Jiro Dreams of Sushi before Neta
Fred and I went to see Jiro Dreams of Sushi the other night. A brilliant documentary about an amazing 85 year old man who has been dreaming about the deliciousness of sushi since he was 10. His life is about striving for perfection. It is an incredible look at a life about dedication and hard work. In the world that we are living today and certainly moving towards where you move from one job to another and we don't follow a straight path, there is something inspiring about this mans constant search for the perfect piece of sushi.
Afterwards, we had to go eat sushi. I love going to a film and then going out for the food that was part of the movie. After seeing Midnight in Paris, we ate French food so dreaming of sushi meant sushi. We made a reservation at Neta. Former chefs from Masa and Bar Masa learned from the master and went out on their own. Now if you followed the movie, the chefs that are trained from the master Jiro don't go out on their own until at least 10 years of training. Jiro's son is still the second to Jiro after 30 years. But hey, this is America. You get it and you move on and try to do it yourself. So how is Neta? It is pretty damn good.
We went for the top omikase and a really good bottle of sushi and let the games begin. First thing out was a thinly sliced cucumber salad with small pieces of fish. A nice start to open up the senses.
The next dish is a signature at Masa. Chopped toro topped with caviar and a few pieces of toasted bread on the side. I have had this dish several times. As I learned from the movie, it is all about the tuna. Some grades are better than others. This was quite good but not as good as I have had it before.
This was amazing. Slices of scallop and uni with a hot piece of lime on the side to squeeze over the top. The next thing was a crispy deep fried blowfish. Really amazing but somehow I forgot to take the pic.
Uni risotto. Kind of can't beat it. Super rich.
The sushi began. Another missed pis. Kampachi with a dollop of creamy spicy potatoes and toro. This is a picture of our second plate of sushi. Salmon and lean tuna.
Uni and cooked toro.
Eel and cucumber roll
Toro and scallion roll
Shiso with rice, plum sauce and cucumbers
Peanut butter ice cream which was excellent. Rich, creamy and delicious.
A good experience. I might go back next time and just order a la carte and trust me, I will be back. There are very few places in the city that serve sushi of this quality and there are only two others that I can think of below 14th street.
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