[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

Aburiya Kinnosuke's Omakase Sashimi Deluxe ($23), complete with dessert, is a lunch-only bargain; and though it's a pricey lunch, the quality of the sushi makes it worth going out of your way for. It comes with rice, miso soup, and Aburiya's signature housemade tofu. Soft, bearing an almost cloud-like texture, it rivals that of EN Brasserie; I often order an extra serving of tofu on top of the lunch special. Yes, it's that good.

To the right are side dishes that change daily—perhaps pickles, a lightly steamed wedge of kabocha, and savory tamago studded with sweet shrimp. The sashimi is accompanied by a trio of dipping sauces: Shoyu with Konbu, Seaweed Water, and plain Shoyu. Depending the type of sashimi you are served, the waitress will instruct which fish to pair with which sauce; it's a meal clearly thought through. One visit featured three slices each of an impossibly buttery Salmon, Amberjack, Red Snapper, and Sea Bass. Sashimi changes daily depending on what is fresh; I've yet to receive the same combination twice. For dessert, two dice-sized cubes of housemade Warabi Mochi, chilled, barely sweet and chewy, rolled in matcha powder with drizzles of brown sugar syrup.

Aburiya Kinnosuke

213 East 45th Street, New York NY 10017 (map)
212-867-5454
aburiyakinnosuke.com

About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.