The first bite is with the eye: Suzunari owner-chef Akihiko Murata (above) carefully prepares such kaiseki delicacies as mackerel sushi wrapped in pickled turnip and served with grilled ginkgo nuts (below); and grilled kamasu (barracuda) with simmered gyu-suji (beef tendon). ROBBIE SWINNERTON PHOTOS
Who says kaiseki dining has to be stuffy?
Kaiseki ryōri, Japan’s traditional multicourse “haute cuisine,” is known for its rarefied elegance, its depth and subtlety of flavor, an exquisite focus on the seasons and, too often, for being as much fun as a funeral. But there is also another kind of kaiseki, one that’s simpler, less formalized and far more approachable and affordable. That’s the style you get at Suzunari.
