NAOE

NAOE Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Diners definitely have to work for their supper, if they want it to be at Japanese/sushi chef Kevin Cory's diminutive NAOE. Along with the fact that the place has no sign, there's the complication of getting a reservation, which is required, since Cory's strictly omakase (chef's choice) meals, roughly 20 constantly changing courses, are pretty much a one-man show and the seats are hot tickets. Additionally, he serves a limited number of people per night (at two seatings). It's a $280 prix-fixe meal, but a bargain considering it's a cultural and culinary revelation you’ll be thinking about for years.

About the food: Meals begin with varying complex takes on miso soup (like one with local corn, leek, daikon radish, and slightly minty kinome leaf) and a four-compartment bento box containing at least ten different preparations, perhaps custardy steamed cobia with shimeji mushroom and grated yamaimo; dramatically different delicately firm petals of raw cobia, with fish roe and fresh wasabi; an exotic bamboo juice-treated rice with refreshing daikon pickle; an array of greaseless fried items, from poppy seed-coated tiny fish to sweet potato-like tropical canistel fruit, with sweet corn; almost meltingly tender slow-simmered pork jowl with parsnip mustard (a preparation that takes roughly 50 hours); and much more. There are also several cooked items like succulent broiled baby kasugodai with trumpet mushrooms, cucumber flower and organic lemon. He also makes an effort to source organic ingredients as much as possible, including his sushi rice. To finish, the three desserts are highlighted by honey sponge cake with house-made soy sauce ice cream. The soy sauce (shoyu) comes from Naogen, his relatives' soy sauce brewery in Kanazawa, Japan, which has been producing since 1825.

About the drinks: All of the sakés are made by Nakamura Shuzou, a boutique brewery (also in Kanazawa) owned by Cory's family.