Archive
NYC Sushi: Ichimura at Brushstroke (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Ichimura at Brushstroke
Chef: Eiji Ichimura
Website: http://www.davidbouley.com/brushstroke-main/brushstroke-menus/brushstroke-sushi
Date: February 11, 2013
Notes:
I’ve been wanting to try this sushi bar–only restaurant for a while now. It’s in a more private dining area than the main dining area of Brushstroke, and there’s been a lot of hype around this restaurant. Reservations are pretty hard to get for this place right now, and there are only 16 covers a night (two rounds of eight).
There was a pretty large selection of fish, and apparently the vast majority of the fish gets shipped from Japan every few days. Everything was really fresh and high quality. Chef Ichimura had the usual choices (tai, saba, otoro, kohada, uni, and so on), but it was nice being able to try kuromutsu (black bluefish), higetara (a type of cod) , shirasu (baby anchovy), and shiraou (icefish).
The rice was soft and fluffy, though I like the sushi rice more at a few other places in NYC (like Yasuda). On the negative side, it started off too warm at first before finally getting to a good temperature (just sliiiiiiiightly above room temperature).
Anyway, you start off with an appetizer or two (chawanmushi and then some fish/vegetable bite-sized tastings) before trying sashimi, sushi, or a mix of the two. I went sushi-only because I was in a sushi mood. (Then again, I’m usually in a sushi mood…)
Positive dishes/pieces:
-The anago, akamutsu, kuromutsu, tai, and uni were really good.
-The ōtoro and chūtoro were AMAZING. Winter is a great time for toro haha ^_^.
Negative dishes/pieces:
-The one disappointing part was the tamago, which didn’t taste special at all.
I had a really good time here, and I thought the meal was really well-priced for what you get. The value to quality and quantity ratio is REALLY good here for sushi! Chef Ichimura is also REALLY nice. That might have helped haha.
NYC Sushi: Kurumazushi (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Kurumazushi
Chef: Toshihiro Uezu
Date: February 1, 2013
I’ve been craving sushi lately, and I decided that I’d go eat sushi today—of course, choosing somewhere and then making reservations is always a pain. I’ve been wanting to try Kurumazushi for a while now since I heard about it from some friends, so I called to check if there were any available seats at the sushi bar.
Reservations are REALLY easy to get as the restaurant has a lot of empty seats. That makes me a little sad—Chef Uezu seemed really nice and pleasant to talk to, and the sushi was definitely good enough that one would think there would be more diners at the restaurant on a Friday night. Anyway, we booked a reservation and made our way there a few hours later!
Notes on the food:
-The fish was VERY fresh and delicious, and the selection was amazing—there were lots of choices, and there were different cuts/areas for each type of fish. Being able to choose pieces with meat from the collar/neck area make me a happy, happy eater.
-The rice was good, but there were a few issues. On the plus side, the temperature was solid, though it was a touch warmer than I would have liked; it wasn’t as warm as Sasabune’s rice, though. On the negative side, the rice was grainy and a bit too hard at times. I would have enjoyed the nigiri more if the rice were a bit softer and fluffier.
Shanghai: 12 Chairs (Jan. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: 12 Chairs
Exec Chef: David Laris
Date: January 2, 2013
Notes:
I was in Shanghai for a few days to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some friends (drinking, partying, massages, and really and really good food = yay!), and I figured that I’d try a fine dining restaurant in Shanghai while I was here. The two fine dining restaurants I really wanted to try in Shanghai were 12 Chairs and Ultraviolet. I’ll try out Ultraviolet on my next trip to Shanghai!
The entire restaurant is one table with 12 chairs; it’s supposed to be an intimate dining experience where you get to know your fellow diners over the course of the meal.
Conceptually, the food is interesting, and the chef mixes together different flavors that should work. In execution, however, the dishes were kind of mediocre. The meal kind of made me appreciate how so many restaurants in NYC have great execution/cooking.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 