Can you stand yet another omakase review? 
This time it’s Washoku Renaissance, which is currently in a leased space in Foundation Kitchen in Charlestown. Chef Iwakura Youji owned Kamakura in Boston, the city’s first and only kaiseki style restaurant.
He now offers pre-ordered take out, and several tasting menu options from Foundation Kitchen. He has slightly different options at different times of the month, and also on different nights. For the this omakase, you also had an option for a Ruby tasting or Sapphire ($$) tasting.
His tasting blends a series of sushi tasting and also his kaiseki appetizers. This is currently a 4 hr affair, so if you want to join, be prepared for a full night experience. This may be partly due to his needing time to train his assistant to help out more with all the dishes.
I personally enjoy having the mix of sushi and appetizers/small plates. While I think both Wa Shin and 311 had slightly more creative flair on their nigiri sushi, the combination with his non sushi items makes this a fantastic experience. The sushi is still excellent, and he takes pride in ensuring that each item and is presented at its best.
Some of the sushi offerings:
A5 wagyu
Tautog (local)
Akami (local blue fin)
Otoro
Ten-hirame with amber caviar
All the kaiseki dishes - so pretty and all so good:
Aji, kinmedai, botan ebi (sweet shrimp) in the glass, and heirloom tomato with dashi
Eel in simmered fish bone broth. Light but packed with flavor
Crab chawaushi + truffle, one of my favorites of the night. Incredible smooth texture, and packed with crab flavor
Amadai, ayu (sweet fish), pickled beet, and corn vichyssoise. I would downed a quart that corn soup. I loved the pickled beet and also the slice of vinegared water melon. Every element so tasty
Roasted duck breast with pluot and fig and bonus truffles (winter and summer)
Grilled katsuo and summer vegetables and mushrooms - the summer truffle was supposed to go here
Ikura soba
Peach in chardonnay gelee
Tea and bonbons afterwards. The space is non traditional, given the leased kitchen set up, but it surprisingly makes the experience so much more intimate. This is the narrowest omakase counter, so you have the best view of any I’ve been to so far to see the good prep. Chef Youji Iwakura is also a gem! We with gladly talk about his foods, food prep, ingredients through our the evening, which makes the casual pace not feel like a super drawn out evening. He clearly is very passionate about sustainability, and even highlights local ingredients when he can. He is a customer of The Mushroom Shop, and he mixes these local ingredients with the high end imported Japanese ingredients. He talked about partnering with a local New England brewer who will be loving into sake for a feature set of meals.
The star, for me, of all his dishes is the magnificent broths, whether or was the sweet and savory corn soup, to one of the most umami packed chawanmushi, to the delicate fish broth of his will dish. I love soups, and he is truly a master at maximizing flavor in his broths.
I would highly recommend, everyone who likes Japanese food to give this a try - whether you’re into omakase or not.
