GutterGourmet — April 07, 2010

Sushi Oyster Bar

Perhaps partially due to a favorable 2008 review by Frank Bruni, one of my oldest, favorite sushi bars is not only thriving, but it has expanded. The waiters at Kanoyama waiters no longer sport Keith Haring-designed T-shirts as they did when the place was called Koi, or Iso, but it still caters to East Villagers who know their sushi.

In December, they took over the neighboring space (formerly a barber shop, and then a pita joint), and created a beautiful sake bar. It happily doubles as a Japanese oyster bar. As someone who is constantly torn between craving oysters, and having a yen for sushi, this is truly one-stop shopping.

Sit at the sushi bar and order a masu of Wakatake, my favorite daiginjo sake, along with a sampler of East Coast and West Coast oysters Hood Canal, Pearl Passage, Little Creek, Sweet Neck, Pemaquid, Kumamoto, Kusshi, and Apalachicola Bay. In lieu of cocktail sauce and horseradish, or mignonette, try the chili-infused daikon with scallions and ponzu sauce.

Then I recommend an omakase of impeccable sushi including a daily selection of fish flown in from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. It rarely gets much better than this.