$350 a Head for Sushi in NY

[Mulboyne]

AP via Miami Herald: A bite of bliss adds up at NYC eatery Masa
When Masayoshi Takayama is wielding the knife, a slice of heaven starts at $350. That's a bargain if you're talking about actual eternal utopia. But with Takayama, heaven means sushi. A year ago on March 1, the Tokyo-trained chef with a fierce following of foodies and celebrities opened Masa, his first Manhattan eatery, considered the most expensive restaurant in the country. Starting at $350 per person, a party of two easily rings up a tab of more than $1,000, after tax, tip and sake....To open Masa, he sold his exclusive Los Angeles spot, Ginza Sushiko. Takayama can't be in two kitchens at once. And when you're paying that much for dinner, you expect Takayama to make it.
...That strict policy means dinner sometimes has to be canceled. If Takayama is sick, the 26-seat restaurant is closed. If there's a problem with the shipment of fish - flown in from Japan - he can't cook
...For a long time, the chef says, a restaurant like Masa wouldn't have appealed to Americans because "they didn't know what fresh fish was." "But now, Japanese food and sushi is getting popular, and now they're getting used to it, what good fish is," he says. "They understand. They know what they pay for." click for more

[Charles]

Oh that's nothing. Back in the bubble era, there was a prix fixee sushiya in LA's Little Tokyo, $1500 per person. I tried to get in once thinking it was just a regular sushi place, they wouldn't even open the door.

[Mulboyne]

they wouldn't even open the door.

:P

[Neo-Rio]

...That strict policy means dinner sometimes has to be canceled. If Takayama is sick, the 26-seat restaurant is closed. If there's a problem with the shipment of fish - flown in from Japan - he can't cook

NO SUSHI FOR YOU!

[dingosatemybaby]

...That strict policy means dinner sometimes has to be canceled. If Takayama is sick, the 26-seat restaurant is closed. If there's a problem with the shipment of fish - flown in from Japan - he can't cook

NO SUSHI FOR YOU!

Yeah, Sushi Nazi indeed. My sister says there's some sushi place in LA where the fascist chef expects you to down your sushi in one gulp. It's the "proper" way, apparently. Or at least HE thinks so.

[prolly]

I've eaten there (at Masa) and it's brilliant, but the fact is you can get equitable sushi/bangohan at other NY places like Nobu (a tourist trap but still excellent food) and Megu.

I live in NYC and there's been an explosion of Japanese eateries, and this trend will peak soon, and then we'll all be able to eat at Masa for about $500 total. My only problem with Masa is that the money is less about the actual food/experience (meals prepared by a small kitchen staff trained by the chef would be just as good) and such high-priced shenanigans simply take advantage of the experimental diner; "for that much, it has to be worth it!" sort of logic.

[Charles]

NO SUSHI FOR YOU!

Yeah, Sushi Nazi indeed. My sister says there's some sushi place in LA where the fascist chef expects you to down your sushi in one gulp. It's the "proper" way, apparently. Or at least HE thinks so.

Yeah, the infamous Sushi Nazi, Nozawa. I used to work right across the street from there and ate there occasionally, I never noticed anything that unusual about it.
On a visit back to LA a few years ago, a friend of mine said we should go eat at this wild place he discovered, infamous as the Sushi Nazi's place, he'd worked hard to get into sushiyasan's good graces and I had to promise I'd be on my best behavior and not embarass him or he'd never be allowed to return. I said he had to be kidding, he was a sushi newbie compared to me, I was more concerned about him embarassing ME. I never heard of the Sushi Nazi and he wouldn't tell me where it was until we got there. So we went to the place, and when we got there, I was shocked, it was the place I'd been years before he ever discovered it. So we went in, same old routine, he plunks down some maguro without you asking for it, and a second serving of whatever he recommends (hamachi that day, my favorite). Then you get to order what you like. I started with ikasashi, that always gets favorable attention from sushiyasan, going off the menu for a special (and easy to make) dish. There was a big display of uni in the cooler up at the counter, so I asked for uni, he refused to serve it, saying it was no good. I'll take his word for it. I've eaten uni at dockside fishmarket in Hakodate, nothing is as good as uni that's served within about 1 minute of it being fished out of the ocean.

[gkanai]

I had a thread on cheap sushi on my blog a while ago...

[Big Booger]

No sushi is worth $350 a person to me.. I could afford it, but why would I want to try it? screw that.. give me kaiten all the way baby!

I mean, hell throw in another 400 and you've got a ticket to Japan... why pay to have the sushi brought to you, when you could go to the land of serve it up sushi?

Retarded... simply retarded... upscale twats dining on dioxinified red snapper and wasabi???

[kamome]

Yeah, the infamous Sushi Nazi, I used to work right across the street from there

What was your job in Studio City?

[Charles]

Yeah, the infamous Sushi Nazi, I used to work right across the street from there

What was your job in Studio City?

I was a computer geek at the ComputerLand in the mall across from Nozawa. Oh man that was a legendary job.

[Tequila]

No sushi is worth $350 a person to me.. I could afford it, but why would I want to try it? screw that.. give me kaiten all the way baby!

Exactly. I mean, what is all the extra money for? We really only taste the main flavours of the fish, rice, wasabi and soy sauce, so how can more money help? It may be slightly fresher fish etc, but what taste difference is worth literally hundreds of dollars for one meal?

Pure pretention and mindless Japanese consumerism. Don't buy into it! (you can try it once though just to say you have )

[Charles]

Exactly. I mean, what is all the extra money for? We really only taste the main flavours of the fish, rice, wasabi and soy sauce, so how can more money help? It may be slightly fresher fish etc, but what taste difference is worth literally hundreds of dollars for one meal?

Well think of it from another perspective. Most nihonjin wouldn't have any problem spending a ton of money to travel someplace like Hakodate, just to eat the fresh local sushi. In fact, that's part of the whole travel experience, to travel places just for the food. But then, you get a vacation with your sushi too. There is nothing as good as eating sushi at the dockside fishmarket, watching sushiyasan cutting up a fish that is still flopping around and trying to jump back into the ocean.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I don't know specifically about this restaurant, but there can be a big difference between a regular meal and a meal that costs hundreds of dollars.

[Big Booger]

I don't know specifically about this restaurant, but there can be a big difference between a regular meal and a meal that costs hundreds of dollars.

Sure there are more expensive choices.. but does that make them better? I often wonder...

Jerk, what can be the difference? Please tell me? I mean are they using pure organic ingredients grown in a garden behind the store? Have they hand fed the fish

Charles hit it.. it's an experience you are paying for.. yeah the sushi might be fresher.. It may even be served with more care.. cut just a certain way.. the chef is semi-famous.. the place is upscale.. but I don't give two shits about any of that... apart from the freshness...

Now if they included a free flight to the restaurant, a hotel, and a continental breakfast in the morning, I might consider it LMAO.

[Charles]

Charles hit it.. it's an experience you are paying for.. yeah the sushi might be fresher.. It may even be served with more care.. cut just a certain way.. the chef is semi-famous.. the place is upscale.. but I don't give two shits about any of that... apart from the freshness...

Well, there are a lot of people who live completely unlike you and I, where $500 for a meal means nothing. Go pick up a Neiman-Marcus catalog and you'll see what I mean, I'm talking about people who spend $2000 for a pair of shoes.

The $1500/person sushi place I mentioned was infamous because it was the kind of place where Japanese corporate executives would take a client and charge it to their expense account. Those days are long gone. And even then, nobody ever bought their OWN sushi dinner for $1500 out of their OWN pocket.

[Big Booger]

Charles hit it.. it's an experience you are paying for.. yeah the sushi might be fresher.. It may even be served with more care.. cut just a certain way.. the chef is semi-famous.. the place is upscale.. but I don't give two shits about any of that... apart from the freshness...

Well, there are a lot of people who live completely unlike you and I, where $500 for a meal means nothing. Go pick up a Neiman-Marcus catalog and you'll see what I mean, I'm talking about people who spend $2000 for a pair of shoes.

The $1500/person sushi place I mentioned was infamous because it was the kind of place where Japanese corporate executives would take a client and charge it to their expense account. Those days are long gone. And even then, nobody ever bought their OWN sushi dinner for $1500 out of their OWN pocket.

Sad... those people are sad.. they overvalue goods.. Certainly wealth shouldn't equate with waste. A case of okane MOTTAINAI

Corporate whore-mongering aside.. I will retract a statement I made.. I said I would never, when I really meant I might not ever.. Depends on how good it really is....

I suppose if you are ultra-rich, this would be a drop in the bucket?? Pocket change.. no sweat off the scrotum..

[FG Lurker]

Charles hit it.. it's an experience you are paying for.. yeah the sushi might be fresher.. It may even be served with more care.. cut just a certain way.. the chef is semi-famous.. the place is upscale.. but I don't give two shits about any of that... apart from the freshness...

Well, there are a lot of people who live completely unlike you and I, where $500 for a meal means nothing. Go pick up a Neiman-Marcus catalog and you'll see what I mean, I'm talking about people who spend $2000 for a pair of shoes.

The $1500/person sushi place I mentioned was infamous because it was the kind of place where Japanese corporate executives would take a client and charge it to their expense account. Those days are long gone. And even then, nobody ever bought their OWN sushi dinner for $1500 out of their OWN pocket.

Sad... those people are sad.. they overvalue goods.. Certainly wealth shouldn't equate with waste. A case of okane MOTTAINAI

Corporate whore-mongering aside.. I will retract a statement I made.. I said I would never, when I really meant I might not ever.. Depends on how good it really is....

I suppose if you are ultra-rich, this would be a drop in the bucket?? Pocket change.. no sweat off the scrotum..

I know a guy like this... During the bubble he used to sponsor boat racing sometimes as a hobby. Hundred grand US/race. No sweat.

Talking to him is like entering a whole different world. Different universe.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I've got a friend who's loaded that took a client to a $500 a plate dinner celebrating the beginning of white truffle season. Every dish had white truffles and he said the food was absolutely amazing and the best stuff he's ever had. For him $500 is nothing (wish I could say the same for me). This is a guy who knows food so I believe him when he says it.

I've never spent that much on dinner but I have spent $100 - $180 (that included the drinks, but it was mostly the cost of food) on very rare occasions. Let me tell you there is a HUGE difference between --for example-- getting a $15 steak dinner at a sports bar and $150 one at nice steak house. The difference is in the quality of beef and the way it's prepared. If you can't taste the difference then you don't know food. You absolutely cannot buy beef of that quality at a cheap restaurant. You can't even buy it at an upscale grocery store. You have to know what you're doing and go to a meat market and pick the cuts yourself.

No, price doesn't make something better, but there is often a reason that a place charges more for food. I've been to relatively expensive restaurants where the food is mediocre and cheap dives that have some of the best stuff I've ever had. But I think that really depends on what kind of food you're eating. I'd much rather get a pulled pork BBQ sandwich for a couple of bucks from a shack on the side of the road in Georgia than from a $50 a plate upscale soul food restaurant in NYC. On the other hand, there is no way I'll ever get to celebrate white truffle season without shelling out a couple of hundred.

Now back to sushi. I've had one super expensive sushi experience at a bargain price of 6,000 yen. Why? Because the daughter of the owner of the restaurant had just graduated from the high school I worked at. I went with one of the other teachers: a japanese guy who was a bit of a gourmet. When we left he told me that would usually have cost us at least 20,000 yen each. The six grand we each paid might not have even covered the alcohol. This wasn't an upscale sushi-ya so the atmosphere was nothing special. But there was a major difference in the quality, taste, and type of fish and nihonshu I got to try. The down side is that since then I haven't been able to enjoy the average sushi and sashimi that I can normally afford as much as I used to. Who knows? Maybe a $500 sushi dinner would be that much better.

Big Booger, I don't know why you think people are sad that spend a lot of money on fine restaurants. Some would say it's excessive to spend $25 on dinner when you can cook at home for less than five. It's all relative to what you have and what you're into. I don't understand why people spend thousands of dollars on ski equipment because I've never been skiing and have no real desire to. Other people would say I'm crazy to have around $1000 worth of athletic gear for the shit I'm into. I say we're just spending money on what we enjoy.

[FG Lurker]

Let me tell you there is a HUGE difference between --for example-- getting a $15 steak dinner at a sports bar and $150 one at nice steak house. The difference is in the quality of beef and the way it's prepared.

SJ, I totally agree.

The difference between a 2,000yen steak and a 18,000yen steak is massive. Is it 10x better? Usually yes.

It's the same with Scotch. A 2,000yen bottle of Scotch is drinkable... But a 20,000yen bottle is something to enjoy.

No, price doesn't make something better, but there is often a reason that a place charges more for food. I've been to relatively expensive restaurants where the food is mediocre and cheap dives that have some of the best stuff I've ever had. But I think that really depends on what kind of food you're eating.

Perfectly said.

But there was a major difference in the quality, taste, and type of fish and nihonshu I got to try. The down side is that since then I haven't been able to enjoy the average sushi and sashimi that I can normally afford as much as I used to. Who knows? Maybe a $500 sushi dinner would be that much better.

Yes, after tasting the really good stuff it is hard to go back to average or mediocre again.

As for the $500 Sushi, I am not sure. My feeling is that at a certain point you start to get diminishing returns and you have to be a true connoisseur to appreciate the differences. Not only for food, but also in wine, scotch, and totally non-related areas such as home audio systems.

[Naniwan Kid]

I agrue about this all the time.

10 dollar steak = crap

20 dollar steak = decent

30 dollar steak = damn good

40 dollar steak = great

50 dollar streak = wow, tastes like a 30 or 40 dollar steak. Wait a minute...

70 dollar steak = Gee, this is great. It almost tastes as good as a 30 or 40 dollar steak. Oh crap....

[FG Lurker]

I agrue about this all the time.

10 dollar steak = crap

20 dollar steak = decent

30 dollar steak = damn good

40 dollar steak = great

50 dollar streak = wow, tastes like a 30 or 40 dollar steak. Wait a minute...

70 dollar steak = Gee, this is great. It almost tastes as good as a 30 or 40 dollar steak. Oh crap....

If I had to actually *pay* for the $200 steak I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much. But when the company pays......

Over the past couple of years I have been lucky enough to eat quite a few $150 to $200 steak dinners. As someone who enjoys a good steak and has eaten my share of steaks I guarantee you there is no comparison between a $40 steak and a $200 one.

[Big Booger]

Big Booger, I don't know why you think people are sad that spend a lot of money on fine restaurants. Some would say it's excessive to spend $25 on dinner when you can cook at home for less than five. It's all relative to what you have and what you're into. I don't understand why people spend thousands of dollars on ski equipment because I've never been skiing and have no real desire to. Other people would say I'm crazy to have around $1000 worth of athletic gear for the shit I'm into. I say we're just spending money on what we enjoy.

It's sad when taken into a context that there are billions of starving people out there and these pricks sop up on high dollar food.. while millions die of simple diarrhea due to a lack of water. Oh sure they can spend money on whatever they enjoy.. we all do I suppose.. It's just sad to think that had we any heart, we would donate half of what we have to those less fortunate than ourselves...

I guess it's the compassion in me.. that prevents me from spending that much money on a sushi dinner.. or even more.

At the same time I realize yea, with the steak analogy that food can actually be better... and cost more..

I suppose the world needs rich and powerful, high class as well as low.. but it would be nice to see that place and other upscale eateries donate a percentage of profits to help the worlds starving people.

But as for the steak, I've had steaks that cost around $20 that I'd honestly say were the best I've had in my life.

And I've enjoyed everything from black angus to kobe beef.. I guess it comes down to what you are willing to pay and how little you care about money.. or how much you have.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Well, BB, following your logic we should all live as cheaply as possible regardless of income, never spend money on luxuries, and donate as much as possilbe to charity. Every time I drink a beer or got to a movie I'm spending money on things that I don't need.

You know that most of the people dying from starvation aren't dying because there isn't enough aid to feed them, right? They're dying for political reasons.

[kamome]

Well, BB, following your logic we should all live as cheaply as possible regardless of income, never spend money on luxuries, and donate as much as possilbe to charity. Every time I drink a beer or got to a movie I'm spending money on things that I don't need.

Yeah, I picked up on this logical flaw as well. BB's thinking also assumes that a guy who spends $200 on a steak is not donating to charity because that person somehow spent all of his discretionary income on the steak. I bet that a person who can go out for a $200 steak also has plenty of income to donate to charity. It's just a matter of whether that person has the inclination to donate to charity at all--not whether he's going out for expensive meals.

[Mulboyne]

[Taro Toporific]

....can get equitable sushi/bangohan at other NY places like Nobu (a tourist trap but still excellent food) and [color="Red"]Megu.[/color]
.

Ex-Waitress Sues Megu for Sex Harassment
New York Magazine - Sept 20
A sexual-harassment lawsuit filed today by a former waitress for Megu, the Tribeca outpost of the high-end Japanese restaurant empire, is hot enough to melt the place's trademark Buddha ice sculpture. The ex-waitress, Satomi Southward, a 31-year-old single mother described by her lawyer as "demure, pretty, with long hair," is seeking $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages from the restaurant (which earned two stars from the Times) and its parent company, Food Scope America...more....
---[color="Red"]lawsuit copy[/color]---

[IkemenTommy]

Ex-Waitress Sues Megu for Sex Harassment
New York Magazine - Sept 20
A sexual-harassment lawsuit filed today by a former waitress for Megu, the Tribeca outpost of the high-end Japanese restaurant empire, is hot enough to melt the place's trademark Buddha ice sculpture. The ex-waitress, Satomi Southward, a 31-year-old single mother described by her lawyer as "demure, pretty, with long hair," is seeking $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages from the restaurant (which earned two stars from the Times) and its parent company, Food Scope America...more....
---[color="Red"]lawsuit copy[/color]---

Right... 20 million dollars... right...
Even if she does win the case (in the most remote circumstances), the judge will throw it out and reduce it to 20 thousand.

[Mulboyne]

Right... 20 million dollars... right...
Even if she does win the case (in the most remote circumstances), the judge will throw it out and reduce it to 20 thousand.

Why is it unlikely that she would win? Similar cases have been won before. Additionally, the restaurant owner is a Japanese company (they run the Imaiya and Maimon chains mainly in Tokyo) and they usually prefer to settle out of court.

[Jack]

She is a gold digger. $20 million? Give me a fucking break, she would have slept with the boss for 100K or less had he offered it.

Back to expensive sushi, I wouldn't pay either. I travel on expense account all the time and have had very outrageous meals mainly in Japan, but I don't enjoy them. Like they say, been there, done that, and as Gboothe so eloquantly put it, give me the kaiten sushi any day. I do enjoy Nobu because of the good food and atmospher so once in a while I'll pay the bick bucks to eat if its worth it but usually the big bucks is not worth it. High-end casual place always wins with me.