Same. Interestingly, what I remember most about each were the comparative tastings: three kinds of yellowtail at Jewel Bako and three kinds of uni at 15 East. And how beautiful the spaces were.
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Agree 100%.
I used this analogy to explain to a friend why a $2000 handbag was not the “superior quality” she was expecting. The difference between a $100 bag and a $500 bag is very noticeable in both construction and leather/fabric quality. Spending upwards of $500 and you get (mostly) fancier hardware/zippers, not significantly better quality. You’re just paying for the marketing, fancy boutiques, and the cache of carrying the logo.
It’s not any different in the restaurant business–you’re just paying 3x the price for the privledge of saying you were there.
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The Jewel Bako dinner was organized through the late Opinionated About board. I still have the menu somewhere. I remember both sake and wine being served, and it may have been my first time having wine with sushi.
I’m a little amazed that I shelled out for fancypants sushi so long ago. But what a lovely place that was!
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I guess HO is becoming a place to repost stories from places like the NY Times.
I seldom agree with the writer of the story but this time she was spot on. I love good sushi. I’ve spent a lot of money chasing it. Have had the opportunity to eat it in some very good places in many cities. I can afford to spend whatever. I’ve never had buyers remorse. But disappointment has become regular. Increasingly there is a sameness to all the high end sushiya. The same progression of ever more fatty fishes. The same boasts about where the fish comes from. They even all look the same. Blond wood. The hushed reverence.
My favorite sushi place was a casualty of Covid. It wasn’t in a the big city. Nothing fancy. I loved that spot. The chef immigrated to the US from Japan. Found a small coastal town he liked and opened a sushi restaurant. He built out most of the space himself. Didn’t cater to typical American tastes. No rolls with four fish and three sauces. I would come in and sit at the bar and chat with him. He would pour me some sake. We would talk about what was good that day. He would often go out fishing and serve what he caught. No fancy toppings. No blow torches. Good fish. Properly cut. Nicely seasoned rice. It wasn’t cheap but worth every dollar. I so miss that place.
When I first started working I discovered a Japanese restaurant with a small sushi bar a few blocks away. I got to know the lovely Japanese woman who owned the place. Some evenings on the way home I would go in and sit at the bar. I would at times be the only one. I would gorge myself on sushi. Spent $100 when that used to be serious amount to spend on food. Fluke, oyster, uni, tuna, scallop, shrimp. Nothing was flown in from Japan. The shrimp were swimming in a tank. The chef would use a net, scoop one out and decapitate it in a flash. Stripped of its shell and on to the rice in less than 15 seconds. They would take the heads into the kitchen and then bring them back in a little bowl after they had been deep fried with ponzu. I would leave full, a little poorer but happy.
There are other places like them still. Just have to seek them out.
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Food Media & News has always been a place to share food or restaurant-related news & discuss them, AFAIK. Thanks for sharing your personal experience with us in this context.
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I am allergic to fish so Sushi is lost on me, but my brother adores it. He was one of the first of my close friends and family to proudly seek out low price options and really indulge himself. At some point I noticed there were other sushi fans who seemed to use their meals as a status symbol. Not sure when that change took place, but it seems most of the people inclined to share their experiences on a board like this would be doing it from genuine enthusiasm or connection. Other than triggering one side or the other, I don’t understand the audience for articles like this.
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A simple answer to this question is that folks will pay for it and that is what many of them expect. This reads like a slop piece from the NYT. Isn’t this a lot of words to ask why isn’t Japanese sushi and omakase like it is in Japan? Even in Japan, there are super high-end omakase experiences, and do we believe everyone is getting a tailored experience? It reads like that’s what the author is expecting because of the term, or because the cost is only justified by that level of service.
If they’re bored and find it too expensive, stop going to omakase. From my local experience - there is an expectation US diners have of what sushi should comprise of. I’ve never had a simple piece of salmon or tuna with omakase locally. It’s usually seasonal or rarer fish not on the menu of your typical sushi joint. If it is a more common fish, it’s prepared far more elaborately or perhaps a more premium cut of the fish that is highlighted. I guess that’s not special enough for more experienced diners or who have the means of eating omakase all the time.
Until we can expand America’s palate and omakase is common, it’s not going to evolve. It’s no different from robatayaki in the US too – most places in the US are standard cuts of meat, seafood or vegetables. Getting chicken skin is hard to find in many places, let alone the unusual bits like cockscomb, tendons, aorta, etc. When the average American still makes a face at chicken feet at dim sum that’s been around for 40-50 years, truly special omakase and cheaper omakase isn’t going around the corner.
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