Sugiyama
our comments
Nao Sugiyama’s temple of edible art (you can hardly call it simply "cooking"), is a surprisingly casual spot, where privileged chowhounds and businessmen with expense accounts to burn gather in booths or sit at the food bar. Sugiyama, who made his name with the Soho restaurant Katana in the 90s, greets many customers with a "Nice to see you again." Prix-fixe dinners start at $45 (for the pre-theater version), but you don’t come here to pinch pennies. The $100 "Chef Nao’s Choices" eight-course modern kaiseki is worth every cent. Japanese cuisine is based on a handful of primary flavors and ingredients---dashi (a broth of bonito flakes and kelp), citrusy yuzu, miso, soy sauce, and vinegar, among others. Sugiyama proves his mettle in the myriad mixings of those basic tastes and their artful presentations. Dinner is an arc of sensual dishes, starting with the raw and light, ending with cooked and more filling. Sugiyama may start you off with a creamy paté-like concoction of uni and tofu and climax with prime rib that you sear on a volcanically hot rock and leave you refreshed with an almost effervescent grapefruit wine jelly.- April 2005
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