Beneath the Maritime Hotel in Chelsea is a can't miss restaurant serving up savory Japanese fare so decadent, delightful and delicious that it is one of the best kept secrets around town. With a ultra relaxed and romantic vibe by way of dim lighting, and hanging Japanese lanterns that softly illuminate the soft features of patrons, Matsuri (369 West 16th St Street) gets our stamp of approval for date nights or a relaxed evening with the girls. I was invited to the restaurant for an exclusive sneak peak at Chef Tadashi Ono’s Seven Deadly Sins Tasting Menu on Tuesday evening with a few food and lifestyle editors before the menu goes live to patrons.
Though the theme was a bit kitschy, the menu made its way onto my couture list with an abstract interpretation of what pride, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth an greed would taste like. The seven course tasting menu, chock-full of Japanese favorites with a modern twist, was impressive. For starters, I cleaned my palette with a sashimi selection, served with a green salad with watercress, hijiki and sumptuous baby scallops lightly married together with soy dressing - the Pride and Envy courses. Next was a medley of red hot shrimp skewers flavored to perfection with a touch of heat from a spicy yuzu marinade. This was wrath, which had my blood boiling, for more of the perfectly cooked crustacean.
I was left lusting for more soup when the fourth course, lust, a soup medley of oysters, sea urchin and yamaimo, was served in small bowls. Of course there were no chopsticks involved in this lustful course, we all used spoons then slurped the remainder of the broth. It was that good. The gluttony course was epitomized the word with a melt in your mouth offering of perfectly seasoned duck breast, roasted and served with a side of wasabi sauce. I went back for seconds and thirds.
I missed the sloth course - beef short ribs slowly cooked in miso broth. I did however witness glee and pure nirvana as fellow diners at them and raved about their decadence. The final course, greed, was my favorite. It was a serving of rich chocolate cake the burst open with the touch of a silver spoon to expose a soothing lava stream of melted chocolate that melded beautifully with the scoop of raspberry sorbet that accompanied.
The entire seven course menu is truly an experience to be shared by two people or a party of five or seven. The menu can also be paired with a carefully selected sake from the restaurant's impressive list. This seven deadly sins experience will cost $77.77 per person but definitely worth the splurge because it will give something to talk about all month long in October. The limited edition menu ends October 31st.
To find out more information about Matsuri, visit http://www.matsurinyc.com/