Whoo hoo! The New York Times, in doing an article on all the new Japanese restaurants in NYC, contacts Bento.com founder Robb Satterwhite for a quote. Very smart!
According to Robb Satterwhite, a New Yorker who lives in Tokyo and publishes an English-language guide to Tokyo restaurants on the Web, menus that mix Western and Japanese flavors are just as common in Tokyo as in New York. "Yuzu and caviar, foie gras and pickled radish, those kinds of combinations are hugely trendy here right now," Mr. Satterwhite said in a phone interview last week. Overall, the cultural cross-pollination that has made American steakhouses and French bakeries popular in Japan means that Japanese cuisine, even in Japan, is more loosely defined than ever.
As I am in Tokyo, I cannot try out these restaurants, but I am happy to hear that restauranteurs are opening up better Japanese restaurants. My favorite places in NYC for Japanese food are Sobaya on East 9th, and Omen on Thompson, and the place I forget which makes hand-made osoba south of Houston near the Angelika Theater.
Also, feel free to try out kaiseki ryori, but it ain't all that, imo. A great bowl of ramen is much better than a $100 dinner of formal Japanese cuisine. Trust me.
if you find yourself in Sydney, and on a really good expense account, check out Tetsuya's: it's amazing Japanese-French fusion, a bit like Napa's French Laundry in its fussy, elaborate food preparation and impeccable presentation.
the place near the Angelika that makes handmade soba is Honmura-An. My favorite soba in NY!
Makes great homemade ice cream and sorbets too.
Tad expensive though. And small portions.