sushi seki

new york, ny

link to yelp

this is my favorite sushi restaurant in the city and it is very difficult to get reservations. fortunately, i managed to snag a table for 3 at 8:30 pm on a wednesday night for myself, eric and jenny. if you're a sushi-eater, you have to get the special platter or the omakase. otherwise it's a waste of a reservation. (for non-sushi-eaters, i hear their other options are fantastic, though i have never tried them.) my first visit to sushi seki was in 2005 when the special platter was called the omakase, had huge pieces of fish, and cost around $30. a steal. it now costs $45 and has smaller pieces of fish. a separate omakase option now starts at $60. i'm sad that the price has increased so much, but i understand the economics of the decision.

derek and i once celebrated an anniversary here - we told the waiter how much we wanted to spend and chef seki sent out plate after plate of amazing sushi. it was one of the best meals i've ever had. since then, however, i've stuck to the special platter which includes most of my favorites from that meal. seki has unique sauces and preparations for each type of sushi. unlike the omakase menus at other restaurants, these special preparations generally stay the same every day. my favorites are the tuna topped with a creamy light tofu sauce, salmon served with onions and tomato, seared king salmon sauced with soy and sake, seared scallop. even the eggplant is melt-in-your-mouth good. definitely try this place if you've got some room in your budget for amazing sushi.