Designers – please prioritize pics 1-6 if we need to cut the rest for space
Pics in schop folder
(Kysha Harris photos
Happy fall, y’all! We made it! I might be speaking for only a select few who are ready for the changing season; however, for me, it is more about getting back to a pace of life that moves me forward. I feel like I have been idle for too long, mentally and physically. It’s time to break out! And break out, I did!
Being invited to dine at a New York City restaurant is always a pleasure, and a privilege. When that invitation includes the word “omakase,” I vibrate higher. One, I love Asian food and, two, the word means, “I leave the details up to you.” As a chef and food writer, the most anxious part of dining out is the decision making that ensues over the menu. I want everything! With omakase, all I must do is arrive and sit. I can definitely do that.
Last Friday night, I made my way to the Flatiron District for omakase at the latest location of the Scratch Restaurants Group, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: New York. The restaurant lives beneath a nail salon. Before the OG New Yorker in me could say “oh, hell no,” to walking down graffiti-filled stairs to the subterranean level, I pressed the doorbell and was quickly greeted by the host. Once inside, the chaos of the city immediately left my spirit.
Guests are asked to arrive thirty minutes before their seating to partake in appetizers and cocktails. Before I could sit in the dimly lit 10-guest lounge, I was asked about dietary restrictions, offered a hot towel to clean my hands, a Japanese whiskey cocktail, and an oyster uni sake shooter. I was then led to a candlelit cocktail table to wait for my guest and enjoy two more canapés to arrive by the chef.
Kysha Harris photos
Once the dining hour struck, the door to the 10-seat counter opened and the guests were guided inside. Following the assigned seating, I took the pole position in the center in front of chef and co-owner Phillip Frankland Lee. After introducing his team of the beverage concierge and the two sushi chefs flanking him, Chef Lee led this dinner theater with aplomb!
From the chef’s foreword of what was to ensue — with the courses outlined on individual chalkboards behind him that graduated from light hamachi, squid, and jellyfish to wagyu, bone marrow, and foie gras, and the instruction on how to eat each course — the only decision left to be made was which beverage pairing to select. Since I could not decide, I went with the pairing that included sake, cocktails, and beer.
What began with Chef Lee preparing the warm sushi rice à la minute, ended two hours later with a not-too-sweet matcha surprise. To describe each bite in between here would be a disservice to an eventual experience you might have at Sushi by Scratch watching a chef chauffeur you through it.
I left Sushi by Scratch with a full belly and a smile on my face knowing one thing: I will now be having omakase every year for my birthday moving forward.
Duomo arigato gozaimasu! I hope to return soon.
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a chef, food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of
SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 22 years. Follow her on Instagram,
@SCHOPnyc and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.
Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD.