It's the 10th anniversary of LA's most mesmerizing restaurant, commemorated by a Kaiseki Jubako most enchanting.
A bed of rice cradles a cache of jewels: ruby swirls of tuna, shiny slicks of salmon, pearly scallops in shimmering white. A buttery toro and what I believe is amberjack peek behind a leaflet of wasabi.
There's genuine gasp of delight as the second box is unveiled. Bright little bits dance around an eyeful of uni. A spiked fortress cradles a delicate roe shielded by a snow crab sclera. To the left, a Chawanmushi brims with ikura brine, a fishy flavor most surprising. A liver full of fat succumbs to a scarlet strawberry further south.
To the right is a variety of vegetables, served in simplicity to maximize their majesty. A simple spear of broccoli or a cut carrot flower may sit in modest obscurity, but its flavor is coaxed out in a way that the vegetable bares its soul. Go lower to get higher with the buttery bliss of branzino.
Take a breath between your bites of branzino before moving up to the softly seared wagyu that spreads across a soy-butter rice. Savor a simple shrimp, a most succulent surf to the turf, and let the stewed abalone leave you seduced and stunned.
Even the Lobster Miso Soup is a memory in the making, rich and almost creamy with soft grits of miso and broth of sweet lobster.
Spring for the sake if you so choose, a single tasting can be split to share. The Manzairoku is crisp and clear, a waterfall sipped with sushi. The Chogetsu lasts a little longer, more acid to amplify your heavier morsels and meats.
Dessert is not an afterthought - the Sakura Panna Cotta has florals that sweep you away.
Matcha Cake costs extra, a powdery mix of bittersweet. An acquired taste, easy to acquire.
Opinions may differ, taste buds may diverge, and critics will split hairs, but not a single person will decry N/naka. Its story is seducing, its menu is captivating, its cuisine is a revolution.
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