May 2014 Celebrated Living - page 42

BOTTOM:DANIELKRIEGER
TRENDS
MIND-BLOWINGMEALS:
FROM TOP: AtMomofukuKo, a soft-cooked, smokedegg is served splitopenand stuffedwith
caviaronabedof onion soubise; theomakase-styleSushiNakazawa.
lycheeandpine-nutbrittle.
Thetexturesofcrunchy
brittleandsilky foiegras
aresotranscendentthat
this isoneoftwodishesthat
regularlyremainonMo-
mofukuKo’sever-changing
tastingmenu(theother is
asoft-cooked, smokedegg,
splitopenandstuedwith
caviar,onabedofonion
soubisewithfingerling
potatochips).
IfMomofukuKo isone
of thetoughestreserva-
tionstoget inManhattan(and it is), then
Chef’sTableatBrooklynFare isknown
forbeingnearly impossibleontheother
sideof theEastRiver. It’ssituatedbehinda
gourmetgrocerystore inthecozyBoerum
Hillneighborhoodandcontinuously
booked.Eighteendinerssitatastainless
steel,u-shapedcounterandwatchchef
CesarRamirezshowhowheearnedthree
Michelinstarsbyputtingtogetherdishes
suchasoystersmokedunderglass, sweet
uniwithblacktru es,andallmannerof
perfectlyadornedsashimi. Ifyou’rethe
kindofpersonwho lovestophotograph
whatyoueat,besuretobringasenseof
restraint:Picturetaking isverbotenhere.
WhileBrooklynFare isdefinitelyJapa-
nese influenced, thedeepdive inJapanese
microtasting isbestundertakenatthere-
centlyopenedSushiNakazawa. It’sasclose
asyoucangettodiningatoneofTokyo’s
eliteomakase-onlysushibarswithouthop-
pingonaplaneandflyingtotheFarEast.
This is forgoodreason.TheWestVillage
restaurant’snamesake isDaisukeNaka-
zawa,achef featured inthedocumentary
JiroDreamsofSushi,which focusedonone
ofTokyo’smostdrivensushimasters.
BroughttoNewYorkbyAlessandro
Borgognone,whoseotherrestaurant,
improbably, isanItalian joint intheBronx,
ChefNakazawa follows inhismentor’s
footsteps.Mind-blowingdishesoften
includepickledandagedSpanishmack-
erel,bluefintunaservedthreedierent
ways,quicklyflamedgeoduck,andsalmon
smokedwithhay—allbearingremarkably
dierenttexturesandflavors.
Borgognone isrightfullythrilledwith
thewaythingshaveworkedout.Though
he’sheavily focusedonNakazawaand
the intricaciesof importing50percentof
hisfish fromJapan, therestaurateurhas
clearlybeenbittenbythemicrodiningbug.
“IfIworkedonanewproject, itwouldhave
tobesmall.That’sthewaytocontrolqual-
ityandconsistencyandtooeradventur-
ous ingredients,”hesays.Thesuccessof
Nakazawa,Borgognoneadds, “has inspired
metowanttoeventuallydosomething
smallandItalian.”
SUMMER AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
40