Eater NY - Japanese Restaurant Chains Making Waves StatesideThe New York City Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2017-06-27T17:16:18-04:00http://ny.eater.com/rss/stream/156566452017-06-27T17:16:18-04:002017-06-27T17:16:18-04:00Huge Japanese Chain Tackles NYC With Kaiseki-Style Spot in Chelsea [Update]
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<img alt="Naoki" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ffJrQwIEUGkMfPV0D1_kgrNo0cc=/132x0:2269x1603/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55474433/NS012512.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a href="http://nicksolares.photoshelter.com/index">Nick Solares</a></figcaption>
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<p>Come for the food, stay for the really big zen garden</p> <p id="siFGmC"><strong>Create Restaurants Holdings</strong> operates <a href="http://www.createrestaurants.com/en/company/1005.html">over 800 restaurants</a> in Japan and around Asia, and it’s now breaking into the U.S. market with <strong>Naoki</strong>, a kaiseki-style restaurant that opens in Chelsea in July. The debut signifies the company’s intent to succeed in America, with an eye to Europe, too.</p>
<p id="MXf9Wb">Operator <strong>Naoki Takahashi</strong> has been with the company for 10 years, and he says he scouted locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, but started with the New York City location its stronger ties to Europe. Takahashi learned about opening in America from his former boss Nobu Matsuhisa (yes, that Nobu) when he was the general manager at the Los Angeles location years ago.</p>
<p id="Zx3n8J">Though most of Create’s restaurants in Japan are in fact Italian, the company thought Americans would be more likely to embrace a Japanese restaurant from a Japanese company. Chef <strong>Jiro Iida</strong> (<a href="https://ny.eater.com/2014/11/10/7186445/florian-brings-a-taste-of-fiorello-downtown-sekund-sun-starts-pouring">Salt and Charcoal</a>, Aburiya Kinnosuke) was brought on board to create an $80 kaiseki-style (seasonal Japanese tasting menu), four-course menu, in full below.</p>
<p id="UPvMT9">“We thought about a lot of ideas, including steakhouses, but this is our first outpost so it’s . . . a testing ground,” Takahashi says. “So instead of focusing on one certain cuisine, we decided to be a little generic and see how customers react and start from there. But this is what Japanese people eat in Japan.”</p>
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<p id="zz50lP">A meal starts with eight bites, dishes like prawn and egg-yolk sushi and fried lotus root with whitefish paste, then continues with a fish course and meat course, ending with sushi and soup.</p>
<p id="xV4rva">Naoki will be open for bento box lunch and tea on weekends, and Takahashi hopes people come just for tea and dessert, too. As it turns out, dessert is the most extensive section of the menu. </p>
<p id="gQOuco">The space is hidden on 17th Street just off of Eighth Avenue, and Japanese design firm RIC Design turned what used to be an enclosed patio into a zen garden, though diners can’t go out there — it’s just for show.</p>
<p id="OLQlYI">Naoki opens early July and will be open for dinner daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.</p>
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<figcaption>Naoki’s entrance</figcaption>
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<figcaption>Tables overlooking the zen garden</figcaption>
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<p class="caption">The rear dining room</p>
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<cite><a href="http://nicksolares.photoshelter.com/index">Nick Solares</a></cite>
<figcaption>The entrance</figcaption>
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https://ny.eater.com/2017/6/27/15880510/naoki-chelsea-open-photos-menu-nycStefanie Tuder2017-06-12T17:32:36-04:002017-06-12T17:32:36-04:00Literally Fish for Your Dinner at This Japanese Chain Opening in Chelsea
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<img alt="Zauo in Japan" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yeQuN0C5STDWXjftcBmJOz-uDaM=/56x0:944x666/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55218991/zuao.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/%E3%81%96%E3%81%86%E3%81%8A-%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%BF%E5%BA%97-%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%BF%E5%8C%BA-2?select=EYtqDSibwbjBMHx7gg6D_A">トモ T./Yelp</a></figcaption>
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<p>Rent poles, buy bait, and hook your line inside the restaurant</p> <p id="gtVdW7">You’ll need a fishing pole at the soon-to-open <strong>Zauo</strong>, the restaurant where diners can <a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170612/chelsea/zauo-fishing-catch-restaurant-152-west-24th-street">fish for their dinner </a>that’s debuting in Chelsea. Yet another <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/4/27/15438466/ikinari-steakhouse-nyc-video">Japanese chain opening in New York</a>, Zauo will open its three-floor restaurant at 152 West 24th Street, where diners on the first two levels can sit in a “boat” and reel in fish from a tank stocked with ten different kinds of fish. </p>
<p id="2ItSdS">If the Chelsea location is set up like one of the Zauo locations in Japan, diners start by grabbing poles and purchasing bait before they “target the prey,” reads the website, though diners having a rough time can ask servers for advice. Once a diner has caught a fish it’s turned over to staff who takes it to be grilled, tempura-fried, or served as sushi in some cases. </p>
<p id="G5oftV">Fishing for dinner is cheaper than not: “The regular price of a red-snapper is ¥3,360, but if caught it can be eaten for only ¥2,499,” says the website. </p>
<p id="woyNLs">If this sounds like too much work, diners can head to the third floor, where sushi and higher-end dishes will be served — no fishing required. </p>
<p id="zBD5GS">It takes farm-to-table “and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zauo-is-a-japanese-chain-restaurant-that-lets-you-catch-your-own-fish-and-then-eat-it-315">feeds it a barnful of meth,</a>” says Vice about the restaurant — back in 2015 when the chain announced plans to open locations in New York and San Francisco. When reporter Drew Millard visited a branch in Tokyo, he said, “The restaurant's centerpiece is a series of tables made to look like a giant boat, surrounded by a moat full of fish. It looks, I can say without exaggeration, cool as fuck.” </p>
<p id="WgdNhb">No word yet on the date of opening, but we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime: </p>
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https://ny.eater.com/2017/6/12/15785578/zauo-chelsea-fish-for-dinnerMelissa McCart2017-05-23T16:42:32-04:002017-05-23T16:42:32-04:00Meet E.A.K. Ramen, the Japanese Chain Trying to Make Waves in the U.S.
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<img alt="A colorful ramen dish at EAK Ramen" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NwdwWI4UPhVgjw2CEvE0qCVT0yc=/92x0:2315x1667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54915525/209788_EAK_Ramen_Oh_So_Hot.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>EAK Ramen</figcaption>
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<p>It serves iekei-style ramen, a tonkotsu-shoyu blend</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap" id="OgXHtJ">New York’s crowded ramen market will have a new player to try starting next week as <strong>E</strong><strong>.A.K.</strong><strong> Ramen</strong> — an American outpost of a prolific Japanese chain — makes its debut in the former Kin Shop space in Greenwich Village. It’s part of a larger plan to convince Americans that the restaurant’s style of ramen, called iekei, should be the next big ramen obsession. </p>
<p id="iUwlm4">The original Japanese name of the chain is Iekei Ramen, named after the style of broth that’s a blend of fatty pork-based tonkotsu and the chicken and soy-based shoyu ramen. But the restaurant at 469 Sixth Avenue, near West 11th Street, and the chain’s <a href="https://la.eater.com/2016/11/10/13586830/eak-ramen-melrose-pingtung-opening">first U.S. location in Los Angeles</a> are named E.A.K. Ramen in hopes of making it easier for Americans to pronounce, according to managing partner Jimmy Matsushima. (EAK is the phonetical pronunciation of iekei.) Their goal: 1,000 shops all across the U.S. in the next decade, with eyes on Denver, Nashville, and Detroit next. </p>
<p id="o9JALe">Despite New York’s ramen fanaticism, iekei-style ramen is still fairly uncommon. It’s more well-known in Japan, where it was invented <a href="http://luckypeach.com/guides/a-guide-to-the-regional-ramen-of-japan/">in the city Yokohama</a>. The Iekei Ramen company has 40 shops throughout the country, as well as hundreds more shops that franchise their recipe, Matsushima says. </p>
<p id="geRf2O">The lowdown on iekei, according to Matsushima and chef <strong>Keisuke Ando</strong><strong>,</strong> is that it’s cleaner than a dense tonkotsu, but not quite as thin as a Tokyo-style shoyu broth. The noodles, here made by Sun Noodle using an in-house recipe, are straight, short, and “very thick,” Matsushima says. “It’s almost quadruple the size” of places like Ichiran,” he says. Thicker noodles are intended to carry the broth in every bite. It’s then topped with chashu, spinach, and nori. </p>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUA_lTHgXTi/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by (@8stardust)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-05-13T02:19:43+00:00">May 12, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT</time></p>
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<p id="D3HoX2">Making the broth is an intensive process, Ando says. Both chicken bones and pork bones are cleaned and then boiled for about two hours. That broth is thrown out. The bones are then added back to the water and boiled again so it reduces. After the fat is removed, more water is added and it’s boiled for hours until it is ready to serve. </p>
<p id="0PVjYF">In New York, the broth is the base of four ramen listing. Two more ramen options use a vegetable-based broth. Costs range from $14 to $17 a bowl. An appetizer section unique to U.S. locations also offer dishes like buns, gyoza, rice bowls, and salads. </p>
<p id="9dq6C6">The LA outpost of E.A.K. opened late last year and it’s not yet clear if it’s taken off as the next big ramen craze on the West Coast. But Matsushima and Ando are hoping that eventually, iekei will be ubiquitous. “We want everybody to know iekei style is,” Matsushima says.</p>
<p id="ZcHBQ5">E.A.K. Ramen opens on Wednesday, May 31.</p>
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https://ny.eater.com/2017/5/23/15676384/eak-ramen-nyc-opening-iekei-ramenSerena Dai2017-05-11T11:45:15-04:002017-05-11T11:45:15-04:00Watch: Why Udon Fans Go Crazy For TsuruTonTan
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<figcaption>Cult Following</figcaption>
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<p>Cult Following stops by the NYC location where caviar tops the noodles</p> <p id="DMmgHp">When Japanese udon chain <strong>TsuruTonTan</strong> <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2016/8/15/12484634/tsurutontan-nyc-udon-caviar">opened in New York</a> last year, the noodle loving masses <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2016/8/31/12728482/tsurutontan-nyc-wait-time">descended upon on it en masse</a>. </p>
<p id="uGNO2R">The chain known for slinging in-house created udon with toppings like caviar and uni in Japan for nearly 30 years. The restaurant sets up in massive spaces and serves broad menus with items ranging from more traditional Japanese dashi-based broths to noodles cradled in Korean stews. Its debut near Union Square was the first time people stateside could give it a try. </p>
<p id="E7PPNm"><strong>Cult Following</strong> host Serena Dai stopped by the NYC location and talked to the man running the U.S. operation, Joji Uematsu, to find out what TsuruTonTan is all about. </p>
<p id="2oVDdJ"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loa-UxxIBM">Click here for more episodes of Cult Following</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/eater">Click here to subscribe to Eater on Youtube</a></p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/5/11/15623636/tsurutontan-udon-nyc-video-cult-followingEater Video2017-04-27T10:12:26-04:002017-04-27T10:12:26-04:00Eating at Ikinari, the Steakhouse Without Chairs
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<img alt="Ikinari Steak" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QVHyHb1vrKJNU4HBIHgT_VMlmWc=/160x0:1120x720/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54481177/EAT_CUL_004_Standupsteak_Thumb_OY.0.jpg" />
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<p>Cult Following tries the sizzling steak at the Japanese chain's first North American outpost in NYC</p> <p id="4weddP">Steakhouses in New York tend to be institutions to hang out in — but the newest steak restaurant in town doesn’t even have chairs. <strong>Ikinari Steak</strong><strong>, </strong>originally founded by beef obsessive <strong>Kunio Ichinose</strong> in 2013, is a popular Japanese steakhouse chain where people stand as they eat. In February, Ichinose <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/2/20/14570352/ikinari-steak-nyc-opens">debuted the first location in the U.S.</a>, in New York City.</p>
<p id="vt10j3">Restaurants with no chairs and quality food are common in Tokyo. At Ikinari, that means a simple menu only with various cuts of steak, boosted with an elaborate selection of condiments including wasabi and a special sauce. In Japan, some dedicated fans eat more than 80 pounds of meat from the restaurant each month. </p>
<p id="0sDGwK">For this episode of <strong>Cult Following</strong>, host Serena Dai stopped by the East Village location of the restaurant to see what it’s like to eat at the standing steakhouse.</p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/4/27/15438466/ikinari-steakhouse-nyc-videoEater Video2017-02-22T13:45:58-05:002017-02-22T13:45:58-05:00A Look Inside Ikinari Steak, The Japanese Chophouse Without Chairs
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<img alt="Kunio Ichinose" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vsyGvTGsbJrurI6xNUWO2GrDWQs=/132x0:2269x1603/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53366941/NS019549.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kunio Ichinose, chef, owner, and founder of Ikinari Steak</figcaption>
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<p>A look at Ikinari Steak, the hit Japanese chain opening on Thursday</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap" id="1rLvEw">Popular Japanese chain <strong>Ikinari Steak</strong><strong> </strong>— known for being a standing-only steakhouse — opens the doors on its first U.S. outpost on Thursday in the East Village. The new restaurant at 90 East 10th St. will have sit-down spots for ten diners, but most of the space in the dining room is dedicated to high table tops for people who must stand as they eat. In Japan, the idea is to feed people quality steak as quickly as possible, at a modest price.</p>
<p id="QJWTBv">Besides the standing portion of the meal, dining at the restaurant is intended to be an interactive experience. Patrons choose their cut of meat by the gram, and a butcher cuts and weighs it right in front of them. They cook it only one way, rare. The steak then arrives at the table on a sizzling cast-iron platter, where people can choose from a dizzying array of sauces, dressings, and other additives to top their meal. </p>
<p id="S2RtrN">It’s just the beginning of the chain’s presence in New York. Ambitious founder <strong>Kunio Ichinose</strong> and his stateside operations manager <strong>Takashi Tsuchiyama</strong> want to open 20 more locations in Manhattan in the next five years. Take a look around the space below, from when photographer Nick Solares snapped photos of the restaurant during a preview lunch earlier this week, and <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2017/2/20/14570352/ikinari-steak-nyc-opens#comments">read more about their plans (and why Ikinari Steak is so popular in Japan) here</a>. As always, <a href="http://www.eater.com/contact?community_id=460&_ga=1.58640556.700409282.1445884383#tip">let us know what you think</a> if you stop by. </p>
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<cite>Nick Solares</cite>
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https://ny.eater.com/2017/2/22/14692384/ikinari-steak-nyc-photosPatty DiezSerena Dai2017-02-20T10:47:22-05:002017-02-20T10:47:22-05:00Ikinari Steak, The Japanese Chain Famous For No Chairs, Opens In East Village Thursday
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<figcaption>An outpost of Ikinari Steak in Japan | Ikinari Steak</figcaption>
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<p>Owner Kunio Ichinose wants to open 20 more locations in the next five years</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap" id="c34bnr">The next big Japanese food import is about to hit New York City. <strong>Ikinari Steak </strong>— a wildly popular quick-service chain <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/8/5/12377966/ikinari-steak-nyc">best known for its lack of chairs and fast turnover</a> — will be opening its first U.S. location on Thursday in the East Village. Like the locations in Japan, the outpost at 90 East 10th St. is 40 spots for standing dining only and just 10 seats. <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/8/5/12377966/ikinari-steak-nyc">The idea</a>: to feed people quality steak as quickly as possible, at a moderate cost. </p>
<p id="rrYfds">It’s just the beginning of founder <strong>Kunio Ichinose</strong>’s plans in New York. <strong>Takashi Tsuchiyama</strong>, who is running stateside operations, says they plan to open <strong>20 locations in Manhattan in the next five years</strong>. It may sound ambitious, but Tsuchiyama says through a translator that such plans are reasonable for a company that opened more than 100 restaurants in Japan in three years. “That’s the conservative target,” he says of New York expansion plans.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="WFWGcg"><q>People eat and they’re out, often in 30 minutes or less</q></aside></div>
<p id="XzZmNv">Here’s how the restaurant works. Patrons approach the counter and order cuts of ribeye, sirloin, or filet by the gram. A butcher then cuts it in front of the diner and serves it one way: rare. The beef, a 40-day wet-aged beef from an Illinois-based company that’s used even in Japan, arrives on a very hot, cast-iron platter. Anybody wanting a more well-done steak can cook it to the desired temperature themselves, though most people eat it rare, Tsuchiyama says. </p>
<p id="70Atoz">Diners then bring it to their standing station and can choose from different seasonings and sauces, including salt and pepper, wasabi, and a savory, soy-based “special J-sauce” that sizzles when added to the platter. The meat is accompanied by onions, a side of corn, and a garlic paste that he calls “magic paste.” At lunch, a 14-ounce chuck eye steak comes with a salad, soup, and rice for $20. Tip is already included in the prices. But the menu does not have desserts or appetizers. People eat and they’re out, often in 30 minutes or less.</p>
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<cite>Ikinari Steak</cite>
<figcaption>steak at a Japanese location of Ikinari Steak</figcaption>
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<p id="CVoWZ7">The popularity of Ikinari Steak can partly be explained by the culture in Japan. <a href="http://www.gdayjapan.com.au/do/eat-drink/eating-on-your-feet-japans-standing-restaurants/">Standing restaurants in general are popular in Tokyo</a>, where people work a ton and are also obsessed with high-quality food. Limited free time, combined with a thriving food culture, has led to the proliferation of standing restaurants of all kinds, including those serving soba, sushi, French, and Italian cuisine. A Michelin-starred chef <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-chefs-shimada-idUSLNE88A00Q20120911">has even opened a standing-only spot</a>, offering upscale fare for a fraction of the price of a full-service restaurant.</p>
<p id="hPG4Bb">Ichinose was the first to scale a steakhouse with the standing-only concept. Many of the first locations opened near big commuter hubs, where working professionals tend to congregate. It’s been a hit with lunch crowds, with people <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/8/5/12377966/ikinari-steak-nyc">waiting in long lines in neighborhoods with lots of offices</a>. Now, the company has opened locations in food halls and shopping malls, too. </p>
<p id="2zTNMD">“In Japan, like in America, steak is kind of a special meal,” Tsuchiyama says. “It was a revolution, because they offered the same quality of meat as high-end restaurants for half the price. But what you have to give up is the seating.”</p>
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<cite>Ikinari Steak</cite>
<figcaption>the line at an Ikinari Steak in Tokyo</figcaption>
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<p id="7NsPaG">The East Village isn’t exactly flush with traditional offices, so it’s hard to see Ikinari serving the same purpose in people’s lives in New York as it does in Japan. The area surrounding Ikinari is more of a destination for NYU students, nightlife, and casual weekend dining, and though cult-beloved imports like Ippudo Ramen and Tim Ho Wan are nearby, those restaurants offer a more traditional, full-service experience. </p>
<p id="ZEjbAs">It’s also not the first time an ambitious restaurant in New York has eschewed seating. Montreal-style smoked meat shop Mile End <a href="http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/mile-end-sandwich-2012-5/">initially didn’t offer chairs at its Noho location</a> when it opened in 2012. It was <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2012/5/15/6586777/the-early-word-on-mile-end-sandwich-in-noho">not very well-received</a>, and the restaurant now has some chairs. Oreno Corporation, another Japanese standing restaurant, <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2013/7/24/6397281/japanese-standing-room-only-restaurant-coming-to-nyc">had plans to open in New York years ago</a>, but a restaurant never materialized. </p>
<p id="TBenti">Still, Tsuchiyama says he’s sure New Yorkers will fall in love with Ikinari just as the Japanese have. He chose this location because it was already primed to be a restaurant and because of all the young people who tend to congregate in the neighborhood, who will be more likely to spread the word, he says. “This is not scientific,” Tsuchiyama says. “You either believe or [don’t] believe. I believe.” </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="4ASMN8">Stay tuned for photos from the space and more info, later this week. </p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/2/20/14570352/ikinari-steak-nyc-opensSerena Dai2017-02-06T10:45:29-05:002017-02-06T10:45:29-05:00Good Sushi is Affordable Again at Uogashi in the East Village
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<p>At a new spot with one of the longest sushi bars in town</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap" id="HcH8nz">For those who love sushi, the last few years have been tough. Gone are the days when inexpensive places served decent nigiri sushi assortments for $15 or $20, so that now poke burritos and trashy maki rolls — often slathered with spicy mayo and cream cheese — dominate the less-expensive choices. While a high-end sushi feast used to command $100 or so, an omakase at hyped sushi bars now fetches between $200 and $500. And let’s not forget that some species we once gleefully consumed — most notably bluefin tuna — are now teetering on the verge of extinction.</p>
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<p id="v3nQLA">But there’s hope on the horizon. The chains are coming to town. Late last year the LA sushi phenomenon <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/11/3/13510944/sugarfish-nyc-menu-opens"><strong>Sugarfish </strong></a>appeared on East 20<sup>th</sup> Street, peddling bargain sushi assortments priced at $23, $33, and $45 — served two or three pieces at a time with real panache. The set meals partly featured sustainable albacore, a fish virtually unknown here previously (except, paradoxically, in millions of tuna sandwiches). Around the same time<a href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/10/12/12947170/nyc-minesushi-review"> <strong>Mi-Ne Sushi Totoya</strong> </a> with a full Japanese menu came to Greenwich Village, a Japanese chain with branches in Kumamoto and Hong Kong. Their sushi and sashimi assortments were priced at $28 to $40, a real bargain for fine-quality fish. One presumes that the ability to buy in bulk in Japanese markets is partly behind these unexpectedly low prices.</p>
<p id="7J7VRy">Now, with little fanfare, a new Japanese chain has appeared. Located in the East Village, <a href="https://www.uogashinyc.com/"><strong>Uogashi</strong> </a>concentrates almost solely on sushi. Its parent organization, according to the greeter one evening, owns a fish wholesaler and several stand-up sushi counters in Tokyo, which explains how the prices at Uogashi can be so low. Sushi assortments run $38 and $45 for nine pieces of nigiri sushi, soup, salad, and a hand roll, or $75 for a more elaborate omakase. </p>
<p id="nFaO2I">The room is deep, with table seating for 30 or so, as well as discreet curtained booths for two, and at one of the longest sushi counters the city has yet seen, with 25 seats, three sushi chefs, and three hinged wooden boxes for sushi instead the usual curving glass cases. The interior is all white paint and blond woods, with a wall treatment in the rear that looks suspiciously like old-fashioned stucco, and a black ceiling. So far, the staff and customers are overwhelmingly Japanese and seats are available even at peak hours. </p>
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<p id="6szWRh">I’ve eaten there twice, and sampled all three sushi assortments, and the fish and crustaceans are pristine. The $45 Uogashi sushi begins with a tiny salad in a clear glass bowl and progresses to a miso soup bobbing with slender enoki mushrooms. The sushi course came on a single plate on a banana leaf, and the highlights recently were medium fatty tuna, Japanese sea scallop, and river eel, served warm and burnished in the usual way with sweet soy sauce.</p>
<p id="0FNygL">Is the $75 omakase worth the extra expense? Yes, especially if you’re very hungry. Just as the difference between the $38 and $45 sushi assortments lies in a more exotic sequence of fish (the actual quantity was the same), the more expensive omakase dabbles in fish not usually found at a neighborhood sushi joint.</p>
<p id="IJna3v">The $75 omakase began with a puck of braised daikon surmounted by a monkfish liver mousse in which a shard of rubbery heart clam was mired. Next came a bowl of chawan mushi egg custard with a tiny wooden spoon. Then the sushi course commenced, on two subsequent plates, each delivered as soon as the sushi chef finished it. The order of fish was as follows: medium fatty bluefin, fluke, mackerel, sea bream, and snow crab legs; lean bluefin, yellowtail, amberjack, gizzard shad, and sea scallop. Next up was the salad of uni and salmon roe with a little rice in the bottom, served in a martini glass. A hand roll followed, featuring fatty bluefin and daikon pickle, with miso soup was the last course, with three littleneck clams in their shells. A cup of green tea at the end of the meal encourages a diner to linger. </p>
<p id="YDCTKY">For those who’d rather go their own way, fish and shellfish are available by the piece, priced from $4 to $8. The selection includes such exotica as golden-eye snapper, longtooth grouper, and rosy sea bass. A modest choice of beers, wines, and sake are available to wash it down. A few entrees feature raw fish over rice, chirashi style, as well as shrimp and eel tempura, both of which make nice apps on a winter evening. <em>188 1st Avenue, (212) 253-0626</em></p>
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https://ny.eater.com/2017/2/6/14497208/uogashi-east-village-affordable-sushi-japanese-chainRobert Sietsema