Omakase

Leave it to me.

In the same way that a tasting menu leaves decisions to the chef, selecting the omakase option in a Japanese sushi restaurant leaves you trusting the man behind the counter. Tonight we went to Sasabune (73rd and 1st). My friend J is a big friend of Nozawa in Los Angeles and Kenji at Sasabune apparently learned under Nozawa's second in command at his place in Hawaii. For anyone who knows Nozawa, there are (apparently, I've never been there) plenty of similarities. They start at the beginning, with the Trust Me theme

It's not bad advice to follow. We had a fabulous meal. I knew that we were off to a good start with the origianl table setting. I never get enough ginger in restaurants, I love it to balance the flavors, and always need to ask for more. Except here.

As you can see (or not, as it's totally out of focus), they provide a serious amount of both wasabi and ginger.

But that is not it, the sushi itself is fabulous. We started off with a yellowtail sashimi appetizer. The slices were thin and soft, very fresh. The sauce (ponzu?) also had a bit of a citrus element. A slightly unusual taste, very delicate. Next was two pieces of tuna (I didn't take pictures as the flash was somewhat distracting in the small space) - the toro was absolutely amazing (I got a second piece for 'desert').

Then we had some fluke, some more yellowtail, some bonito, and it went on. I took one more picture (had to do it) when we got to the oysters. They were amazing. I don't know what the sauce was, but it was a little bit spicy.

This was a really nice meal. I highly recommend checking this place out! These are good hands to leave yourself in.