15 East - great again

[Lau]

So I went to 15 East tonight for my bday, its been prob 6-7 months since ive been, so i was excited to go there. Pretty well covered restaurant so ill save the details and just get to the food (my old post: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/442248). Still think this is among the best in the city (only yasuda and kuruma are better).

Standouts were:
- kinmeidai: they sear it with a blow torch...excellent
- uni (from hokkaido): so good, sweet with that great creamy flavor that good uni has...really very good
- kumamoto oysters: got these as an appetizer, really very good, some of the better oysters ive had in a while...taste like the ocean (in a good fresh way
)- chu toro: ive always thought the chu toro here is excellent and today was no exception
- saba (mackerel): so good, not fishy at all, has the good oiliness that good saba has...excellent

highly recommend and ive been here 4 times (this was my 5th) and i was wondering if its consistent and its been very consistent and i highly recommend going here if you haven't been.

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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003

[beaulieu]

I thought that the Squid Ink Risotto with sea urchin, grilled squid and sweet garlic emulsion was stunningly good.

[guttergourmet]

No mention of the tako? The uni soba is great BTW.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/614615

[foodwhisperer]

the tako at 15 east is tender and fresh , it is the best ive had at a sushi bar. Same for the anago the best anywhere. And it is the only place that has tuna from big bluefin's various parts of the body, not just O toro and chu toro. Try the tail sometime its amazing.

[Lau]

the tako yawarakani is amazing, i think it maybe the best tako ive had anywhere

[Silverjay]

Agree on the tako...Though, I've had the various blue fin tuna part courses at both Sushi Yasuda and Kanoyama. This isn't really that unusual for sushi restaurants.

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Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[Lau]

my friend was telling me that kanoyama serves it on the bone as some type of special....been meaning to try it, but i rarely go to kanoyama, so i havent had a chance to

have you had a chance to try it?

[Silverjay]

Try what? Tuna tail meat? It was served as part of the omakase, but not on the bone. I don't think it's any sort of delicacy. You can buy cheap tuna tails at supermarkets or fish markets in Japan. It's kind of a throw away item.

[Lau]

no kanoyama has a special, the nakaochi...see below, scroll down a bit in the link
http://kanoyama.com/fishfacts.php

ive never had it before, but my friend kept telling me about it a while ago

[Silverjay]

Ahh, nakaochi. Yeah, that sounds cool. I've never had it served that way. These type of dishes are usually pretty cheap in Japan as they are considered a messy hassle to eat. Seems like tasty fisherman shack beer food than haute cuisine. I think most sushi chefs will say the meat closer to the skin is tastier though.

Kanoyama sure has a nice website. The last time I was there, the kinmedai, although a bit early in the season, was really nice. I'll have to try it at 15 East sometime. Though, luckily I'll be back in Japan for the peak season in a couple of months.;)

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Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

15 East Restaurant
15 E 15th St Frnt B, New York, NY 10003

[NYAngeleno]

I've tried the nakaochi once at Kanoyama. Let me caveat my comments by saying I strongly prefer sushi over sashimi, so please take my opinions in that light.

I think it's a good dish that I'm glad I got to try once; I'll order it again, but it doesn't warrant ordering every time. It pretty much is as they described it. You get the the raw ribs, and you take a spoon to scrape the meat out. The texture after you've scraped it is similar to tuna tartar or to the filling in a toro roll in that it's ground up. I didn't notice the tuna being especially fatty - if anything, it was somewhere between akami and chu toro, and much closer to akami. I'm also a klutz, so it was hard for me to dip the tuna in the soy sauce with my spoon and get the correct portion of meat to soy sauce. Once you're done with that, they carve up and grill the ribs for you. The cooked ribs taste like a lighter, more delicate version of pork ribs, and are definitely worth trying. One other thing is that I remember this dish being none too cheap ($30-$40?), but if you're getting omakase at Kanoyama, you're probably already anticipating a big bill.

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Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[Lau]

i think im somewhat interested in it just b/c ive never had it before...although it does look good

i agree with you btw on sushi vs sashmi, i much prefer sushi over sashmi as i think the texture and flavor of properly made rice adds alot of complexity that is otherwise missing

[Silverjay]

They both have their own place in the cuisine and they are not really interchangeable. Sashimi is a very standard starter dish in Japanese cuisine and it makes an excellent way to begin the meal with something light, fresh, and seasonal, not to mention serve as a platform for a chef to demonstrate knife skills, plating, and ingredient selection. Sashimi is a complement to the proceedings. Sushi is basically taken as a meal.

[Lau]

fair enough, but i guess i was rather speaking if i had to choose...so on an absolute basis i would always choose sushi

[silencespeak]

Try some of their Soba too. They have the Soba Master working there from the former Honmura-An. Real damn good.

[Lau]

yeah we were originally planning on doing that as my gf loves soba, but we got too full and i couldn't eat anymore!

[silencespeak]

hah, awww.

[ESNY]

thats why we always start with soba before jumping into the sushi.

[foodwhisperer]

the omikase usually starts off with the uni soba if the soba maker is working that day. The near puree dish, perhaps was the chopped shima aji with ginger , and scallion. maybe you had sharako, need more description . The tuna tail is incredible at 15 east. It's something Ive never seen anywhere else.

[wew]

This Friday the broth special was a combination of traditional long cooked diakon with a dense fish, some light veggies and yuzu (sp). The result was memorable.
Something to seek out even here among so many good choices

[wew]

What is the name of the near puree sushi that was one of the many high points of the tasting meal?

[foodwhisperer]

15 East IMHO is the best sushi in Manhattan. if at the sushi bar and Massa is your chef. His connection with Tsakiji Mkt. is one thru his master who has been going there for over 40 years. The tuna at 15 is the best ive had. It's the only place that ive had tail of bluefin tuna slightly seared and slightly chopped. The uni is amazing. The anago is the best, i like it better than Yasuda. The chef was the chef at jewel bako when jewel bako was in its prime. It is consistent. The only baad experience ive had at 15 east was sitting at a table, same with yasuda. The shima aji chopped with gari and scallion is a nice sushi dish at 15 east. And they always have fish guts ( watta) available for me as its a favorite thing of mine to eat