This sign is the only indication you’ve found the right place
I think we’ve reached the point of no return with the sushi scene in New York City.
Between celebrity Itamae (sushi “chefs”) bringing their shops here, young assembly line sushi preps declaring that “IT’S MY TIME BABY” and restaurant groups figuring out that owning 18 restaurants makes more money than owning 1, it’s impossible to avoid new sushiya in this city.
I don’t just mean figuratively. Yesterday, I literally stumbled over sidewalk chalkboards listing “Omakase” menus. Strained my calf and everything. Oh well, guess I’ll have to skip leg day. Again.
(Ps: I’m still not sure the chalkboards are the spirit of Omakase and asked the legendary Pete Wells that very question last month).
So how can an NYC sushiya stand out?
Well, here’s one way. Take a small, underutilized space in the bowels of Saks 5th Avenue.
Name it Hoseki, because it sits directly next to the famous jewelry vault (duh, Hoseki means “the jewel”).
Get some fantastic NYC art, and most importantly, bring in experienced people who have paid their dues.
What people don’t realize about Saks
Saks gets a bad rep because it’s in Midtown East, aka the armpit of the armpit of the city (like an inception of armpit). It’s literally impossible to walk through that neighborhood without crashing into a family of 6 from Dusseldorf walking arm-in-arm across the sidewalk.
But inside Saks, I’ve always found it to be calm.
Perhaps it’s the 8 floors (tourists notoriously can’t climb more than 2).
Perhaps it’s the air conditioning.
Or perhaps it’s the $50 Saks Credit I get through my AMEX every 6 months (not to brag). That goes a long way at Kiehl’s.
Inside Hoseki
But I enjoy it. In fact, there’s actually a floor 9 that houses the only good french restaurant in the city. L’Avenue, another part of Saks that seemingly has a tourist force field around it.
Finding Hoseki isn’t easy
Back to Hoseki
But our focus today is Hoseki, which is about as far away from L’Avenue as you can get without boring through the centuries-old pipes.
Hoseki is the first restaurant for the brains behind Ten Homakase, an at-home/event sushi caterer that was born during the pandemic and that you’ve likely seen on your social media timeline or at events.
When you enter Saks, there’s a down escalator. The sign above waits for you at the bottom, but if you’re dumb like us and get lost, there are a million kind people to help you out.
And behind a curtain is the six seat counter with a collection of framed pictures of New York City and various seafood.
Again, literally in the basement, so an impressive job (especially for a first time restauranteur) making the space welcoming.
A view of Hoseki’s counter and NYC art backdrop with Chef Morgan Adamson, ex of Kissaki
1: Fluke…
A word on the shari and style of Hoseki
It’s better than it has any right to be, especially for lunchtime and ESPECIALLY for this price range, when there are many sushiya that phone it in. Expense accounters and tourists go for lunch, and really how many of them actually care?
If you’ve ever wondered why your Wagyu nigiri gets blowtorched, before being topped with runny Uni and a spoonful of fake caviar, it’s to overload your taste buds with very flavours to hide the quality of the shari. I’m just a humble blogger but that seems like an afront to the entire point of sushi.
Hoseki makes their shari in small batches, replenishing the hangiri (aka the tub on the left) every 15 or so minutes.
2: Shima Aji
Morgan’s style is heavy on the knifework
“No shit” you might say. No Sushi Legend is just ripping the fish with their hands.
But I’m talking about the cross-cutting and other small incisions that she makes on the Neta itself.
It’s a misconception that the purpose is only aesthetic, though of course the Sake Toro (pictured below) looks great.
3: Salmon “toro”
But there’s also a functional reason. Slicing Neta, especially tougher types like Ika (Squid) or Kai (shellfish), increases malleability and makes it easier for the Itamae to form their nigiri and the diner to eat it.
4: Hamachi also with incisions
Another angle of the Hamachi that I loved
5: Shiro Maguro (Albacore Tuna)
6: Ikura
7: Madai
8: Akami
9: O Toro
10: Hotategai – a better example on why cross-cutting is necessary
11: Wagyu
12: Tuna temaki with Shishito relish
The Verdict
Not to plagiarize myself, but it’s so hard to differentiate in the New York City sushi world these days, especially in the $50-$125 range.
Just look at this list I made earlier this year of every omakase in the city. Longer than the list of Miami Dolphins head coaches since Don Shula.
But I enjoyed the Hoseki experience. Give me a tucked away spot. Give me high-quality knifework and ingredients without all the accoutrements (love that word). And most of all, give me great shari at lunch.
Recommended.
