I’m a guy who likes his raw fish. And by “like” I mean, absolutely LOVE. That’s pretty much all the reason a guy needs to go an order himself up some sashimi.
But, wait there’s more: Let’s get personal.
Can I tell you something? I have Crohn’s disease, and for some reason, nothing soothes my tummy better than miso and sashimi. And if I feel the rumblings of a Crohn’s attack, sashimi and miso are, again, a good friend, and perhaps the only thing that I know of that has a chance of staving it off. (I recall doctors telling me that I should take fish oil pills. I feel this is a tastier, albeit, more expensive method of getting my Omega-3, or whatever the hell it is they say is so good about it.)
So, between the fact that I love it any old day of the week, and my Crohn’s, you can imagine how much I eat the stuff.
Now, I’ve logged in a good five years in Carroll Gardens. I won’t pretend that I’m a longtimer who can remember when Smith Street was REALLY SEEDY rather than REALLY TRENDY, but then five years is a long time for someone who’s not yet 30. (Not yet. I mean, hey 8 months is a LONG time.)
In my time here, I’ve tried a lot of sushi places. A lot. This post is really about Koto, but let me just go down the list of places I’m familiar with, and give you my quick assessment of each:
Hana Cafe, aka Hana Sushi (Smith St): Not bad. The miso soup is average, and the fish tastes OK. The price is good, though. Not a bad place if you’re in a pinch.
Faan (Smith St): Hit or miss. Faan was a real favorite of mine for awhile, and then there was a string of a few bad meals, culminating with me actually throwing up on the street on the way home from a meal there. Oddly, I made it back a few months later, and it seemed to be decent again. One more visit after that, and it was back to feeling sick. Another problem (as if throwing up on the street is not bad enough…), is that they only take cash and AMEX. Oh, and another problem is that their drinks are absurd. As in: “This mojito is ABSURDLY GOOD, but for TEN DOLLARS, IT’S ALSO ABSURDLY EXPENSIVE.”
Cube63 (Court St): Been there once and found the food to be wonderful. It was a little pricey. But judging by the decor, they’re kinda going for that. It’s a fancy place, and fancy places charge fancy amounts. That’s kind of a big problem for me. My hat’s off to them for serving terrific food, but the cost is too prohibitive for me to be returning any time soon, or with any frequency.
Osaka (Court St): I’ve wanted this place to be good, but I’ve been there twice and have had such extraordinarly bad experiences that I shall never go back: The miso soup isn’t even remotely tasty. Nor has it been the least bit warm. Oddly enough, the beer’s not been the least bit cold. And then the fish: Maybe it’s bad luck, but the both times I’ve been there, I haven’t been able to finish my fish, as it’s been warm, a little rubbery, and has just felt/tasted downright old. I’ve talked to people who swear by this place, and if it works for you, then by all means: knock yourself out. But, again, when it comes to my experience: no way.
Kotobuki (Columbia St): This place is a lot like Hana. It’s slightly above average. But not above it enough for you to feel all that motivated to go out and pay for their food. Should you find yourself in the area with the craving, I’d say it’s a good spot, but it’s not a place I seek out.
Fujiya/Fushimi (Court St): For months I was a regular here, and then my band went on tour for awhile, and the day after I got back, I found it was closed. This was so incredibly disappointing because it had become my favorite sushi place. Not only was the food incredible, the price was fair, the people were friendly, the hours were good, and it was so damn close to my house. I live real close to Hamilton Ave. Real close. So I’m way down toward the Red Hook side of Carroll Gardens, not the Cobble Hill Side. Since Fujiya, which changed its name to Fushimi, was at 4th and Court, it was really a great location. Abilene for a few beers, Fushimi for some food, and then home to sleep. All in one straight line. So imagine my disappointment as I looked at what used to be the restaurant, and saw instead permits in the window, dark interiors, tables gone…
…And then I remembered that before I left town, there was a place on Henry Street that was just about to open called Koto. I took a walk down there, and it was open. That was back in April. And ever since then, I’ve become a regular, and Koto has become my most highly recommended restaurant. I’ll get to why, but first a disclaimer:
I’m as much a food or restaurant critic as I am a jet pilot, but I do occasionally fly on jets, and I do occasionally eat food at restaurants. So while you’ll pardon my utter inexperience and lack restaurant/food vocabulary and knowledge, you might appreciate my angle: I’m just a guy whose dollars are scarce; so, when it comes to eating out, I like it to be whiz-bang stuff.
Immediately, I noticed the staff is very friendly. And accommodating. You know, I mean, I have to say: that’s key. Chefs conceive brilliant recipes and combinations of flavors and stuff, but at the same time, so many of us have food allergies and other health concerns. So not even counting personal pickiness, there are many reasons why someone might want to modify a menu item. Not only are they fine with this at Koto, they quickly remembered the way I like it, so I didn’t need to continually re-explain and feel like a prima donna. And I should mention: my modification requests had nothing to do with flavor, but only due to my restricted diet.
They’re not only accommodating, but passionate. The gentleman behind the sushi counter truly loves his fish, and is eager to tell you about the new salmon he has and why it’s slightly different than the one he had last week. They’ve got a good understanding of what I like, and will just as quickly steer me away from something as they’ll recommend another.
And then there’s the food: Hands down, this place has served the most consistently delicious and fresh food of any sushi place that I’ve been to here in Brooklyn, in Chicago where I used to live, and Austin where I lived before that. I lived other places before those places, but I wasn’t such a sushi eater back then.
Really, I can’t say this enough: Their fish is so fresh, it’s at times startling. On more than one occasion, I’ve dropped in for a bite, ordered a few pieces of sashimi, and have watched him produce an entirely whole fish, then proceed to clean it, cut it, and then trim my order straight from it. The resulting taste is somewhat of a quandary: The flavor is at once totally pure, and bright, and perfect, and at the same time it’s so clean and fresh that it almost seems non-existent – as if you’re taking a bit of a fish made of nothing but spring water.
But the foundation of any of my meals at a sushi joint is miso soup. Hmmm, how can I best express how sincerely I mean this…
…Story time: In my family (southern Italian), we have Italian bread with every dinner. We always have. Doesn’t matter what it is we’re eating for dinner: Pasta? Gotta have bread. Fish: bread. Soup? You better believe it. We could have bread stuffed with bread in a bread sauce, and we’d have a loaf of Italian bread on the side. My mother’s freezer is stuffed to the gills with emergency baguettes. If I haven’t quite illustrated this point enough, I’ll tell you this, and it’s completely true: In my family, the ends of the bread is considered to be the best part. My father traditionally always got the ends because he was the man of the house and he was bigger than us. Well, he’s still the man of his house, but we’re bigger (well… taller, at least) than him now, and my brother and I make sure to beat him at arm wrestling once a year, you know, just in case he was wondering if he could take us. Well so, anyways, whereas back then, he’d take the ends with no questions asked, he will also, at times, give the end to someone else at the table, and when this happens, it’s an honor. But then, there’s something he still fights for: The mashed potatoes. When we make mashed potatoes, we scoop them out of the pot, and then my mother, without fail will always try to quickly immerse the pot in soapy water. And so, over all these years, you’ll notice that whether my father is in his office or watching TV, or outside at the grill, when the potatoes are removed, he magically appears so he can intercept the pot, and clean it with a couple pieces of – what else – bread. And trust me, there’ve been times I’ve tried to do the same, and in those moments, I’m sure he can beat me at arm wrestling, ‘cos getting every last bit of those mashed potatoes with a hunk of Italian bread is his territory, and no one else steps foot in it… So, yeah, bread is important at our family meals.
And miso is just as important when I go to a sushi restaurant. Which is just another reason why Koto hits it out of the park. Served piping hot, their miso is savory, rich, and soothing. Most every other miso soup that I’ve had since going to Koto has come off weak and watery. Koto has truly set the bar.
At this point, I’d think that’s all you need to know about their food. But, I’d be neglectful if I didn’t mention another item on their menu that is so good, the first time I tried it (on a random, what the heck kind of lark), I think I said out loud “Oh my good, you have got to be kidding me.” I’m talking about their chicken yakitori. It’s a simple dish: Skewered broiled chicken. I’ve ordered it a few times, and every time, I have been served the most tender, juicy chicken I’ve ever tasted. Really, like, so tender and juicy, I was honestly surprised and wondered just how in the world did they do this?
When it comes down to it, sushi simply isn’t a cheap food. Even the all you can eat specials involve shelling out some decent cash, and then gorging yourself far beyond the limit of you’d normally eat, just so you can add it up, then do some division and walk away feeling like you just experienced the bargain of a lifetime. The tour before the most recent tour my band was on, we were playing in Chapel Hill – a nice college town. We found a sushi place, and they had a deal: 6 pieces of salmon sashimi for $2. I was shocked and excited. Of course, I ordered that, and at the same time tried to figure out how to tell my bandmates that we’ll be moving to Chapel Hill permanently. But when they brought my order of 6 pieces, I saw what they REALLY meant to say was “1 piece of salmon sashimi cut up into 6 tiny fragments for $2.” Point is: There’s no getting around it – it’s not a cheap way to eat.
So I’m not going to tell you that going to Koto will hit your wallet like a brick of Ramen noodles, but at the same time, it’s priced fair. And if you’re not as particular as me when it comes to exactly what fish you want, you can get some pretty great deals on the Sushi and Sashimi specials. I order the most expensive way possible usually: sashimi a la carte (plus miso and a beer or two, and the occasional chicken yakitori). And I’ve never come out of Koto feeling guilty – an emotion that, for me, tends to pop up the minute my hand touches my wallet. So that’s got to mean something.
And lastly, I ought to mention: It’s a really comfortable space. It’s not cramped. But it’s also not too big (one of my complaints with Faan). It’s clean, but not too fancy. And it’s casual enough to fit in the neighborhood.
Right now, from what I can tell, Koto is technically the only sushi place in Carroll Gardens. Kotobuki is technically in Red Hook, and Osaka is in Cobble Hill. Correct me in the comments if I’m wrong about that. But even if all the places I’ve listed above were located within a block of my house, I’d still go to Koto.
In other words, it’s easy to be the best sushi restaurant if you’re the ONLY sushi restaurant. But Koto is the best I’ve been to for all the other reasons: food, staff, price, and atmosphere.
KOTO IS LOCATED AT 552 HENRY STREET AT THE CORNER OF CARROLL. THEIR NUMBER IS 718-222-8055. IF YOU’VE DECIDED TO JUST SKIP DOWN TO THE ALL-CAPS BOLDED TEXT, I CAN SUM THIS NOVEL OF A POST UP FOR YOU RIGHT NOW: EAT AT KOTO.
