Nothing Ever Happens

Kirala
33 Carmine Street, New York
between Avenue Of The Americas & Bedford St
+1 212 741-2123

After a roof-top party at a friend’s house in West Village, I sleepwalked down the street until a magnetism sucked me in a restaurant called Kirara. It’s a nicely designed miniature and intimate sushi shop on Carmine Street.

I sat at the counter and I wasn’t really hungry, but the fish looked gorgeous. Li, the chef, and his assistant Jonah, knew immediately what my soul needed: elegant and smooth dry sake and 6 pieces of sushi - the best hamachi (yellowtail tuna) and shiro-maguro (albacore, white tuna) I had outside of Japan, prepared in a masterly fashion. We immediately connected with the two chefs who albeit their Korean provenance, proved encyclopedic knowledge and sincere passion for sushi-do. Li surprised me with a special gift: a tart of juicy toro (raw premium fatty tuna), slightly baked from the outside, with fresh herbs and spicy sauce. Heavenly.

If you go to Kirala, reserve your seat at the counter and ask for toro, hamachi, and shiro-maguro sushi. Mention my name, and you might be entitled to one of the chef’s original creations (”911″ or “Ohyah”).

For other restaurants check my entire list of “Restaurants I Love”.