|
| Photograph by Davies and Starr. |
Sushi savants know they may need to float a small loan to pay for a few ounces of dinner. How about $18 for a ribbon
of rare fatty tuna and a
few grains of rice? But the arrival this past February of Masa and his $300 omakase (now $350) challenged even big spenders. Still, sushi thrives in this town. Heres a guide to the best at any price.
Ultraexpensive
There are only ten seats that mean anything at Masa. They are the lushly tufted leather-capped stools at the gleaming $60,000 hinoki-wood counter, center stage of the reserved, sweet-faced master, Masa Takayama. Surrender to his simple dogma, a ritualistic omakase of meticulous perfection. Silent minions step in and out of his aura, slapping objects into his hand like so many surgical nurses, but it is the spotlit Masa who slivers and chops and squeezes the odd little lime on your toro. I inhale the intense forest scent of my wooden sake cup and feel myself drifting into a trance even before the prologue of small seasonal salads begins. Before the hairy crab, the mysterious eel liver, before a small glass of fatty toro with its plop of caviar, before the foie gras melts into the shabu-shabu. If you have to ask the price (it climbs to $450 or more if youre thirsty), its probably not for you.
10 Columbus Circle, at 59th St.; 212-823-9800
If a sushi bar could be Greta Garbo,
it would be Megu. Sleek Art Deco, black tassels on white leather seats, silken
pillows, and a lipstick-red backdrop behind blossoms in giant urns. Amaze us, I instruct the sushi chef. Owner Koji Imai tap-dances behind us, punctuating a lyrical omakase with sweet-tinged cubes of Kobe beef and surreal tofu
so fresh it seems to breathe. With our backs to the gorgeous drama of the room, even the cacophonous buzz fades away as the mouth shock of unexpected textures begins with imported horse mackerel trailing like a ball gown over a snippet of rice. A smart sliver of astonishingly sublime Japanese snapper follows. The current in the bay massages the flesh, our server chimes in. Yes, the menu is dense, annoying, unfathomable, and the prices unseemly, but massaged into euphoria by the pampering and edible art, I (uncharacteristically) find tonights $370 tariff for two almost reasonable.
62 Thomas St., nr. Church St.; 212-964-7777
Expensive
No sign outside guide