Serious Sushi in the Triangle Below Canal

hiroko masuikeBrushstroke was in the works long before it opened in April of last year.  The restaurant is the result of a culinary connection between David Bouley and the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan.  Three months after it opened, Sam Sifton awarded Brushstroke two stars.  In April of this year, a sushi place opened inside Brushstroke and operated without a name.  Until now.  With three stars from Pete Wells in today's Dining Section, Ichimura at Brushstroke shares a pedestal with Il Buco Alimentari, Atera, The NoMad, and Kyo Ya.

In the quiet triangle below canal, Ichimura is tucked inside of Brushstroke with no door or sign of its own.  Wells explains, "Tiny, hard-to-spot restaurants are a longstanding tradition in Japan."  Chef Eiji Ichimura, a native of Japan, is responsible for preparing the $150 omakase menu here, which stems from the "Edo-mae style of sushi that he learned decades ago in Tokyo. Developed in street stalls in the era before refrigeration, Edo-mae sushi was made with fish that had often been cured in salt or vinegar, or stored in soy sauce to keep it from spoiling."  The use of salt is one application on a list of many that makes the sushi at Ichimura so unique.  The rice, nearly as important as the fish, is "seasoned with a blend of three vinegars."  There is great attention to detail.  The service is "exceedingly gracious" in a room with a sound level that is "utterly serene."

The relationship between Bouley and Ichimura is strong and growing.  There are plans for a "redesign" early next year that will allow Chef Ichimura's efforts to shine in a whole new light.  The once "empty sushi bar in Tribeca" Wells ate at will no longer be described thusly.  Wells concludes the interview perfectly, "The redesign, which Mr. Bouley hopes to start next year, would even give Ichimura at Brushstroke its own door inside the restaurant. But it still won’t have a separate street entrance, or a sign of its own. You’ll just have to know it’s there. And now you do."