Tag Archives: sushi

Surprise Birthday Dinner 2014: Sushi Nakazawa

4 Sep

For all our couple holidays (birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day), we trade off booking a surprise dinner to celebrate.  Over the past few years, Mike has surprised me with meals at Brooklyn Fare (amazing), Jean Georges (disappointing), Daniel (very good), Le Bernardin (great), and (our now #3 restaurant of all time and #2 in NYC) WD-50.

This year, we walked around the corner and we were standing in front of Sushi Nakazawa.

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There is a documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, that follows the story of Jiro Ono, who is an 85-year-old sushi chef in Japan who is considered one of the world’s greatest.  His sushi restaurant is, curiously, in a subway station and yet it has a 3-star Michelin rating.  The documentary is amazing and it’s incredible to watch the detail that goes into that restaurant.  In the documentary, Daisuke Nakazawa is an apprentice who makes Jiro’s famous egg custard (the signature dish) for months and months to get it right.  They mention that most apprenticeships last 10 years. I had been hearing about this documentary, and the amazing restaurant that Chef Nakazawa opened this past June, for a long time. Just a few days prior to my birthday, I was also reading that the restaurant was nominated as one of the best new restaurants of the year by Bon Appetit.

The restaurant is clean and elegant with a beautiful sushi counter.  I was jealous of those that were able to sit and watch these magicians at work. (Sadly, this was another place with not enough light for photos to be as elegant as they actually looked, so please forgive the so-so photos).

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We were set up with house-pickled ginger and a finger pinch cleaner.

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What followed were 20 courses, plated two or three at a time, of some of the absolute best fish I have ever had.  Most pieces were just very, very good, while some were so stand-out and so unique that I just had to pause and take a moment of respect for just how damn good it was.

Our first plate had one of those.

Pink Salmon (right) and Smoked Chinook Salmon (left). That smoked salmon was absolutely incredible.  Full of flavor and it just popped in my mouth.  I was so incredibly impressed and I knew we were in for a wild ride if this was bite #2!

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Then Sea Scallop (right) and Giant Glam (left). Both great.

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Then Blue Emperor Fish (right) and Summer Flounder (left).

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The pictures get a little confused, I’ll just lit the next few with our highlights:

Butterfish (OH that butterfish was good! )
Horse Mackerel
Aged Japanese Mackerel
Spearhead Squid

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Then Amber Shrimp (closest) and Golden Striped Yellowtail (further away).  This shrimp tasted like lobster. I didn’t know that was possible. It was unbelievably good.

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My list then says we had Smoked Japanese Bonito, which, like the other smoked dish, was amazing.  Sadly, I have 3 fish in this next picture, which makes me think that this photo belongs above. At this point, however, it’s all pretty much looking the same to you, dear readers, so just go with it? (thanks)

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We were then served a fun selection of tuna. From right to left: Lean Bluefin Tuna, Soy Marinated Lean Bluefin Tuna, and Fatty Bluefin Tuna.  I had trouble deciding which one I liked most, but I think the fatty one won in the end.

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And then… it happened.  On the right, Sea Urchin Santa Barbara (which had truffle on it) and Soy Marinated King Salmon Roe.

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That sea urchin… WOW.  I will be chasing that Uni dragon for the rest of my life.  I usually could take or leave it, but this was out of this world.  I was blown away.

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Then sea eel (right) and Nakazawa’s version of the infamous egg omelette (left).

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Fantastic.

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We then stopped to take an annual birthday photo before deciding on just one more bite…

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It was back to the uni. This was a slightly different version, and not quite as good, but still incredible.

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Then we ended with a very nice birthday treat of shiso leaf sorbet with raspberries.  A lovely final touch.

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This meal seems so simple, yet it was so incredibly good.  I have had a number of great omikase meals, but this one was absolutely special.  The smoked salmon, the butterfish, the amber shrimp, the smoked bonito, and then that uni… wow.  All of those packed such an amazing amount of flavor and originality that they really soared this meal to a whole different planet.

More please.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

nomscale- 08.5

 

Welcome to the Neighborhood: MyDanoz

16 Aug

Our NY office is on 5th Avenue and 30th Street. (I never know what to call the neighborhood… since we’re ON 5th I guess just Midtown, but we’re also close to Flatiron).  Pretty much everyone says this about their neighborhood (and I say it about my apartment neighborhood, too), but there are very few places to get a good lunch around here.

I want something quick and flavorful. Typically I try to lean towards healthy.

Sure, there is a “make your own salad” place with a hot buffet bar (those things creep me out) and any number of other things… but that gets old after a while.  And how many variations can I make on a salad? Truly.

This morning I was walking on the other side of the street than I usually do and spotted a new place (on 5th Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets, East Side of the street). I had no idea if it was just new to me, or new to the neighborhood. According to their Twitter feed, MyDanoz Fine Foods opened July 5th. (And call me a grammar/spelling nerd, but their website needs some fine tuning. Though “Diary” instead of “Dairy” is kind of cute in an “awww… so close” kind of way.)

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I was really impressed walking in. It just felt like somewhere I want to be.  Fresh bread on the shelves.

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Delicious sounding sandwiches (lots of fig and fig jam on the menu!)

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A grocery store with high-end, nice food.  A lovely looking dessert case. And an illy coffee bar. (I’m a big fan of illy coffee)

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And in the back there is fresh produce, a sushi bar, and soon-to-be salad bar station.

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Upstairs they have a nice place to eat lunch and a wine bar, which will be opening soon.

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And even a roof terrace!

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On my way through the cafe (store? shop?), a woman was making awesome looking crepes, and the woman next to her was offering samples. One bite and I was hooked.

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I chose a smoked turkey, fresh tomato, gruyere, spinach, and basil crepe. And it was quite a hefty crepe!

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Some crepes are really just a plain conduit for fillings, but this crepe was really flavorful on its own and the fillings were fresh and very, very good.  It was a very filling lunch, actually! (Which I never expect from a crepe)

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As I was walking through and taking pictures, a man approached me who I assume is the owner.  His English was a bit tough to understand, but his pride in his business was clear and warm. He mentioned how excited he was to bring fresh, good food to the area and we lamented about how much it was needed.  He said that they are only part of the way there and new things will be coming soon, such as the wine bar and more deli stuffs.  I’m excited to have this place so close and looking forward to trying more!

 

 

Chez Sardine

20 Mar 3photo 1

I’ve been reading about Chez Sardine for a bit, and it’s one of the “hot” restaurants that everyone keeps talking about. I heard it’s very hard to get a seat there, so when we stopped in one Sunday evening, I was shocked when they had 2 seats for us right at the bar. Shocked and excited! 1photo 1a

We started with some lovely cocktails that were perfectly mixed.

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And then looked up to notice that we had some company.

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I really loved sitting at the bar.

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Watching them prepare these works of art was a highlight of my (fantastic) meal.

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We began with an amuse bouche which had a bonito flake.

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We started with the east coast oyster with apple and chive oil. It was a very nice combination, but the more I have raw oysters with something, the more I realize that I just love a good ol’ raw oyster with nothing else.

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We next tried a special which was like a bumped up eggs benedict, made with a pork (pork belly or bacon… not sure) and a slow cooked egg on an English muffin with foie gras. This was rich and delicious.

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We were watching them make some things in the kitchen and one really caught our eye. So much so, that we added it to the order: Sushi rice balls. They were supposed to be with avocado, spicy mayo, and tobiko.  We asked if they would replace the spicy mayo, and they wound up giving us a yogurt sauce that was to die for.  It went so well with everything! And the rice balls come with pieces of crudo (sashimi?) with many different types of fish. All were great. And the rice balls themselves were heavenly. What could possibly be bad about fried balls of rice?

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We tried the brussels sprouts with apple and brown butter. I loved the apple flavor with the crisp of the brussels. These were perfectly cooked so they were soft but crispy.

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We next tried the roasted pork belly with slow cooked egg and cabbage (I can’t believe we had 2 pork and egg dishes… but it was great!). This had a brilliant smokey and sweet flavor, with a perfectly cooked egg. And the little onion crispies added perfect texture.

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Our meal ended with a lovely pana cotta (maybe?) with Rice Krispies on the house. I don’t remember the exact details, but I do remember commenting that it was a great way to end the meal with a perfect combination of textures.

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I absolutely loved our meal here. From start to finish, each dish was great and each had a unique quality about it that was really lovely. I would come back in a heartbeat and would love to try their brunch. Hopefully soon!

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10