Herrine Ro: New York City boasts of many

world-famous sushi restaurants.

It's home to chefs whose dedication and passion

rival those in Japan.

We ordered from three famous sushi restaurants

to find which omakase is best in town.

Welcome back to "Best in Town."

This season, I'm super excited to bring back

my close friend and a member of my small social circle

during this pandemic, Emily Christian.

Emily Christian: Yay, I'm so excited to be here!

Herrine and I have done our research,

and we have selected three popular

omakase spots in New York,

which are relatively affordable,

since places in the city have omakase for, like,

$800 a person.

Herrine: Yeah, so "relative" is the key word here,

but we will see you at the first stop.

[soft jazz music]

Emily: Our first stop is Sushi Katsuei.

Their Park Slope location

is considered one of the best sushi spots in Brooklyn,

and the West Village location that we're at now

is equally as popular.

Herrine: They are known for their traditional-style omakase

that features a variety of high-quality fish.

We'll see you there.

Aung Ko Win: Face mask off? OK.

I started making sushi 23 years ago in Japan.

We specialize in, like,

some part in Edomae sushi

and some part in authentic sushi.

Edomae is a time period.

That time period is only cured fish.

And also with a little bit of a garnishing.

Not the fusion. We don't go to the fusions, no.

Fusion is not authentic,

and we don't want to use the ingredient

besides the Japanese ingredients.

The omakase's change depends on the fish

coming from the Toyosu Market.

Depends on the seasonal items.

The fishes that we use are 90% from Japan.

The fish is from Tsukiji, Toyosu Market.

Now we get shipment from Japan.

Four days we can get shipment.

Before we get everyday shipment.

For example, like, a sea urchin from Hokkaido,

then the anago we have coming from the Tokyo Bay.

[soft upbeat music]

The one that you have here we call open omakase.

Open mean, like, no limited.

[soft upbeat music]

We set the first like a starter,

like three kinds of sashimi and 12 pieces of sushi.

Herrine: Everything we've tasted so far,

super fresh, delicate, and, like, held back.

And I think the holding back takes

a lot more skill to execute than, like,

throwing a bunch of things on it, you know?

Emily: Because just the raw flavors really need to shock.

You know, you have to, like,

have really, really, really good fish

to be able to not add too much for it

and for it to have that complexity of flavor

that it is having already.

Since the omakase has multiple pieces,

we'll only be showcasing the chef's favorite,

the most surprising, the best overall,

and the ikura and the eel

because each place has its own take.

Herrine: I'm assuming that we will eat with our hands

and not chopsticks.

Aung: It's also the preference too.

Eating with hands more delicious.

Emily: Just, like, gets the food to your face faster,

and that's something I can really get behind.

Herrine: Yeah, that too.

And we've washed our hands.

Emily: Yes. Herrine: Wash your hands.

Of the 12 pieces, which one's your current favorite?

Aung: Marinated bluefin tuna.

Emily: Oh, this one's the specialty?

Aung: Yes, this is one of the

traditional item of the sushi.

Herrine: Would you say that this is like a

quintessential example of what Edomae

type of sushi is? Aung: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Herrine: At other sushi restaurants

when you get lean tuna like this,

it's very irony,

and it doesn't have other taste outside of that.

This was very rich. Emily: Rich, yes.

Herrine: And you didn't get that irony taste.

Emily: Mm-hmm. It had such a savory flavor.

It's a really deep flavor.

You know, when you were eating, it was like,

like this, like it was like this in my mouth.

Herrine: We're having a lot of gestures today.

Emily: Well, sometimes it's just, like,

there are no words to describe the flavor of this.

The rice, when you eat it, you can taste

each individual grain of rice in your mouth.

Herrine: That's exactly what I wanted to say!

Emily: Wow.

Each little added topping is so small.

He put, like, two drops of something

or one sprig of something, and yet,

when you eat it, it tastes like this explosion of flavor.

Herrine: That's a really good point.

It looks so small,

but it really explodes in your mouth.

Emily: Yeah.

Herrine, I think we're about to have some more mackerel.

Aung: Nama saba. Fresh mackerel from southern part of Japan.

Herrine: Thank you.

Aung: Topping with miso vinegar and sesame seed.

Emily: Awesome, thank you.

Aung: The water is getting cold,

so our mackerel has a more, like,

fatty and richer in taste.

I'll be surprised if you don't care for that mackerel.

Herrine: I normally don't like mackerel

because of that, like, scent.

How is it that yours doesn't have that scent?

Like, why am I enjoying --

Emily: How have you done it? Herrine: Yeah.

Aung: Mackerel's freshness is important.

Shiny fish goes bad very fast.

Emily: This had none of that. Herrine: This is the first

and only time that I enjoyed mackerel.

And I don't think it was because they hid the scent,

I think it was just, like,

paired with flavors

that really complemented it. Emily: Yeah. Absolutely.

Herrine: For me, that's the biggest shocker.

Aung: It's a bluefin fatty tuna.

Emily: That is a hearty slab of tuna, too.

It's not holding back at all.

Herrine: What makes the otoro here special?

Aung: I use normally, like, a not very big one.

The muscles are not very strong

and also more, like, delicate.

Herrine: Oh, that's, like,

that's richer than butter. Emily: Mm-hmm.

My favorite piece is for sure the fatty tuna.

Not the fatty tuna, but the fattiest tuna.

'Cause what we ate originally I thought was my favorite,

which was just a fatty tuna,

and this was as-fatty-as-it-comes tuna,

and ooh.

Ooh.

It was like eating a really good piece of chocolate

in the way that it was so decadent and melty.

Herrine: The way that he pairs different flavors,

it's like you're getting sweet one time

and spicy one time

and sour one time,

so that your mouth is constantly

going through a new thing each time.

Emily: Going on a little mouth adventure.

Herrine: Yes, going on a little mouth adventure.

This is the fresh ikura.

Aung: Fresh ikura.

Fresh ikura, it's the start of season.

Fresh ikura is when you open up the salmon belly.

Skin is different,

and also the texture and skin is different.

Herrine: That was a lot.

Emily: I was so excited to eat.

[both laugh]

Herrine: The fish egg membrane,

it's, like, so much more soft.

Emily: You could press the little, you know...

Herrine: Balls. Emily: Eggs

up into the roof of your mouth,

and they would just kind of delicately explode

like a little tiny water balloon, you know?

Herrine: Your way with words, man.

So, eel is one of those things that you see

at every omakase restaurant.

Emily: Yeah.

Herrine: But every place

has its own iteration of this piece.

Mm.

Emily: You know what it is?

It's fluffy.

Herrine: Mm-hmm!

Has a little bit of a kick.

Emily: And just like a little cloud,

like a little eel cloud.

And that was just different, 'cause I usually --

[both laugh] My word choice.

I liked that you could taste the eel and not just the sauce.

Oftentimes when I'm eating eel,

I'm just tasting the sauce.

Herrine: Yeah, and when you go to places,

a lot of the times,

eel is, like, completely drenched in sauce.

Emily: Right. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Herrine: Just a little light little drizzle.

Emily: It was perfect. Again, the balance.

Herrine: The balance.

Emily: The balance is what makes it so good.

Herrine: I would say that

without all the bells and whistles,

this tasted the most pure.

Compared to the other two places that we're going to,

this will be the most traditional way

we will experience omakase.

Emily: From what I can tell, I love it.

Herrine: Thank you for making this experience so great.

Emily: It was delicious. Thank you.

Aung: Thank you for coming.

Emily: So, our next stop is Sushi by M.

Herrine: And we will be trying their omakase.

Emily: And what makes this place so special?

Herrine: So, Chef Tim is known for using, like,

a modern twist to his traditional omakase,

and he has a lot of fun with his diners.

Emily: Ooh, I'm excited to figure out what that means.

Herrine: Let's go do it.

[soft upbeat music]

Tim Lin: I have been a chef 25 years already, so.

Even though I look so young though.

I learned sushi while I was in high school over here,

from my sushi master.

So, he's from Japan, and he taught me everything.

I know what kind of foods, what kind of evening

people like in this country.

70% is from Japan.

I do the traditional omakase,

but I still want to find out my own style.

My style, I'm like slow casual.

We talk, and I serve you piece by piece,

and we talk, we drink.

Both: Yes, cheers, cheers.

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Rock your body ♪

♪ Oh, yeah, yeah ♪

So, my sushi master told me that

people spend money on the sushi

and that you have responsibility to people, actually.

So I really want people stay here, have fun,

and have good sushi. That's it.

Tim: You're gonna have a good time here.

Emily: We are gonna have, I can feel it already.

Tim: I promise.

Emily: We've been having a good time.

Herrine: We have been having a good time.

We've been having a grand old time.

Tim: Before I start making the omakase for you guys,

one shot. Emily: Cheers.

Herrine: Cheers.

Oh, we're doing the whole thing, OK.

Tim: Only the one shot though.

Emily: You said shot and I was,

I didn't register until halfway through.