NEW YORK — If we should never judge a book from its cover then, certainly, we should never judge a restaurant from its décor. In fact, Tsuki restaurant has a very modest appearance, but its food is nothing short of extraordinary.
Upon entering Tsuki's small, worn-out dining room—filled sparingly with common wooden tables and chairs, a cashier station and a display refrigerator full of sake bottles—diners may wonder whether to stay or get takeout. However, this would deprive them from observing the well-choreographed moves of its sushi chef and owner, Mr. Katsutoshi Maeda.
Interacting with Mr. Maeda will open the door to new heights of sushi enjoyment, both tasty and original. Dressed elegantly in a collared shirt and tie under his chef jacket, Mr. Maeda politely addresses his customers to inquire about their tastes and budgets. Since I am blessed with a generous expense account I usually utter one word, "omakase," which literally means in Japanese, "I am in your hands." Fortunately, he will also arrange lavish menus for as little as $60 per person.
On my last visit, he pulled out a whole sea urchin, cracked it open and scooped the meat out of its shell with surgical precision. Briny and sweet, the ethereal texture of the sea urchin caresses my tongue.
Meanwhile, Mr. Maeda was busy filleting a whole small horse mackerel. The tender belly was served as sashimi, the back served over rice as sushi and the meat closest to the bones was scraped and arranged in a tangy tartar.
Mr. Maeda was not content with cutting sashimi pieces from the selection in the small display case on the sushi bars. He disappeared for a few minutes and made his triumphant return with a whole tuna loin in his hands. Carefully, he cut a few slices from this huge slab of fish and placed them on a serving board. The fat content of these pieces is rather high, signifying tuna of great quality. They melted in my mouth leaving a sweet aftertaste.
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Mr. Maeda also has the ability to produce traditional sushi and sashimi preparations. A beautiful snapper sashimi is presented with an original dipping sauce of soybean paste mixed with a raw quail egg. It is very successful and yet very assertive.
A sweet plum paste graces a gorgeous yellowtail sushi. Gelatinous seaweed is the wrapping for a baby eel sushi that is as delicate as any fish you will ever taste. All these preparations render soy sauce and wasabi unnecessary. Mr. Maeda will direct you whether to use these traditional condiments at each stage of your meal.
He also makes an original sushi pizza, in which broiled rice is topped with sashimi and a spicy secret sauce.
Unfortunately, Tsuki reaches only sublime levels when it is Mr. Maeda personally attending you instead of his assistant. The language barrier poses a serious problem to communication and some the explanation of the food might be lost in translation. The more prestigious fishes are imported weekly and not available every night. Therefore, it is best to call the restaurant ahead to find out their availability.
Nonetheless, your efforts will be rewarded with a dinner that is priced substantially lower than that of a restaurant of equal caliber, and an extra glass of sake might distort your sight so that the modest surroundings will become more charming by the end of the night.