Neta World Peace

You bettta getta to Neta…

It is a good thing that this place is so f–king expensive, or else it could become a hobby. My first visit to Neta (post Times review) was Sister’s second (pre-Times review) and we had the best night. Unfortunate scheduling left us headed for a 10pm dinner, which opened up a lot of availibility regarding places that would usually be TCFU (too cool for us).  “Later” ended up being the key theme of the night- as the night got later, the food got better, the staff got even friendlier, our neighbors got chattier and the atmosphere more lively, to the point of almost cocktail party mingling.  When you go, sit at the counter- you get to watch amazing action with the hot and cold food preparations, as well as the bartender shaking his cocktails with two hands, and the like-minded, well-lubricated foodies next to you are more likely to offer you a bite of their kobe and truffles, as happened to us.

Now- back to those prices.  Neta offers two omakase options- one for $95 pp, and one for $135 pp.  I would prefer if they were called Chef’s tasting and Grand tasting or something, to avoid ordering by price (“oh yeah, and we will take $68 sake as well and a $5 coke), but that is just me.  Hot and cold plates, sushi, sashimi and rolls are all available a la carte, and I have decided on the following strategy for my next visit: the toro and caviar, the spicy salmon on crispy rice, and then as much sushi as I can fit into my little body.  The masterfully crafted sushi is by far the best part of the meal, and although you get a wide array with both tasting menus, you are still longing for more.  Neta needs to create a straight up sushi or sashimi only omakase- this Bar Masa pedigree should not be wasted in any way.

We opted for the  the $95 omakase option, so that we could get a large bottle of sake and not have to pawn our hair.  However, we splurged and added in the toro caviar dish  that is not part of that tasting.(Note: You will not feel ripped off by either menu, you get a lot of food.) Early dishes showed promise but lacked the zip to put them over the edge.  The crab salad needed a little citrus to make it pop; the mackerel sashimi with crunchy daikon was way too cold, and almost without flavor before you dipped it in the sauce.  The scallops with uni had potential, and the salty, warm globs of uni did the best they could to impart some flavor onto the scallops (presenation points for the shell), but in the end, the chunks of scallop were just a little lacking in texture and flavor. The toro caviar was everything this combination should be, and the toasted bread is a nice touch, even though we both were mainlining it in the end. The addition of scallions bring out the salty pop of the caviar, and adds a tiny bit of crunchy texture. The regularly scheduled omakase started to look up with the arrival of the fried softshell crab and shiso leaf (she-so crazy), which was crunchy and dressed simply with lime. THEN- we were hit with a flavor explosion that dropped some serious game on us: the szechuan spiced salmon with bonito flakes and crispy rice. This dish blew our minds- everything from the hot plate it was served on that kept cooking the rice, to the flavor of the salmon and the crunch of the flakes with the rice was perfect. The size was generous and it was still not enough.  Our neighbors were so curious about this dish they ordered one each, even after their tasting menu.  Around this time the restaurant started to empty out slightly, the staff loosened up and offered us tequila shots served with yuzu ice, which was basically a slushy sent from heaven.

Next, came the sushi. We were fortunate enough to be seated in front of the sushi Master, so we were watching him and drooling the whole evening, and when it was finally our turn we were chatting and milking it as best we could.  There were toro and tuna and salmon that melted in your mouth, each with an added flavor like garlic or an unexpected topper to send shivers down your spine.  There was more gooey, thick uni, served with nori so fresh it crunched.  Then there was eel, perfectly grilled and chopped and placed into the roll with avocado and served while it was still piping hot. We had been chatting with the people next to us for a bit, and once they were joined by a Neta investor their freebies started flowing.  Lucky for the Pants, they were eager to share their kobe and truffles, which was not shockingly decadent and delicious. Our primping and fawning paid off when our  friend the sushi chef let us split a piece of tuna sinew sushi, which was grilled and was complex and meaty, something that we would never order but now will return for.

A classmate from college is one of the head chefs, so if you want to meet a nice guy who knows his Japanese food, ask for Caesar. As the night got later, we got giddier, and fuller, and just couldn’t believe how much fun eating at 10 pm on a Wed could be. And then the peanut butter ice cream arrived- sheer, sake induced, food coma blabbering bliss. At this point it seemed everyone was coming over to chat with us, availing  us that we look like celebrities (Sister) and asking if we were Nordic (Me). Somehow it just made sense, in the Betta World of Neta…