Notes on Food

Lately, when splurging on dinner, I’ve preferred doing omakase menus instead of European-style tasting menus since you come out feeling satisfied but not weighed down by super rich sauces and the like and Ichimura in TriBeCa has possibly the best omakase offering I’ve ever had in NYC. It’s 10 seats (two seatings each night at 6 and 9pm) in a minimalist setting and Chef Ichimura’s emphasis on aging fish to optimize flavor and texture results in some seriously delicious fish. Once again…too lazy to go into detail but I actually did manage to note what each piece was. It’s well worth the visit if you can manage to get a reservation and Chef Ichimura, who was literally doing all the fish preparation himself, was so adorable and soft-spoken that I wanted to adopt him as my grandpa.

Baby eel; roe and cod tartare; orange clam

Chawanmushi – perfectly jiggly

Sashimi of abalone; octopus; fluke; golden snapper; shima aji

Smoked bamboo shoot. Super clean flavors and a nice toothsomeness.

The beautiful bar and no surprise, Zalto glassware.

Needle fish – almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

Golden snapper

Whiting

Amber jack

Spanish mackerel belly – this was a standout and a great example of how aging can firm up the texture of fish.

Tuna

Horse mackerel – again, such a pretty piece

Medium fatty tuna

Hokkaido uni – always a favorite and super generous with the uni

Scallop

Baby shrimp – super sweet and a new favorite of mine

Eel – just cooked and warm to the touch. Really enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t drowned in any sauces

Chef Ichimura doing his magic

Fatty tuna – oh snap. Three butterflied layers of the butteriest toro. I almost passed out.

Dessert – simple green tea ice cream with mochi and other fixings. Just the right amount of sweetness.

Tagged: dining, dinner, food, ichimura, japanese, new york, nyc, omakase, seafood, sushi, travel, tribeca