Calling London Sushi Buffs

Hi there Oonth. Took quite some time to read through your diligent blog entries here. Thank you for taking the time. What a relief. I just moved to London with my fiancee and we are dying for sushi. Having lived in NYC my whole life, the sushi withdrawl is reaching a tipping point.

Regardless of price, if what I want is a Sushi Yasuda/Seki/Gari etc omakase style, piece by piece, sushi counter experience, which place would you recommend first? And then what about a second and a third? I will try all of the places that you hold in higher regard (Dinings, Saki, Edokko, Atari Ya, Tomoe, in no particular order), but I'd rather not pick blindly or based on table availability for my first sushi venture in London - and hence I'm asking for you to give me a top 3 in order, starting with the best. I lived here once btwn 02-04 and didnt eat sushi once. It was truly grotesque then.

By the way, I know you love Yasuda, and I think it's good, but my qualms with it are that they cut the fish too small given the amt of rice they give you, and I think the rice is hint dense. Gari has a similar problem in that the pieces (rice and fish) are just too big, and their rice is is even denser. For my tastes, I like Seki the best as a clear number 1. Jewel Bako and Sushi-Ann (formerly Sushisay) are my stalward backup plans. I don't like the fish or rice at Blue Ribbon. The cooked food at Soto is fantastic - have you been there?

Thanks again!

ghsu in U.K./Ireland

WD-50 is disgusting. Right? Anyone?

I never tried to stake a claim that anyone on this string of blogs didn't or couldn't understand molecular gastronomy or were unsophisticated in their palates. I simply tried to disaggregate types of restaurants and food: that when I feel like I want rustic, simple bistro food, I don't go to WD-50. I tried to make it clear that when I go there, I plan on being excited and lured into unexpected combinations of flavors and textures. I never made a sweeping statement that all combinations were successful. I did say that I agreed with those who are in the belief that in general, the dishes have been improving since the restaurant opening.

If we keep this to NYC-area, let me flip this question around to everyone on this blog. Where else is there to go in this genre of food that you think is better than WD-50?

To a_and_w, I'm sorry if you found my comments offensive. It was never intended that way. My comments reflect how I think about the restaurant and how I decide why or why not I'd eat there. I also tried to show my train of thought by using the simpler analogy of Max McCalman's undying quest to find cheese and wine pairings to help shed light on the matter for those who may not have understood what I was saying. Furthermore, the aim of a blog is to be provocative and to share thoughts that provoke interesting responses, or perhaps I've just started particpating on the wrong blog? (I joined last week)

ghsu in Manhattan

WD-50 is disgusting. Right? Anyone?

I have been there at least 1-3 times a year since it opened. I agree that it has been getting better. However, I disagree that its esotericism is getting boring or akin to beating a dead horse. Perhaps the clearest analogy is with Max McCalman, the preminent authority on searching for cheese/wine pairings that in combination with each other are more satisfying in taste than either on its own. In the case of Dufresne, his enthusiasm to search for exciting combinations of flavor and texture in a single bite is unparalleled. I suppose one can be bored by it as a diner, however, I love it. I have had numerous dishes where the balance in acidity or bitterness may have been well off the mark when one or two components are tasted alone. However, when 4 or 5 components are tasted in combination, the dish has complex balance, flavor, and texture.

While brittle or sitcky painted sauces are negatively alluded to in other people's responses, I think Dufresne is one of the key contemporay American innovators of texture. He was one of the first chefs in this country to adopt sous-vide as a cooking method. He practically pioneered using chemicals to create textures. I'm not going to claim that all of them are necessarily the most pleasing of textures for sauces to take on, but I will say that there is no reason not to contemplate different textural forms to deliver taste to one's taste buds. I find it exciting.

While others have claimed they would prefer "halibut with Lyonnaise potatoes" over some concoction out of Dufresne's kitchen, my only response is that I know what traditional bistro fare tastes like. I know what Luger's porterhouse tastes like, I know what grilled lamb chops aux herbes tastes like. However, I don't know what Dufresne's sous vide cooked lamb loin with dehydrated aged goat cheese crumble and arugula sauce (made with zanthum gum) taste like, and that's why I go.

ghsu in Manhattan

Prune or other similar suggestions?

Both Prune and Cookshop are rustic, simple, focus on the quality of the ingredients, broadly American, I suppose in atmosphere they're not similar, but not sure I see how they're not more or less similar to each other in food. What else is more similar to Prune other than Red Cat and Cookshop?

ghsu in Manhattan

Prune or other similar suggestions?

in that same genre of food, The Red Cat and Cookshop are good alternatives, albeit no bone marrow. The Red Cat usually has a nice rendition of sweetbreads on the menu, which I mention b/c Prune does some of the best sweetbreads in town.

ghsu in Manhattan

We're Going to Per Se, So We're Eating Street/Really Cheap Food for the Rest our Trip. Ideas?

Banh Mi (shareable sandwich) and some combo of the steamed pork buns, tripe, or veal head terrine at Momofuku Ssam Bar would keep you in your guidelines.

Burgers at JG Melons are in my opinion better than all of the burger places so far metioned, including Burger Joint (thin patties, no flavor, albeit nice and greasey), Corner Bistro (nice think juicy beef tasting burger, but lacks the aged nutty flavor a Melons burger takes on), and Shake Shack (not that different in style to Burger Joint).

GO TO CHINATOWN - Joe's Shanghai - The pork & crab soup dumplings, the Shanghainese thick long life noodles, the drunken chicken, the salt/pepper fried shrimp, any combo of these would alse be in your limitations. Popular Dim Sum spots include Dim Sum a Go-Go and Golden Unicorn.

Dim Sum - I prefer Cafe Evergreen on 69th and 1st Ave to the two I mentioned above. Be sure to get the sharks fin dumplings, the pork and chinese chive dumplings, the su mai, the shrimp and chive, the bean curd wrapped pork or beef rolls, the bean curd wrapped steamed duck rolls, and anything else that looks good to you. A selection of 8 dim sum dishes would still be cheaper than your guidelines.

ghsu in Manhattan

CAVIAR IN MOSCOW

Where can I go sit down in the evening (so in other words, not like a day time shop/cafe) to get top quality caviar? (cheap, expensive, best value for the money, whatever the caviar fiends think is noteworthy...)

Thanks!!

ghsu in Europe

Traditional Russian (or Georgian cuisine or anything else regional of note) in MOSCOW

Looking for suggestions for restaurants (cheap or expensive) with a focus on traditional or regional Russian food, whether that means Russian food in general, or some particular part of the country that has noteworthy culinary tradition where a restaurant in itself might try to showcase it.

Thanks!!

ghsu in Europe

Soto- watch out Yasuda, Masa, Gari, Morimoto and Nobu!

i went the 3rd week they were open. i was horribly disappointed. i know someone who went last week and he claimed it to be better than the time i went there...(however his favorite sushi in town is Yasuda which i vehemently disagree with...i think seki is the best in town). anyway, i plan on giving it a second chance, but my recommendation would be to give the cooked dishes a try, i found a couple of them to be superb. sushi was underwhelming at best. raw fish dressed dishes missed the mark too.

ghsu in Manhattan

Good, fresh, inexpensive Mexican?

i second the post on el paso tacqueria. its really cheap ($1.50 per taco) and really good. awesome carnitas and chorizo tacos. location somewhat annoying on 97th btwn park and madison, but you will not be disappointed.

ghsu in Manhattan