Category: Japanese

Reviews of Japanese Restaurants in New York City

Sushiden

19 East 49th Street on Madison Avenue
212/758.2700
about $480 for four omakases, with a few drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

There are two Sushidens in New York City, one on Sixth Avenue and this one on Madison. Whichever branch you pick, make sure you ask to be seated at the bar so you can talk to your chef and get the chance to eat fish that’s not on the menu.

One of the most memorable experiences I had at Sushiden was when our chef brought out some fresh shrimp, disassembled the heads, and used tweezers to pick the brain. He put all the gray and orange matter on top of Japanese mackerel with the shrimp body and made sushi. When we were done bowing in appreciation and glee, the chef deep-fried the shrimp head shells and offered them to us to snack on while we waited for the next course. No part of the shrimp was wasted.

Whenever I go to a sushi restaurant, I always start off with the uni, or the sea urchin. If it’s excellent, then I know the place will have more of the good stuff coming. At Sushiden, after the uni, the chef always asks me what I want next and that’s when I tell him that I’ll eat whatever he wants me to taste. The chefs will only ask you if you’re allergic to anything, and if that’s a negative, you will sit for the next hour eating fresh fish after fresh fish that melts in your mouth like butter.

Honmura An

170 Mercer Street off Houston
212/334.5253
about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Updated, 2007: Honmura An is now closed.

When it’s cold outside, all I want is a hot bowl of soba. When I have money, Honmura An is always my first pick. It’s one of the few places in New York City that still makes its own soba. If you come at the right time during the week, you can watch one of the Japanese guys cut the buckwheat into single noodles in the back of the restaurant. It’s pretty cool to watch the precision involved in soba-making.

If you go on a Saturday, several limos pull up outside dropping off well-dressed Japanese people for brunch. Even when it’s packed inside, the cherry blossoms and the clean lines of its furniture design provide a haven from busy Houston Street. The dinner menu is a little more pricey and a $50 tasting menu requires at least two people to order per table. I usually order the nameko mushroom hot soba with an avocado or salmon salad to start. Whatever I’m in the mood for, I end my meal with their homemade green tea ice cream.

Shabu Tatsu Downtown

216 East 10th Street between First and Second
212/477.2972
about $75 for two prix fixes, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Shabu in Japanese means “to swish,” and when you’re at shabu-shabu, swishing your chopsticks to mix in fresh minced ginger and scallions together with the cabbage, watercress, mushrooms and thinly-sliced ribeye beef in a steaming pot of broth is exactly what you do. Pick up a few slices of raw beef using your chopsticks, swish in the broth for a few seconds, pick them up and dip in a sesame-based sauce and eat them with sticky white rice. Before your meal ends, small cups are provided so you can ladle the broth, which now tastes like beef extract, and slurp it like soup with thin or flat noodles and seasoned with salt and pepper.

A prix fixe of shabu-shabu for two with salad and ginger dressing, rice and ice cream is about $20 per person. It’s even better if you’re with a big group because the whole concept of swishing and sharing becomes more fun. I crave eating at Shabu Tatsu in the summer even if it’s too hot to slurp hot broth, but I especially pine for it during the cold winter months when the only comfort I can turn to is a comforting bowl of soup.