Daisuke Nakazawa Opens Sake Bar Saito in NYC

"Nakazawa has decided to throw everyone a curve ball and open a restaurant without sushi. Earlier this month, he and his co-owner Hitoshi Fujita opened Saito, a sake bar in Nolita. A stone’s throw from the persistently busy Thai Diner, the restaurant’s design is warmer than Sushi Nakazawa’s, though it’s not informal. Wooden tables for two are flanked by white chairs on one side and a slate-gray banquette on the other. Sake bottles are displayed above on shelves. Some of the food, like a tuna tartare topped with a heap of caviar, are served on maximalist plates. Although there is tuna aplenty and a tasting of uni for good measure, as well as a $40 plate of sashimi to share, Nakazawa won’t be behind a counter forming rice and fresh seafood into Edomae sushi. Instead, his cooks are deep-frying pressed sushi rice, on which they’re serving spicy tuna or snow crab. There are also Japanese-style ajillo made with olive oil and dashi, deep-fried crispy rice with spicy tuna, and bowls of mazemen or wagyu don. And a lot of sake — something Nakazawa says he only recently started to enjoy." - Chris Crowley, Tonje Thilesen