Cagen Restaurant has opened in the east village, and was just reviewed by the
New York Times. Checkout their Menu! In addition, get more flavor for the place, no pun intended, by soaking up this
review from a local yelper:
There are two things you need to know about Cagen before we get started: 1) this is the best sushi in nyc. Better than Nakazawa, Tanoshi, Yasuda, ichimura, Kura, and Gari. 2) Cagen is not a sushi restaurant, nor do they have a sushi omakase. What they do have is a most excellent kappo omakase. Now, this place is off the grid completely. Shockingly, the place seems half empty most of the time, and there are no problems getting a reservation at the bar. I truly hope this changes, not because I want to have issues getting reservations, but I want this place to have the success it truly deserves. The restaurant is half underground, and has a very zen like feel to it, not dissimilar to Kura. The staff here is super friendly, and we must have been welcomed into the restaurant half a dozen times. Now, on to the omakase. We started with an amuse of mixed veggies and mushrooms is a super flavorful broth. The mushrooms just soaked up all the deliciousness. The next plate was some assorted small bites, including panko crusted pork, two fish dishes, poached tomato, and goat cheese with white chocolate and wasabi. Each bite was flavorful, balanced, and light. From there we moved on to the sashimi plate, consisting of 2 pieces of 5 different types of fish, and served with traditional garnishes (wasabi and soy sauce) and some less traditional (translation: not traditional) such as a jalapeño "wasabi" and a chimichurri sauce made of shizo, jalapeño, soy, wasabi, yuzu, and some other goodies. The fish was fresh and clean, and the chimichurri was really delightful, and complimented all of the fish. Also worth noting, Toshio-San cuts all of his fish himself, and to order. There is nothing pre-sliced, or prepared by a sous chef, and let me tell you, it is a pure pleasure to watch him work. It is mesmerizing. From there, we moved on to the soba. You get three differently seasoned portions, but it doesn't really matter; they all get dunked into the magical sauce provided. The noodles are chewy and light and flavorful. You can tell without question they are freshly handmade daily by a man who has honed his craft over the years. I was so obsessed with the sauce, I ended up drinking it on its own when the noodles were gone, which apparently I wasn't supposed to have done. Oops. The next course, you are asked to mix your noodle sauce (which they happily refilled for me) with cooking water from the noodles with buckwheat gains, scallions, and wasabi to make into a delicious soup. So good. From there, we had cooked ayu (I think?) fish served 3 ways. First are two grilled fillets, then the fried bones and the fried head, and all accompanied with some blistered peppers. The fish was great, and I loved the salty crunch of the bones and the head. The last hot course was poached artic char with cherry blossom leaf and grilled veggies or some sort. This was another excellent dish. Now, we moved onto the sushi course of four pieces: toro sushi, marinated yellowfin tuna sushi served on nori, uni served on nori and a chopped toro hand roll. Best sushi in nyc. Better than all those I listed earlier. The marinated yellowfin was the single best piece I have had anywhere. I was trying to figure it out... Did Toshio-San use truffles in the marinade? Is this some special nori I've never had? No... What I was tasting was that elusive flavor I am always hearing about. Umami. This is umami. For dessert, we were given lemon sorbet with yuzu oil, mangos, and wasabi. I questioned the wasabi in a dessert, but it paired so perfectly, which more less sums up the whole meal. Toshio-San truly is a master of finding ways to creat harmonies in the flavors of his food. While not cheap ($310 for 2 omakase a, plus 2 of the $21 sake flights), it by no means cheap, but worth every penny if you ask me. Do yourself a favor and just come eat here already.
