Last weekend, I experienced a restaurant dilemma. I had to find a place with a rare cross-section of features for a group dinner. I wanted sushi but a close friend (whose Birthday was the next day) wanted a restaurant with a full bar. It sounds simple but most of the decent sushi restaurants in New York only serve beer, wine and sake. We also needed somewhere downtown, for proximity to cool bars. Oh, and it had to be affordable. I rattled my brain, asked some Twitterers and Chowhounders, but nothing fit. We could have done Haru, but I’ve been there a zillion times and it felt boring. We could do Sushi Samba but… cheesy! We could do 15 East but, too expensive. We could do Bond St but I’ve been a zillion times AND too expensive. We could do Matsugen but trecking to TriBeca on a freezing cold evening was unappealing. I consulted my Wish List a few times but most places listed “beer and wine only”. Then I decided to see for myself.
Sachiko’s on Clinton has been on my Wish List for years. I don’t recall how it got there. Since it’s an under-the-radar restaurant I figured someone with good taste had recommended it. I tried my luck and left a message at Sachiko’s, assuming I was out-of-luck and we were Sushi Samba bound. Shockingly, Sachiko’s called me back, confirmed their full bar, and I notified the troops of our reservation at this LES nook that nobody had heard of. Luckily, my friends have learned to trust my taste over the years.
Sachiko’s is a humble hideaway with red walls and an expansive sushi bar in the front, plus ample tables in the back with separator curtains for privacy. They also have a beautiful little courtyard, for warmer months. Though they offer plenty in the way of cocktails, don’t expect a party scene. This is real, authentic Japanese in a mellow environment. That’s not to say the food is boring by any means. Sachiko’s goes beyond typical sushi platters and offers various types of soba noodles and kushiage (deep-fried kabobs) plus fusion dishes like sesame tofu with foie gras.
To start we shared slippery green tea soba noodles with a sesame dipping sauce and scallion and wasabe bits. We then shared a special tartare trio with two types of tuna and salmon. The best part of Sachiko’s is the attention they pay to detail. When our tartare arrived they brought us a tall, artful spray bottle with white soy sauce inside. I wish I had taken a photo of it! I assume the point of the soy spray bottle was to prevent us from soaking our sushi in soy, as a lot of people do (myself included). But frankly, it was just fun.
A friend and I shared the above “Jewel Box” for our entrée. As you can see, it’s an assortment of the freshest fish in the house including king salmon, tuna, fresh water eel and others that I can’t remember. The fish is rolled into little balls around the rice and presented in this elegant box. I’m no expert, but the way I judge a sushi place is their ability to offer pieces outside of the usual suspects and still have each taste melt-in-your mouth fresh. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are passable at most neighborhood places but if a restaurant can serve me a box with white fish, sea bass, etc with each satisfying equally, I am impressed. That was the case with this beautiful Jewel Box.
It is amazing to me that a restaurant like Sachiko’s was half empty on a Friday evening. I would like to keep it my little secret but I also want them to do well. Based on discussions on Chowhound, Sachiko’s has been hit-or-miss over the years, which may be the cause for slow nights. Things must have changed recently though. What Menupages currently lists is different than the real menu. My experience can attest that if they had any rocky times over the years, they are back on an upward trend. Sachiko’s is a diamond in the rough, and I’m lucky to have found it!
BONUS: Check out their cute promotional video!
Location: 25 Clinton Street Food: Excellent Drinks: An expansive sake list plus beer, wine and yes, cocktails! Our waiter recommended his favorite bottle of sake to us which was round and smooth. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name. Service: Very Good Average App/Entree Price: $7/$24 (varies greatly depending on your sushi appetite) Value: Excellent You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.
The Basics: Japanese tapas (Izakaya) served in a casual, East Village nook with an extensive sake menu and friendly service. The menu spans from vegetarian options to fried dishes to grilled meats and donburi. Best Dish: Roasted sheets of crunchy nori, crisp age dashi tofu in a smoky broth, and juicy chicken wings marinated in garlic, ginger and soy. Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Value: Excellent Average App/Entree Price: Under $10 Location: 647 East 11th Street (Between B and C)
I’m finding lately that I’m consistently disappointed by the “trendy upscale Japanese” restaurants that started flooding the NY restaurant scene a decade ago. Megu, Geisha, and Ono are all great examples. Their time has come and gone, if you ask me. They have to work harder now to keep their flames lit. While I once dined at Megu TriBeca and had a great experience, my restaurant week dinner last night was a major disappointment.
Though the service was friendly, it felt like they were doling out conveyor-belt style food to the restaurant week patrons. The restaurant week menu offers an amuse-bouche of a cooked salmon roll with mayo, followed by a choice of “salmon belly appetizer” or “pate de turkey Japanese style with sauteed unagi.” I had the salmon which consisted of a pile of greens with some small pieces of not-so-fresh salmon and salmon roe on top, and a nearly tasteless dressing. The entree options were “kobe beef sirloin with platinum rice and miso soup” or “silver cod with garlic parsley sauce” (and the same rice and miso) or the chef’s choice of nigiri and roll with miso soup. First off, does “platinum rice” even mean anything or is it just Megu’s attempt at sounding elitist? It sure looked like a normal bowl of rice and miso soup to me. My kobe beef was actually really tender and peppery but its presentation was atrocious. The beef was served with a tiny stack of ten french fries and 2 cherry tomatoes with toothpicks. I think I’ve been served a similar-looking meal on an airplane before. The fries were so out of place and strange to me. I later learned that Megu is famous for parmesan french fries (even that makes no sense at an upscale Japanese restaurant) but these were regular fries. And the tiny portion was just insulting. I do appreciate that Megu served kobe beef on its restaurant week menu, but how much more expensive would a better presentation have been? Even E’s sushi (from the regular menu) tasted oily and not fresh. Plus, he asked for some avocado on his spicy tuna roll and they charged him $4 for it! When we asked the waiter, he did remove the charge, but the audacity of it astounded me.
Though paying less for the meal, a restaurant week patron deserves the same amount of care and focus as any other customer. If a restaurant doesn’t want to put its best food forward, why are they participating? I said in my restaurant week post that you do have to be careful, as dining during restaurant week is often a gamble. Unfortunately Megu really lost the bet for me.
Megu: 845 UN Plaza at 47th Street
Cuisine: Japanese
Average Entee Price: $24-$120
Food: Good Service: Poor
Value: Good
You Gonna Finish That? Meh, you can taste the side.
After hearing about this West Village newcomer running in the same circles as heavy weights Sushi Yasuda and Kuruma Zushi, expectations were high. Chef Sotohiro Kosugi had a big following in Atlanta and he was met in New York with much anticipation.
If you walk too quickly down 6th ave, you’ll surely miss Soto. The crisp, stark white dining room lets the flavors of the food sing, without any distractions. Sotohiro’s exquisite offerings on a Friday night splurge of a dinner, met their mark. Though a generous 12-piece omakase (eel, toro, uni, horse mackerel, amber jack amongst others), pre-dressed with a touch of soy was painfully fresh, the dishes from the kitchen cannot be missed. Lobster with mango, portabella and panko came in elegant cuts, a beautiful marriage of flavors. A creamy sea urchin wrapped in thinly sliced squid with shiso and a quail egg is highly recommended as well. Soto doesn’t offer home made desserts, but a mochi ice cream sampler was the perfect sweet finish. We washed it all down with some crisp sake, recommended by our waitress. Unfortunately, a long lag time between our appetizers and omakase tainted the meal, though we passed the time with a complimentary bowl of edamame.
Soto- 357 6th Ave (near Washington Pl) Cuisine- Japanese Average Entree-$60 Food: Excellent Service: Good Value: Good You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.
You have to hunt to find this subterranean Japanese small plates shop, hidden below a larger sushi restaurant. Perhaps that’s why the Times Square mobs have yet to invade it, despite its convenient location on West 49th. If you define authentic Japanese food by the number of Japanese people in a restaurant (as some unabashedly do) then this place equals authenticity at its best. My friend and I were the only Caucasians in the restaurant, which was packed on a Wednesday evening in the middle of a snow storm.
Any elegance lost in the gruff service and torn menus, is made up for in intensely flavored dishes that cash in at 3 bucks a pop. Don’t miss inventive yakitori like chicken meatball, enoki mushroom wrapped with bacon, and teriyaki squid. A mini udon pot filled to the brim with hearty noodles, poached egg, and shrimp tempura will make you wonder why David Chang’s ramen gets so much hype. Adventurous eaters can go to town here with deep fried chicken gizzard and yakitori chicken skin. Oh, and what else do they have at Sake Bar Hagi? An incredible list of sake and shochu. My sake knowledge, or lack-there-of, is limited, so we resorted to the smaller list of featured sakes with short, English descriptions.
I would eat here more frequently, if not for its unfortunate location. Now that I’ve let you in on the secret though, I’d recommend braving the Times Square crowds for at least one visit.
Sake Bar Hagi: 152 W 49th Street Cuisine: Japanese, Small Plates Average Entree Price: $3-$8 Food: Very Good Service: Good Value: Excellent
You Gonna Finish That?
Evidently, Ono’s time has come and gone as Jeffrey Chodorow’s once-trendy sushi den in the Gansevoort Hotel was near empty last week. I could almost hear the crickets chirping as we walked past rows of sake bottles under spotlights lining the walls. Walking into the sea of empty tables felt like entering some kind of sad club, too desperate to bother with the velvet rope. One would say it’s a shame, but with rushed service and rudely inflated prices, I hesitate to mourn the loss.
To be fair, the meal was not all bad. I gobbled up crunchy rice crackers, dusted with spice as we selected sake and beer. I enjoyed a guiltfully saucy salmon appetizer with shiitake mushroom, eggplant, and endive. My tuna yuba roll made with yuba seaweed, chopped tuna, seared tuna, and tempura flakes was fresh. The soft texture of the yuba seaweed which is a thin skin made from boiled soymilk was unique. E’s house salad was fine enough but when vegetable rolls cost $9, they better be speckled with gold. (These were not).
The thing is, the dishes are edible but forgettable. Anybody can douse fish in oil and black sauce and make it taste good. Kiku Sushi, down the block from me can also create a fresh tuna roll. Places like Ono are supposed to take flavors to a higher level, which it completely missed for me.
It was only after dining there that I heard of Ono’s impending March closing, only to be reopened as Maxim Steak, some type of bizarre Chodorow/Maxim partnership. And you thought Kobe Club was a machismo fest!
If you have some type of perverted curiosity to try out Ono before closing time by all means go, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
** Correction, as of June 2009, Ono is still open**
Ono- 18 9th Avenue At Gansevoort Street Cuisine- Japanese, Sushi Average Entree Price- $20-$60 Food: Good Service: Good Value: Poor You Gonna Finish That? Meh, you can taste the side.
If you’re looking for a sushi spot that feels more like a fast-food cafeteria, then Cube 63 may be for you. The ease of BYOB hardly makes up for the gruff attitude and out-of-sync service at this lower east side hotbox. I get that this place is supposed to be casual, but it’s taken to another level. We were packed in like sardines, sandwiched between tables on either side of us with barely room to shift chairs. Our waitress barely made eye contact as she took our order and scurried off to open our wine. Despite the loss in atmosphere and service, the sushi is decent, but I can think of many affordable sushi spots with all of the above going for them.
We started with edamame to share for the table then I had a kani (crabstick) salad while my friends had an avocado salad, an order of gyoza, and a house salad. These were all executed quite well, and I enjoyed the kani salad which was delicately flavored with sesame seeds. Entrees were a “63 special” which came with 2 pieces of tuna, yellowtail, salmon, eel and a spicy tuna roll as well as an order of soba noodles and a “63 roll”, packed with flavor despite its tiny size with spicy tuna, avocado and lobster salad. The roll was a bit meager so I also ordered an electric roll which came deep fried, despite any mention of that on the menu. Though I didn’t put up much of a fight (fried food? how did this get here?), it wasn’t my anticipation, the greasy mess disappointed me.
I don’t think I’ll be returning to Cube 63, and I don’t recommend you rushing there either.
Cube 63: 63 Clinton Stret Cuisine: Sushi Entree Price: $18-$24 Food: Good Service: Good Value: Good You Gonna Finish that? Not even worth a doggy bag. Word to the Wise: BYOB is one of few benefits at this place so don’t forget the booze at home!
Hidden above a lower east side store front is Kuma Inn, an eatery serving up Asian tapas that deliver unique tastes well beyond their modest price tags. Though the relaxed decor makes it feel like a neighborhood joint, Kuma Inn commands long waits on weekend nights. I stopped in with a couple of friends on Thursday evening and was very pleased with what they have to offer.
The solo waitress greeted us at the door, asking if the third member of our party would be here shortly. We don’t typically seat parties until all of the guests have arrived. She said. I glanced around, puzzled at the host of empty tables in the restaurant. I understand this policy for a crowded restaurant, but it seemed silly for us to stand and wait knowing our third friend was in a cab on her way. Really? You can’t just seat us now? I mean…. I gestured around the empty restaurant. She acquiesced and let us sit. With cold Winter temperatures perhaps keeping people at home, Thursday night must have been an anomaly for Kuma. She was used to policing diners more aggressively. No matter, she agreed and we sat down.
Kuma Inn is BYOB, a great cost savings in itself. I brought a 2000 David Frost Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It was showing beautifully after some age with a seductive velvety texture and a lingering length. The menu consists of a list of about thirty tapas, inspired by the chef’s Filipino mother and Thai Father. Some were real successful while others fell short but at $2-$8 a plate, you can’t lose. They also had some great specials that we tried as well. We started with steamed edamame with thai basil lime oil then moved to a host of small plates which arrived in rapid-fire, overwhelming our table. Wasabi pork shumai, sauteed Chinese sausage with thai chili lime sauce, stir fried noodles with pork, sausage, and bean sprouts as well as deeply aromatic garlic rice were the big hits in my book. Some skippable items were a crispy tilapia special, a grilled baby octopus with bamboo shoots and some Thai sticky rice. It seemed that meat dishes were more well executed than seafood, something to keep note of for future visits. Though not a perfect meal, it was a lot of fun sampling the menu items.
Kuma Inn: 113 Ludlow, 2nd Floor, near Delancey
Cuisine: Asian, Tapas Average App/Entree Price: $7-$11 Food: Good Service: Good Value: Excellent You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite. Word to the Wise: Order a few dishes at a time to pace the meal and prevent table crowding.
This Greenwich Village sushi den is just as alive and en vogue as it was before a fire was rumored to have destroyed it in March of this year. On a Friday evening at 9:30 it was packed with pretty people dressed in their sharpest of outfits, filling every level and dark corner of the establishment. Upon entering we were not-so-warmly greeted by the host who smugly informed us (sans apology) that they were behind schedule and we’d have to wait for our reservation. Though disappointing, this would have been fine had it been delivered in a nicer manner. I suppose us pions were lucky to even BE at Bond Street Sushi, let alone expect to be seated on time!
When our table was ready we were directed to the elevator and headed to the second floor, where we were luke warmly greeted by another host. Ms. Strung? He asked. I acquiesced and we followed him to our table. Despite his attitude we were led to a dirty table, filled with dishes and spilled soy sauce. He shamefully beckoned a bus boy to clear. I would recommend a slice of humble pie for the hosts at Bond St. If you’re going to have an attitude, you should at least get it right.
A would-be sour mood was gracefully salvaged by our wonderful waitress Heather who was incredibly sweet and knowledgeable. We ordered a bottle of sake which was crisp, smooth and fruity, perhaps the best sake I’ve had. Bond St is known for having both uber-fresh sushi and unique hot items from the creative kitchen. We ordered two hot appetizers to start: seared tuna and foie gras with Asian pear chutney, plum wine glaze and holy basil as well as a Wagyu tataki of seared kobe beef with truffle butter. Both dishes were outstanding. The rich foie held up to the sweet chutney with a hint of crispness from the basil leafs. The thinly sliced rounds of Wagyu tataki simply melted in the mouth with decadent truffle butter adding layers of flavor and aroma. For sushi my cousin had a sesame crusted shrimp roll with orange curry dressing and reduced balsamic vinegar as well as a spicy tuna with chili mayonnaise. I opted for a spicy yellowtail roll, two pieces of salmon belly nigiri (Heather’s recommendation) and two pieces of giant clam nigiri. I found the clam to be a bit tough and overly fishy though the salmon belly and spicy yellowtail were fresh. I was surprised to find the creamy orange curry dressing pairing up well with crunchy shrimp, an odd coupling that worked for me though not as much for my cousin.
My final criticism would be that they could stand to have some more modest offerings. Though our sake was delicious it was $46, the cheapest on the menu. Though the sushi was great, I feel that I could have spent a fraction somewhere else for something just as great. The real uniqueness of Bond St was in the cooked items like the Wagyu and the foie.
All-in-all, Bond St was a great meal despite rocky beginnings. The likelihood of me returning is slim though, unless someone else is paying ;)
Bond St: 6 Bond Street Near Lafayette Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Value: Good You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite. Word to the Wise: There is a lounge/bar downstairs
I have mentioned a few under-the-radar winners in alphabet city in the past (Le Miu, Esperanto). These restaurants have had limited publicity despite their high quality food and affordable prices. Nolia can now be added to that list. Nolia calls its cusine French Asian fusion, offering dishes such as truffle risotto along side tuna tataki; goat cheese salad along side coconut chicken soup. I read the menu with slight trepidation- can they make this work? Somehow, they make it work rather well.
A filet mignon spring roll starter was filled with layers of filet and julienned daikon and carrots with a red wine miso dipping sauce. A robust shrimp and corn cake was accompanied by a fiery roasted red pepper sauce. Our Sunrise roll filled with assorted fish, crab, spicy tempura, avocado and red tobiko was elegantly constructed and fresh. Entrees at Nolia consist of both listed options such as grilled mahi mahi with hearts of palm and tropical salsa and the opportunity to choose a protein simply grilled or roasted with a custom sauce and side dish. I chose the second route and opted for a wild king salmon with champagne-wasabi cream and truffle risotto while a friend enjoyed free range chicken with Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and a pineapple sweet and sour sauce. Unfortunately the sauce on the salmon was a bit of a miss. The champagne-wasabi cream tasted like neither, though it was still a fair match for the fish. The presence of truffles however, was evident in the rich and creamy risotto.
Service at Nolia was cordial but spotty. Drink orders required reminders and bus boys were over-eager to clear then absent when needed. I hope they remedy these errors as I think that Nolia has tremendous potential.
** as of June 2009, Nolia is closed **
Nolia: 158 Avenue C and 10th Street Cuisine: French- Asian Fusion
Word to the wise: Nolia offers a pre-fixed 3 course meal for $25 from Sunday- Thursday as well as drink specials on various nights. Make friends with the bartender and he just might offer you a free shot.
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