Where Colin Ate: The Four Horsemen, Misipasta, Sushi Seki + D.C. spots
Plus: a sushi fusion history lesson
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
A work trip took me down to D.C. this week, where I hit an old staple and a new spot. Plus, while back in NYC, I was overcome with cravings for a vestige of the late 90s/early 2000s sushi fusion boom, which had me going down a rabbit hole of nostalgia.
Colin
The Four Horsemen
📍Williamsburg
🍽️ New American
Monday is a great day to take a swing at the busiest restaurants. If you don’t mind dining early in the week, then consider the city your oyster. I was able to walk into The Four Horsemen last Monday night with a minimal 20 minute wait around 8 p.m. and it was one of the better meals I’ve had there. The menu is really good right now as the team gets ready for their second restaurant across the street. Highlights of the meal for me were definitely the veal sweetbread skewers with pimentón served with cured egg yolk as the sauce. It was reminiscent of eating Japanese tsukune with the egg yolk. The flavor almost tasted like jerk in a way that really worked. I absolutely loved this dish. Other top bites were a swordfish with fava leaves and melted cardoons with aioli that went particularly well when paired with the very “of the season” ramp rice. The rice was mixed with green garlic and peas, which gave it a bright green color and flavor that was really earthy and delicious. We finished the meal with a wonderfully oaty tasting sticky toffee pudding.
Sushi Seki Chelsea
📍Chelsea
🍽️ Sushi
The fusionization of sushi hit NYC hard in the ‘90s, quickly going from the new hot thing to a dirty word (before eventually settling in and just becoming part of the sushi experience we now see at every budget omakase in the city). Nobu was a big name, and other spots—like Sushi Samba, a noted Bourdain favorite—soon followed. Another poplar place was Sushi of Gari, which opened on the UES in ’97. I first went there with my father when I was 16. This was one of the first omakase experiences I had ever had and was exclusively nigiri, but unlike any other nigiri I had previously tried, all were topped with their own special thing, like salmon with sweet onion and seared tomato and tuna with tofu sauce. It was both familiar as well as so unique and it felt incredibly exciting for the time.
One of Gari’s disciples was Chef Seki, who opened his eponymous restaurant in 2002 on the UES as well. When I worked in restaurants, I made it my business to know every place you could find a great meal after hours, and so eventually Seki came across my radar. Seki was on open secret amongst chefs and people in the industry as one of the best meals you could get after hours. The place closed most nights at 2 a.m. and Chef Seki himself always worked the bar. The biggest issue for me was how far it was away from my job and apartment in the West Village, but I didn’t let that stop me from becoming a semi-regular for years. Anytime I was craving a great bite late and didn’t feel like Blue Ribbon, I would make the trek uptown and take whoever didn’t mind blowing a little hard earned cash with me. Seki was always a strange scene with a mix of restaurant folks, UES locals, drunk idiots, and even a few celebrities trying to catch a late bite out. The one constant was that Seki was always there and the food was going to be great. Over the years they opened a few more locations, closed some, and eventually Seki blended into the fray of restaurants you don’t think about as much. One of the first offshoots was a Chelsea location that is over 10 years old itself now. This location never really had the same old school charm as the original, but would hit the same “non-traditional” sushi cravings all the same. The sushi scene in NYC has changed so much since those early days, same with my personal tastes, and while this no longer is up there with the more traditional Edo-style sushi that I prefer, I still get a strong craving for this type of meal pretty frequently. On a recent Saturday night, I met up with a friend who also had a long history of late night eats at Seki and we sidled up to the bar for a 10 p.m. reservation, which is about as “late night” as I do these days. The reasonable enough $150 omakase hit all the right notes, playing all the old hits from the aforementioned tuna with tofu as well as salmon and tomato. It also included other old favorites like yellowtail with jalapeño, chopped eel with avocado, chutoro with garlic soy etc. The bite you come here for specifically is the truly tasty spicy scallop hand roll that is the perfect end the tasting. Honestly, it’s so good I usually get a second just for good measure. While it may not hold the prestige—especially in the industry—that it once did, Sushi Seki always hits the spot.
D.C. Day Trip
Ben’s Chili Bowl
📍H St. NE
🍽️ American
My first stop right off the train, and conveniently down the block from my first meeting, was Ben’s Chili Bowl. Is it the best chili? Probably not, but it does go damn well on a half smoke which is the classic D.C. beef and pork sausage grilled and topped with Ben’s Chili, onions, and mustard on a roll. It is a D.C. landmark and a fun spot to hit during any trip to town.
Tapori
📍H St. Corridor
🍽️ Indian
On my way out of town, I went with a friend to Tapori, a new Indian restaurant from the crew behind Daru that came very highly recommended. The menu is inspired by classic Indian street snacks and was a really fantastic experience. The room feels great with a bar running along one side and a long communal table down the middle. I started with the achar martini made with Indian pickle juice and some MSG that gave it a really sweet and sour savory note that was great. A small side of achar (pickles) came along with it in a sidecar. We started with the Bison Pav Bhaji, which was warm minced bison cooked down with spices and tomato and served with bao buns and an onion salad on the side. It was a really earthy and spicy start to the meal. Following that was the podi masala dosa, a fermented rice and lentil crepe that almost had the taste of parmesan cheese folded into a triangle covering deliciously spiced potatoes. It arrived with a small bean stew and coconut chutney. I am always a sucker for biryani and the dum biryani here was no exception, filled with tender, on-the-bone pieces of goat and served with black garlic raita to round it all out and balance the saffron, nutmeg, and pepper. The restaurant really felt great, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with it. I can’t wait to explore more of the city over the next few months.
Quick hits, Pop-ups, New openings
Misipasta
📍Williamsburg
🍽️ Italian
Was invited to an industry pop-up event sponsored by Resy and Misipasta. This was my first visit to Misipasta and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the feeling of the space. The front is mostly counter service with fresh pastas and prepared food while the back opens up to a beautiful backyard area that makes it feel like a perfect summer space to have a drink and snack. They were passing around really delicious lamb arrosticini (skewers) that were being cooked on a small grill outside and made the whole event feel like a chef’s summer bbq.
Sushi Sho
📍Midtown
🍽️ Sushi
Sushi Sho is the best sushi restaurant in the U.S., full stop. I went on and on already, but I’m not sure words can really express how special I think this experience is. I went back for a third visit in NYC, and this time with my father and brother who were with me the first time I tried Sushi Sho back in Tokyo in 2010. It was awesome to get to experience it again with the people I was with when my mind was blown the first time. After around a 10 year stint in Hawaii where he decided to forgo Japanese fish and use his aging techniques on only local fish, Chef Nakazawa has made NYC his home (at least for now) and we couldn’t be luckier. I would highly recommend any sushi lover to try to make a trip here if they can. Every visit I try something new or have the best version of a dish. This visit, the iwashi (sardine) stuck out as an absolute highlight. The skin was as silver as could be and, as Chef sliced through the fish, the interior was a pinkish orange hue that I had never previously seen. The bite was exceptional with clean briny flavor balanced with the perfectly vinegared rice. While the price is exorbitant, for me this is the absolute best place to splurge if you have the urge.
Yum! these places all look so good