Sushi – Touring Foodie

I have been wanting to go to Nakazawa ever since it opened in 2013, and even more so after learning about the amazing story of its genesis.

I had seen the movie “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” in 2011 and learned about the story of Sushi chef Sukiyabashi Jiro and his exclusive Michelin-starred 10-seat counter restaurant in Tokyo (which is still on my must-go list!). Jiro has since lost is Michelin star for being too exclusive but he continues to make sushi at age 100!!!

Then I heard the story of how famous NY-based restaurateur Alessandro Borgognone reached out via Facebook to Jiro’s protege Daisuke Nakasawa and (via Google translate) communicated with him to discuss opening his restaurant in New York, which soon after got a 4-star review in the Times and ended up becoming one of the most exclusive and sought after reservations.

I first made a reservation in 2018 and for whatever reason had to cancel then. It took me long enough to visit but I finally made it back in 2023, 10 years after the opening.

Chef Nakazawa himself is only there some of the times and he was sadly not there the night I visited (I was told he was in LA where he is going to open another restaurant) but, as you might expect, the staff was just as polite, delightful, prepared and professional as he most certainly would have been, and in fact I found them to be less pretentious and rigid than staff can be in some other similar places.

The omakase (which is the only option) is $150 per person and you can have an additional course of wagyu beef ($32) or of uni ($50), or a champagne pairing ($75). Sake and tea are of course additional and come in a variety of price points as you might expect. The restaurant has no liquor license so there is no wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages.

The omakase dishes were as following (the caption are the fish names from right to left, which is the order in which they are recommended to be eaten):

Shinshu Salmon
Hay-Smoked Coho Salmon
Soy-Marinated King Salmon

Shellfish:
Hotate
Bigfin Reef Squid
Botan Ebi
Snow Crab

Shellfish replacement course:
Chicken Gruntfish
Fluke Fin
Sea Bream
Fluke

Spanish Mackerel
Golden-Eye Snapper
Red-Spotted Groupe

Lean Bluefin Tuna
Soy-marinated Bluefin Tuna
Chutoro
Otoro

The soy-marinated bluefin tuna and the Otoro deserve special mention as the best part of the Omakase courses in my opinion.

Soy-Marinated Salmon Roe
Hokkaido Uni (shellfish replacement: Herring Roe)

Special Uni course (additional charge) from Hokkaido

I love uni (sea urchin) deeply and grew up eating it fresh and raw right out of the sea of Southern Italy so I had to splurge and get the extra portion. It did not disappoint in taste although I would have expected a bigger serving for $50.

Ginger Tea to clear the palate before dessert

Although I would not describe this as one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had in my life, it definitely ranks up there in the top 20 maybe and, as far as sushi restaurants go, is probably one of the best 5 or 10 I have tried in New York City.

Sushi master chef Kazunori Nozawa was also known as “the Sushi Nazi” because allegedly he used to throw people out of the restaurant if they asked for dipping sauces or tempura or for a “California rolls” (apparently even famous people like Charlize Theron got thrown out).

After having run a restaurant in Tokyo with his mother he opened his first restaurant in Los Angeles in the mid/late eighties and Sushi Nozawa quickly became a world renown restaurant. In 2012, after 25 years, he retired from making sushi and opened Sugarfish, for which he and his sons still select the freshest fish every morning.

Sugarfish has become a hit and has 10 locations in Los Angeles and one in New York. The first ever location is now closed so I visited the second location, which is now the oldest one and is located in Marina Del Ray, near Venice Beach.

When I tried to visit the New York location in the first month it had opened there was a 3 hour wait, so I ate somewhere else. But in LA it’s much easier to get a table or a seat at the bar (although it’s not really a sushi bar, as the kitchen is off to the side). Expect a wait of at least 20 min (we waited 30 min on a Monday night at 9.30, which is a very off time…).

The food is amazing and surprisingly affordable. The omakase (or “Trust Me” as it’s called) is only $35 and there is a light version for $25 and a version with two extra specials for $45.

The fish is super fresh and the preparation is truly great. For example the salmon, and the eel were some of the best salmon and eel I’ve had and the large scallop had a tangy bite to it which was a bit of yuzu ponzu on it. Even the sushi rice was tastier than most: it is warm-ish and harder, almost “al dente”, I’d say, and with the right amount of vinegar. The only bad thing about the rice (and about the whole experience) is the consistency of the rice. The taste is great but you can’t pick up a piece of sushi with your chop sticks without dropping some rice on your plate. It’s impossible. Maybe I should have tried the old school japanese way (by hand)… And forget about picking it up and flicking it over to dip the fish in the soy sauce (which is the way you use soy sauce on sushi, fish side down!). It’s impossible! That was a drag but the taste of the fish made up for it.

For a place with 10 locations I was amazed at the quality.

Category: Sushi

Sushi Nakazawa

Sugarfish