<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Soto”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	West Village	Moderate	Great

hought we were being obscene. We were just very happy customers.

The salmon citrus was my favorite dish; that was until I got to the next and the next. I was getting tired of listening to myself say, “Oh my god, this is so good. It’s amazing. It’s so good!” I mean couldn’t I get a bit more creative? I was really a broken record. The live Long Island fluke usuzukuri ($22) also left me in some transcendental state. The fish is not live, but according to our waitress, was quite recently living. (I’m sorry, fluke.) Kosugi slices the fish into translucent diamonds fanned out on the plate like a flower with each petal topped with a dot of yuzu zest, some sea salt and lime juice. The flavors are clean and precise and the dish is beautiful enough to warrant gallery space at the MOMA. We were both cursing that we hadn’t brought a camera to capture the images for later. I’d frame it and put it on my desk next to pictures of loved ones.

But there’s nothing that could prepare me for the likes of the minute-steamed tai ($16), a dish from the kitchen that must be experienced, preferably tonight if you can do so. It’s a quick steam of Japanese sea bream that’s barely cooked, topped with julienned young ginger drenched in ginger scallion oil. The texture of the fish is somewhere around that of sushi, but not quite. It’s slightly creamier and the ginger scallion oil and young ginger give the fish a really deep expression of flavor. It’s like fish that’s been through therapy. It’s very complex.

Scallop and fluke shiso agedashi ($12) is a fun little play on fried fish. There are two of each fish and they are individually wrapped in batter and deep fried into little shiso wrapped packages, served in a bowl of dashi broth that’s sweet, sour and salty all at once.

In case you were wondering, Soto also serves straight up sushi—long fin squid from Japan, trigger fish from Florida, seared red snapper from New Zealand ($5), Japanese Mackerel ($6), toro from Spain ($12), chu toro from Ecuador ($6), fresh water ($5) and sea eel ($6) and more. Rolls are simple one-ingredient creations, other than the one daily special, which Stacey and I shared for our last course—a spicy tuna roll diced up with Asian pear, cucumber, avocado, sesame and pine nuts with scallions, wrapped in thin, clingy layer of gauzy white kelp ($16). It was a snug ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: July 23, 2007

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

Share ! Post a comment