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“15 East”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	Gramercy	Moderate	Great

four or more along a windowed wall.

If it’s just two people, as it was the other night when Stacey and I had dinner, you should try to grab a pair of seats at the sushi bar. (This bar is especially comfortable with seriously plush seats with nice high backs.) You can watch the action and often get a few special treats from the chef.

Stacey and I scored two seats and started with a carafe of sake as we pondered the menu, which offers selections from Marco’s menu in the kitchen or sushi chef Masato (Masa) Shimizu’s menu from the sushi bar. We went for a little of both, and as we folded our menus and placed our order, Stacey’s glass was already empty. Our waiter refilled her glass. She had a big grin on her face, “Wow, this sake is good! It’s so great to be out again!” she said, her smile growing bigger. I was laughing. “It’s good to have you out, but just take it easy there, you’re gonna be wasted,” I warned. “I know! It feels so good! I haven’t had a drink in over a year.” She did have a point. I decided to leave her to her sake.

We settled into our first course, the Degustation of Sea Lettuces. Only in New York, I thought, do we have the privilege of a tasting a medley of sea lettuces. And I have to say, all kidding aside, these were some fine sea lettuces. I am going to harvest some of my own this summer at the beach and see if I can recreate this dish, though I doubt it. Maybe I’ll just make a body wrap instead. Anyway, back to the dish, there were about five on the plate, and they resembled oversized snowflakes in various shades of green—sage, moss, and lime. They are served with a bright miso and soy dressing that gently coats the leaves and gives them a lot more personality but I think you should also try them naked, so their soft subtle flavors can be appreciated.

Our next course was a round of buffalo frog’s legs with tofu blue cheese dressing. Yes, buffalo frog’s legs. These get the same swipe of spicy red sauce as their chicken wing counterparts but the frog’s meat is more delicate and sweet, and there’s something just completely ridiculous about eating buffalo frog’s legs that makes them taste even better.

And from the ridiculous (but delicious), came the sublime, in the form of sushi master Masa, who apprenticed with Rikio Kugo at Tokyo’s Sukeroku for seven ... [more, click below]

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Posted: May 7, 2007

Other restaurants in Gramercy :
+ Casa Mono/Bar Jamon   + Pure Food & Wine   + Parea   + Gramercy Tavern (Lunch)   + 15 East   + Tocqueville   + Irving Mill   + Bar Milano   + Irving Mill   + Maialino   + Asellina   + Corkbuzz Wine Studio   + Breads, by guest reviewer Tracy Weiss   

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