#kaiseki

#kaiseki

Sushi Sho, the omakase hotspot helmed by Keiji Nakazawa, earned an additional star, bringing it to three Michelin stars-the guide's highest honor, given to restaurants offering "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." It now joins the elite group already occupied by the perennially lauded Korean restaurant Jungsik, Eric Ripert's famed Le Bernardin, Thomas Keller's Per Se and Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park (which recently returned to its carnivorous roots).

Thought NYC had its fill of Japanese chef's tables? Think again - the city's latest, Muku, just opened in Tribeca. Launched under the Kuma Hospitality Group (which counts fellow Tribeca restaurant L'abeille in its numbers), Muku plans to make its mark on the city's scene with an intimate, tasting-menu only set up. Just 20 guests can dine here a day.

Executive chef Manabu Asanuma makes his own using buckwheat flour shipped over from his family's farm out in the Yamagata prefecture (where he grew up), known as the mogami wase variety. He builds his ni-hachi soba for the restaurant using 80 percent of that mogami wase buckwheat variety and 20 percent regular wheat, and some husks. The mixture results in hand-cut (intentionally) somewhat toothy and slightly uneven noodles, accompanied by a bowl of rich duck broth.