The year 2017 was also when Uino arrived in New York from Tokyo, having worked at three Michelin-starred Sushi Saito for eight years. However, he admits, “We all do certain things in front of the guests, like showing you certain products or cooking things in front of you - it’s entertainment.” It’s an acknowledgement that there is always some element of theater to sushi omakase - and perhaps, that’s partly why it’s become so popular. “Nowadays, there’s more performance,” he continues, though he’s quick to add that he doesn’t believe this is the case at Shion 69 Leonard Street. “It’s become more modernized - I’m not going to say for better or for worse.” By modernized, Elkon is referring to a propensity, by some sushi chefs, to adorn their sushi with non-traditional ingredients or caviar-laden flourishes, or to pander to guests’ tastes, rather than adhere to the literal concept of omakase: chef’s choice. “Because of social media, and also people having different levels of experience, a lot of what I’ve seen in New York with sushi has changed,” says Elkon. The Instagram Era and Sushi as Performance Artīy the time Elkon opened 69 Leonard Street in January 2017, initially with chef Eiji Ichimura, most recently of the now-closed Ichimura at Uchu, the popularity of Instagram was beginning to influence the sushi dining experience. Photo by Bernard Lin, courtesy of Shion 69 Leonard Photo by Bernard Lin, courtesy of Shion 69 Leonard A diner documents their meal at Shion 69 Leonard. A diner documents their meal at Shion 69 Leonard. And, of course, the access to fresh fish and other ingredients was far superior compared to what he’d had in New York. In Tokyo, Elkon was impressed by the depth of skill levels that sushi chefs possessed - and equally, the shared knowledge that diners had about the intricacies of sushi and the craftsmanship that went into it. Elkon loved Sushi Hatsu, in particular, because it appealed to a mix of Japanese in New York for business, and local New Yorkers, and it often stayed open until 3 or 4 in the morning. The fish selections might have been more limited, too, and the cost of an omakase meal was much less than it is today. “It felt more congenial and warmer, and I’m not comparing it to a particular place I’m just saying this generally.” The dishes, he says, were more traditional. “It was a lot less formal,” Elkon recalls, about having sushi omakase in New York in the ’80s. And they both offered dining experiences that differ from what constitutes sushi omakase dining in New York today. Those dining experiences in New York and in Japan, he says, were formative in multiple ways. It was the late 1980s and more often than not, Elkon found himself seated at the counter of places like Iso (now known as Kanoyama) downtown, or Sushi Say (now Sushi Ann), Hatsuhana, and his personal favorite, Sushi Hatsu (now the original flagship for Sushi Seki), in Midtown Manhattan, eager to try the chef’s omakase.Ī decade later, in the ’90s and early aughts, Elkon, then a telecommunications executive, found himself taking frequent business trips to Tokyo and lived there for a time, where he dreamed of one day opening a sushi shop of his own. Long before Elkon ever opened a restaurant of his own, he was a high schooler with a penchant for Japanese food - particularly sushi. Resy spoke with both Elkon and Uino for their thoughts about the state of sushi omakase in New York, and where they see it headed.Ī Shift in How New Yorkers Approach Sushi Omakase (Masa Takayama, of Masa, charges anywhere from $650 to $800 per person for his sushi omakase.) It’s clear that Elkon and Uino, like Takayama and others, have placed their bets on the high end of the sushi dining spectrum. And he’s become known for offering one of the most expensive sushi omakase dinners in the entire city, at $420 per person, service included. Where others seek to modernize sushi, he’s definitely more of a traditionalist. In May 2021, Uino, formerly the head chef at Michelin-starred Sushi Amane, became the chef at 69 Leonard, which Elkon has owned and operated since 2017.Īt Shion 69 Leonard Street, Uino has garnered praise for his adherence to using time-honored sushi techniques at the intimate eight-seat sushi counter. Idan Elkon and chef Shion Uino, the owner and the chef, respectively, of New York’s Shion 69 Leonard Street, have some thoughts. Do the prices continue to rise? Will diners ever tire of the sushi dining experience? Is there room for more affordably priced sushi in a sushi-obsessed town like New York? Will we see prices creep up for mid-tier sushi dining that hovers near $70 per person? Can our oceans even sustain the insatiable demand that New Yorkers - and diners the world over - have for sushi? It’s not entirely clear where sushi in New York goes from here, however.
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