Immaculate Infatuation

There are a lot of haters out there these days who claim Nobu sold out by opening a 57th St. Midtown outpost. They say Nobu is old news, that it’s not as good as it once was, that the service isn’t amazing, and that it’s way overpriced. Don’t be fooled people. I say the naysayers are just pissed because they lost their jobs and are poorly channeling their life’s frustrations. Hands down, Nobu is the best upscale Japanese restaurant in New York City, and Immaculate Infatuation will back that statement until another restaurant as ridiculous as Nobu proves otherwise.

Infatuation’s recent trip to the royal fish house reaffirms our belief that Nobu is still the cream of the crop. Now, unless you’re with someone who really understands the menu and can place a proper fish order, the different priced tiers of the omakase (chef’s choice) tasting menu are the way to go. As I’m sure you know, Nobu isn’t cheap, so unless you’re rolling in dough, it’s a place saved for special occasions. Just promise us that when those occasions arise, you make the most of your trip. So, don’t go on the cheap and only order a couple dishes. Rather, go big or go home! Do yourself a favor and experience the full spectrum of what Nobu is all about, because you’re probably not going to be back for a while.

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New York’s sushi joints can really be broken down into three tiers. Tier one is made up of places that serve sushi-boner inducing fish that melts in your mouth and makes the other places look silly. Think Sushi Yasuda and Masa. These are the priciest of pricey, but every once in a while you can find a tier one diamond in the rough that won’t do a Madoff on your bank account. Tier two consists of sushi restaurants that are a bit more hit-or-miss, but a hell of a lot more affordable. These places tend to focus more on specialty rolls, but great sushi and sashimi can be had. Poke and Yama are tier two type places. The third tier consists of sushi best saved for lunch at your desk or a light meal in a pinch…we’re talking one step above the boxed stuff at Midtown delis. Ordering in this situation should be strictly confined to rolls only. Don’t get too cute, you’ll regret it.

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Takahachi, we wish you delivered. On second thought, it’s better that you don’t, otherwise I might never leave my apartment. This little sushi joint trumps others of its kind in the East Village. Anyone thinking of hitting The Sushi Lounge – you know, the yellow spot on the corner of 7th St. and Ave. A that is constantly having ’sales’ on sushi – don’t. That place is disgusting. Walk the couple extra blocks to Takahachi. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. Just be prepared for a quick but worthwhile wait, because as with most quality places in this city, everyone wants a piece. Bonus points to Takahachi for having one waiter whose sole duty is to refill your water glass, providing a nice fresh glass after almost every sip – respect. The food is well rounded, be we suggest to stick with the basics. The fancy rolls don’t come off too well, and we prefer the no frills options.

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Looking for the perfect downtown sushi spot to take people when you’re not the one paying the bill? Blue Ribbon is your joint. This slick, modern style sushi restaurant is one of New York City’s signature sushi establishments. I love the anonymous exterior, with little to no signage which signals to me that the food speaks for itself. It’s a great place to go for a late dinner (they’re open until two in the morning), but avoid it during prime time Thurs.-Sat. nights because it gets really packed. If you dare, we highly recommend grabbing a drink at the old-New York haunt Cub Room around the corner. I’ve always had great meals here but I’ve also noticed that the prices just keep going up. To conquer this generous menu, you really don’t want to hold back, so prepare yourself for eighty to ninety dollars a head if you’re really hungry. As we discussed in the beginning, the perfect place to go when you don’t have to pay.

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Take a look at our La Bottega review, and you’ll see a great example of a restaurant that is surprisingly better than it probably needs to be just due to location and the strength of the space. Unfortunately, Matsuri has no such surprises in store. Matsuri is the other restaurant housed in the Maritime Hotel, and exists as another extremely well done room and a great place to hang out. A few years ago when the restaurant opened, it was the only one of its kind; a huge, awe inspiring space that had people happily lining up to spend an evening at a sceney restaurant eating average sushi. That was all well and good until Buddakan opened its doors right across the street and lured away all those “see and be seen” types. These days, Matsuri still does respectable business, but it’s really more of a place to bring your out of town cousins and impress them with a big city restaurant. Unfortunately for Matsuri, the competition across the street offers the same with better food.

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