It was time to head back to Tanoshi Sushi Sake Bar. This time, my sister came along. I enjoyed it so much the first time that I suggested we go there for our one and only sushi fix while she was home. Plus, you can’t beat the value.
How we still had room to eat anything after Smorgasburg and Pies ‘n’ Thighs is beyond me. We stopped by a liquor store on the way and picked up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
They actually started serving sushi at their restaurant next door as well since there are only 10 seats available at the sushi bar divided into three seating per evening at 6pm, 7:30pm, and 9pm. So, now there’s Tanoshi Left and Tanoshi Right. While making a reservation, I requested the original sushi bar which seems to be Tanoshi Right and to sit by Chef Toshio himself. I’m not sure if it worked, but we were seated right in front of him!
We started off with a pretty standard seaweed salad before Chef Toshio got to work slicing fish and preparing the nigiri.
The first piece was kelp-cured fluke. The temperature of the rice is a bit warmer than other sushi restaurants and it’s not packed as tight, so it is ideal to use your fingers. The fluke was light and fresh.
The second piece was Kingfish with a thin slice of kelp over it. It’s also known as King Mackerel. It’s high in fat and the kelp helped cut the richness making it a nice savory bite.
Look at all that uni. Mmmmmmmmm.
I’m a huge fan of salmon sushi. This was King Salmon. So juicy and tender. It practically melted in my mouth.
One of my favorite pieces was served next. The soy marinated bigeye tuna. So amazing. Great flavor and the tuna is so soft, you’d think it was a piece of chutoro. Delicious!
The following piece was amberjack topped with a cherry blossom leaf. The leaf is taken off and you eat the amberjack first. Then we ate the leaf afterwards which served as a palate cleanser for the next piece.
Next up was sablefish. It was slightly torched and served warm.
The scallop was topped with yuzu and a sprinkle of sea salt. It was so good. The citrus and salt atop the poached scallop was a perfect combination of flavors.
The ikura (salmon roe) was great. Ikura is one of those pieces that must be really high quality to be enjoyed, otherwise it’s just a mushy mess. Each egg just popped with saltiness and the seaweed seems to always be toasted just right at Tanoshi.
The next piece was Uni with Quail Egg.
Quail egg tastes just like a regular egg, it’s just smaller. It was silky and smooth. The sea urchin was from Hokkaido which is my favorite. I think it has the best flavor. It has that clean salt water taste.
The Anago (freshwater eel) was so good. The sauce is spread on before being served to you. It was soft and tender with some sweetness from the sauce. Eel is so much better when it’s not drenched in the sauce. This piece had the right amount.
You definitely want to scope out the wall by the window. Hanging there on colorful pieces of paper are the appetizers and specials. I always skip the appetizer and save room for a few extra special pieces at the end.
Once the nigiri portion is finished, it’s time for that small cup of miso soup. Unfortunately, tonight’s was made with shrimp, so I had to skip it. My sister enjoyed it.
The maki roll was next. It’s sliced into three pieces and included wild salmon, amberjack, and bigeye tuna. The maki is so good because the seaweed he uses is excellent. Each one was wonderful.
The omakase ends with a spicy tuna handroll and it is delicious sooooo good. The tuna is not dressed too heavily and the seaweed is just perfect. My sister kept mentioning how good the seaweed was. It really is and it had a nice little crunch on every bite.
I had to try a few specials…
The spicy scallop muscle was good. It’s the side muscle of the scallop that attaches to the shell. It is chopped up and dressed with a spicy mayo sauce with tobiko throughout.
We both tried the salmon belly. Tender, plump, and yummy.
We weren’t sure what else to try. The waitress suggested the Blackthroat Seaperch since it was in season. It sort of reminded me of seabass or sable, it was very good.
Another great omakase at Tanoshi. This is one spot I wouldn’t mind coming back to over and over again. Compared to other omakases, you can’t beat the $80-$90 price range for 10 pieces of nigiri, half a roll, a shot of miso soup, and a handroll…and it’s BYOB! Awesome!
Tanoshi Sushi Sake Bar
1372 York Ave
New York, NY 10021
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