NY Times reviews Neta

[foodwhisperer]

Here is the link for the NY Times review this week of Neta. The new Japanese restaurant started by Mr. Kim and Mr Lau from Masa, on W8th St.. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/din...

I have to say, these critics use so many adjectives to make a mediocre dish sound good. My rating for Neta is about a half of a star. I am not alone in this opinion. Many of my Japanese friends feel the same way. The place is a rip-off, with mediocre food. The toro tartare with caviar in a mini martini glass, is $48 and is totally not worth the price. The scallops are good, the sushi is not good. The review makes a piece of below average salmon with a veggie chip on top sound amazing, it is far from amazing. The reviewer says the rice is incredible, it is barely acceptable.
Tonite I had omakase from Ichimura-san at Brushstroke. That was an amazing meal. 3 kinds of shiokara with my shochu, 2 kinds of sardines, amazing uni, chu toro and otoro, etc etc etc and great chawan mushi. The amount of sushi and sashimi I had was triple what I had at Neta. The home made ginger was so good. The ikura was great. Everything was amazing. The personal contact with Ichimura-san also makes the meal special. He is such a humble master of sushi.
I would sooner pay $150 for an amazing omakase with Ichimura-san at Brushstroke Sushi, then have 5 omakase meals at Neta for free.

[Ricky]

I dont even understand why you even bothered to waste your money eating here, I looked at some posts/pictures of people's omakase meals, and saw for 135 you get a meal most Japanese grandmothers can make (chahan, okayu, farmed salmon sashimi, yaki onigiri, spicy tuna, eel avocado roll) and that was enough for me to stay away.

[foodwhisperer]

Yeah Ricky, I hear ya , Can you imagine my suprise, after all the hype, and great reviews, that I got an eel with avocado, a tuna with scallion roll etc. What a joke! I have lost all respect for NY Times reviewers and Michelin as well.

[Silverjay]

Outside of the food, just the name of the restaurant- Neta- sounds off. It doesn't sound classy in Japanese. Sounds like it should be like a discount place. Brushstroke in English at least sounds a little artistically elegant and can evoke calligraphy, a very precious art in Japan. Naming places Neta and Yuba- I think these Chinese guys need a little better advice on the business and marketing side of things. (Edit- I mean regarding Japanese restaurants.)

[michelleats]

Chef Kim would probably object to being characterized as a Chinese guy.

[Silverjay]

Ah my bad. I thought I heard otherwise about the chefs. Probably a poor generalization in the first place. But Yuba, Neta, Haru, Yama, Mizu. Something's up with the non-Japanese restaurant naming protocol.

[Silverjay]

...and turns out to indeed be a very poor generalization on my part. My wife, a native speaker, finds Neta rather charming as a restaurant name. I didn't mention Brushstroke, which will probably elicit a WTF reaction. But Hideki Matsui was a regular of Ichimura's at his old place I hear and she's a fan, so well, there's always that.

[foodwhisperer]

Silverjay, I forgot if you checked out Ichimura at Brushstroke. If you haven't I think you and your wife will find his sushi excellent and the man charming. You can also, get a chawanmushi or something else from Brushstroke proper, even if you are at the sushi bar. They have excellent Shochu and sake and wine and mixed cocktails that are good as well.

[TheDescendedLefticleOfAramis]

and they have some pretty decent imported artisanal beers as well.
question is ... will they deliver awabi sashimi this summer?
you know ... w/ the grilled 'wata' & the liver sided ae-ae-ae.

[Ricky]

Sushi Seki seems okay as far as naming goes. Yama is Japanese owned, so is Haru.