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“15 East”

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

asa’s capable hands for a course of sashimi served with house-pickled ginger and fresh wasabi (it’s ground in front of you) that included bluefin toro tail, yellowtail, arctic char (wow), botan shrimp, Japanese black bass, and Japanese mackerel, organized like artwork on a square ceramic plate. All of the fish was exquisite, each piece speaking its own mind— whether strong (mackerel), mild (yellowtail), and somewhere in between (black bass).

Our next course was something called Kakiage ($12), which is essentially a latke, or for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term latke (hello, Hanukah), a fried potato pancake, in this case made from shredded carrots, zucchini and onions and whole shrimp served with key lime wedges and house-flavored sea salts in chile, curry, and green tea. These sea salts were amazing—so lively, intense, and fragrant. You could dust them on old shoelaces and have an inspired meal.

Next came a magnificent serving of cool soba noodles, hand-made by Hideji Asanuma, the same artisan who made them at the now shuttered Homnura An. They are hand-cut and the right textural balance of chewy and silky, served with warm soy dashi and scallions and topped with a custardy lump of fresh and briny sea urchin.

The last course of the night was a selection of sushi, which Masa slices into finger-length dominoes and lightly seasons per piece—with soy, yuzu, miso, lemon, shiso, or some other fine accent to make the fish come to life in your mouth without the need for additional dips in the soy bath. (We ate our sushi a la a carte, but the sushi omakase is $55 per person, a great value.) Next to your plate is a thin white napkin folded so that you can use it to wipe your fingers between each piece. I’d never seen a finger cleaning apparatus before and neither had Stacey who picked it up, looked at it with curiosity, and then proceeded to unfold it and used it to cleanse her face. “I don’t know what this is for, but I’m gonna use it to wash my face,” she said. “Go for it,” I said, as she moved from chin to forehead.

Our waiter watched her facial bathing ritual, and when she was done he came over and removed her crumpled up napkin, and replaced it with a fresh one, gently explaining that this was not a washcloth but merely a device to be used to wipe off fingers in between pieces of sushi. “Oh, okay,” she said, and ... [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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