsukushi.

I'll try to scare up a better description of what we had but certainly all open-minded gourmets, which is what we have here, should definitely go, it's absolutely delicious. There are tons of places like this in Japan, called "snacks" if they don't have much of a menu, and then a place like this which is usually the old guy down the corner and his wife who make good fish and rice and miso or whatever's good that way. If you can envision Tokyo's layout like a compressed LA connected by trains instead of freeways, you can see lots of outer fringes where places like this can lie, but in NY, even an intimate place like this seats 30 -

more later

[Sneakeater]

I'll try to scare up a better description of what we had but certainly all open-minded gourmets, which is what we have here, should definitely go, it's absolutely delicious.

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This point should not get lost. The food (or at least much of it) is REALLY good. (Let's give a shout-out to the stewed vegetables!) And the meal as a whole is sort of an adventure.

I scared up the Peter Meehan review. Except for the fact that I'm not sure in what universe a meal at Tsukushi doesn't exceed $25, he also captures it well:

http://events.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/dinin...ews/11unde.html

Edited January 19, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Eatmywords]

I will go on record as highly recommending it. If not for the food alone the transcending experience. Really, for those unaccustomed it's definitely worth checking out atleast once. You might call it a simple, home-cooked kaiseki/omakase cooked in a wood paneled room preserved from the 70's.

As Raji eluded, this place is obviously catering to Japanese. And while Americans are welcome, obstacles (though not intentionally) are in place i.e lack of menus and english speaking staff. (Our waitress spoke a little and was very sweet but forget food descriptions. She was basically a cocktail waitress and food runner). I could see how the setting and service would turn (unadventurous) people off. Sparse, bright, quiet. Typical for this type of place in Japan. It's awkward to say the least. (Thankfully, we had two people speaking Japanese. I think we would have been ok though)

Aside from these little things, it's awesome. We started with the best edamame I've ever had. As if it was poached in butter yet the shells not oily at all. Simply the best. The meal began with a barely poached egg soup in a cold broth as Sneak noted. Refreshing, simple and surprising. As good was the marinated eggplant soaked in a light soy vinegrt? (Raji?). It dissolved immediately upon consuming. The sashimi was fine, nothing to get crazy over. Salmon, hamachi and tako maybe. One of the mains (if you want to call it that) was a mostly root Veg stew with fried tofu. It rich and hardy and very lightly spiced. A small cod like fillet followed (or was it before?). It was lightly glazed in a light teriyaki type sc and chopped daikon on the side. Excellent. Pork shumai came with (deli style) macaroni salad. Dumplings truly unique, wrapped in rice instead of paper. (the times review explains better I think). Delicious. Where the mac salad idea comes from I don't know. One of the final dishes was grilled rice balls with salmon and other choices. I think they were pretty standard

It all seemed so simple but so so good. There were a few more dishes. I can't recall. seven or eight courses?

The bill came out to around $80 a person w/tax and tip. Would have been a bit less if we didn't indulge in a giant bottle of sake on top of other drinks. All in all it's a very good deal.

It's a great place to bring people who think they've seen and tasted it all.......

[Sneakeater]

How do you remember all that????????

[Eatmywords]

How do you remember all that????????

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less sake = more memory?

[Sneakeater]

I'm afraid you might be right about that.

[Daniel]

Is the food here similar to the cooking you would find at Omen?

[Gruzia]

I went there a couple of weeks ago and was really happy that i did. Opening that heavy, unmarked, dark door to find a brightly lit, friendly little restaurant is a bit surreal. i called earlier to make a reservation and mentioned that we don't eat pork and was happy to discover that they didn't have a problem with that and that they remembered my request when I came in.

Our first course was steamed broccoli rabe with a fine sprinkle of katsuobushi on top - a great dish, simple and flavorful.

Second course was a couple of sushi with japanese omelet and grated daikon. Once again, very clean flavors, not terribly complicated but perfectly cooked.

Third course was mackarel, salmon, and yellowtail tuna sashimi. I've always thought i didn't like mackarel, but here it was perfect, with a smoky-oily taste that reminded me of really good russian cured fish. Yum. I guess i really do like mackarel.

Fourth dish was yellowfin tuna cheek, broiled. So good. Perfectly cooked, crispy skin and silky, moist flesh.

Fifth course featured a cabbage salad with two of the most perfectly fried croquettes i've ever had. A bit of sauce that tasted like the best ketchup - tomato-y and tart and savory. This course was perfect. The croquettes had a mixture of potato and egg on the inside with a crisp coating of panko. Think savory custardy starchy comfort food enclosed by perfectly crispy shell. The piquant sauce added a great dimension to the croquettes. And the fresh cabbage was really refreshing. This dish was so good, i can't do it justice.

Next came a salad of fried chicken with sprouted beans, bean sprouts, super thin red onion slices - nice combo of taste and texture.

And i had a bowl of udon soup to finish off the meal.

I loved this meal. It was something really special to be fed food that was cooked so well and carried its flavors so cleanly and honestly.

Edited February 2, 2007 by Gruzia (log)

[Eatmywords]

Nice report Gruz.

Looks like the menu changes frequently (your meal varied considerably with ours). Good to hear.

Daniel, I think Omen, from what I remember (it's been years) is much more refined. Tsukushi can be considered hearty comfort food

[Sneakeater]

I think the menu changes just about daily.

[BryanZ]

If you don't mind me asking, Gruzia, did you pay about what eatmywords did? Are prices relatively stable and affordable if you stay away from alcohol?

Edited February 2, 2007 by BryanZ (log)

[Gruzia]

If you don't mind me asking, Gruzia, did you pay about what eatmywords did?  Are prices relatively stable and affordable if you stay away from alcohol?

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Well, we did not stay away from alcohol - my friend had a 16oz black label Sapporo and I had two glasses of umeboshi wine - but with everything, the bill came out to be $120 for two people - that's including tip, which they automatically add to the bill for you.

[Eatmywords]

If you don't mind me asking, Gruzia, did you pay about what eatmywords did?  Are prices relatively stable and affordable if you stay away from alcohol?

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Well, we did not stay away from alcohol - my friend had a 16oz black label Sapporo and I had two glasses of umeboshi wine - but with everything, the bill came out to be $120 for two people - that's including tip, which they automatically add to the bill for you.

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That's a ridiculously good deal.

[Hiroyuki]

If you don't mind me asking, Gruzia, did you pay about what eatmywords did?  Are prices relatively stable and affordable if you stay away from alcohol?

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Well, we did not stay away from alcohol - my friend had a 16oz black label Sapporo and I had two glasses of umeboshi wine - but with everything, the bill came out to be $120 for two people - that's including tip, which they automatically add to the bill for you.

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Thanks! I wanted to ask about tipping. Umeboshi wine? Umeshu, I suppose.

[Gruzia]

If you don't mind me asking, Gruzia, did you pay about what eatmywords did?  Are prices relatively stable and affordable if you stay away from alcohol?

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Well, we did not stay away from alcohol - my friend had a 16oz black label Sapporo and I had two glasses of umeboshi wine - but with everything, the bill came out to be $120 for two people - that's including tip, which they automatically add to the bill for you.

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Thanks! I wanted to ask about tipping. Umeboshi wine? Umeshu, I suppose.

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Ooops, my bad

You're right...it's the Choya Umeshu wine - served with a plum in the glass

[raji]

Is the food here similar to the cooking you would find at Omen?

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I've walked by a number of times and from what I know Omen is Kyoto cuisine.

Umeboshi is perhaps the single Japanese thing I won't ingests. Natto I can and will but don't actively order. Smells like feet and has the texture of a huge fall loogie.

I've never had the same meal twice there....

Sneakeater totally blew our budget on that huge bottle of sake....

The decor completely belies the quality of food and preparation. I guess by now I've been there a dozen or so times, and I've never had anything that was just average, which is quite remarkable for such a wide range of dishes. Everything has been at least above average and often the best rendition of a partiicular dish that I've ever had in NYC. If they ONLY HAD DRAFT BEER I'd never leave......

Should I prepare them for a parade of egulletteers??

[Sneakeater]

I really wasn't intending to foist that bottle of sake on you guys. I really intended just to split it with my date and pay for it myself. Honest.

[raji]

EMW that nasu "eggplant" I believe was cooked in a similar manner to the way kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) would be. I don't like eggplant and that was sooo yummy.

SE it's all good! I was happy to finally meet you guys and we all got in on that bottle. Next time, let's do as the sararimen and hit the iichiko shochu.... that was the only thing I missed out on...

And the only reason I mentioned budget is that it's a big difference between 50 and 80... on average I can get out for 50 or 60 with a few drinks, and this is one of very very few places in NY that I would say is on par price and quality-wise with Tokyo... in fact it might be hard to find a snack/nomiya/izakaya in Japan that would be able to so reliably deliver so many kinds of vegetables, fish and meat in one meal....

[LPShanet]

Is the food here similar to the cooking you would find at Omen?

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While the concept would seem similar, especially to we Americans, Omen aspires to a slightly fancier, more refined, Kyoto style of cooking, so Japanese would consider it to be a separate category/type of restaurant...like comparing apples to oranges. However, if we're going to compare, in terms of pure deliciousness, it's my opinion that Tsukushi is every bit as good, and also less expensive. That said, Tsukushi is more of a home cooking style...it's an izakaya.

[larrylee]

Umeboshi is perhaps the single Japanese thing I won't ingests. Natto I can and will but don't actively order. Smells like feet and has the texture of a huge fall loogie.

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Natto is great! I'd be especially interested if they make it themselves. (Or maybe they buy it from Sysco ) Granted, it took me a while to appreciate the stuff, but with rice a little shiso leaf, it's quite enjoyable.

[LPShanet]

EMW that nasu "eggplant" I believe was cooked in a similar manner to the way kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) would be. I don't like eggplant and that was sooo yummy.

SE it's all good! I was happy to finally meet you guys and we all got in on that bottle. Next time, let's do as the sararimen and hit the iichiko shochu.... that was the only thing I missed out on...

And the only reason I mentioned budget is that it's a big difference between 50 and 80... on average I can get out for 50 or 60 with a few drinks, and this is one of very very few places in NY that I would say is on par price and quality-wise with Tokyo... in fact it might be hard to find a snack/nomiya/izakaya in Japan that would be able to so reliably deliver so many kinds of vegetables, fish and meat in one meal....

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Some further general words, as I've been eating there semi-regularly for a few years now. If you are not presented with a menu, it's because they don't have one...in any language, not because they're ill prepared for, or unwelcoming to, Americans. You simply tell them how hungry you are, and they try to serve you accordingly. Since they charge by the item and not with a fixed menu price, cost will vary, although the reports so far on this string seem about right. The courses seem to vary between 5 and 16 bucks or so, depending on size and ingredients. Obviously, if you're a big eater, or tell them you're very hungry, you'll end up spending more, but it's still a very reasonable deal for NYC.

Most of the regulars drink shoju (often mixed with unsweetened Oolong tea...for a drink called oolong hai (sp?)...or other mixer) and if you purchase a bottle (for about 45 bucks) they'll keep it behind the bar for you with your name on it for future visits. While this procedure is unusual for New York, it's common with liquor in Japanese joints, and makes for a much better deal than the American system.

I think Raji is dead on about the food. The owner/chef makes many dishes, and it's amazing how consistently good they are. Since they don't seem to have been mentioned on this string yet, I should mention his ramen noodles, which are exceptional. If you've indicated that you're quite hungry, he'll usually end your meal with some kind of noodle soup or curry rice, and they'll often give you a favorite dish if you request it.

Not for everyone, but for fans of this type of food (or open minded eaters), it's a great little semi-secret.

[Todd36]

I actually haven't been back---my dining friend has decided she doesn't like the owner. Another interesting (but warmer feeling) home style Japanese dining option is on the south side of East Sixth, near I believe second avenue. I forgot the name. When I eat out Japanese, it is often with a very food oriented Tokyo native who move to NYC when she about 28. She tends to be spot on with respect to food.

And it's nothing like Omen, Tsukushi is I think better---disappointed in my last meal at Omen.

Edited February 18, 2007 by Todd36 (log)