Kinjo
Finally, an omakase that’s worth going to (that I can afford).
I realized two weeks ago that I’d been edging myself towards the cliff of burnout—I’d fallen into a pattern of spending almost all my waking hours either working or writing, and while yes, I’m (for the most part) writing recreationally, writing even just for fun exercises (challenges) the same parts of my brain as what I do all day at work. And then one Friday morning, sitting in front of my monitor at home, I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea… a sudden disgust with the act of sitting in front of a screen, typing endlessly.
So, I’m trying to take better care of myself; I’m trying to diversify the ways I spend my free time with the hope of repairing my creative energy. I started playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure on the Switch. I bought a physical copy of American Pastoral by Philip Roth from Codex Books so I didn’t have to keep reading it on my Kindle, and then read it during a leisurely solo lunch at Bus Stop Cafe. (I had the kale salad with chicken based on the recommendation of one of my friends, but passed through another friend. It’s good!) And two weeks later, I feel a little better. The sun is out and I’m writing again.
I’m learning that sometimes you need to take a moment from creating in order to create and that the rest is as important as the work. A reminder to engage in something less familiar—video games, in my case—or consume familiar media in a new way.
There’s something else I think I’ve lost during this weird, wintry period of my life: the excitement of dining at new restaurants. I’ve spent the last few months returning to the same ones over and over again, enjoying falling into comforting patterns. And maybe “comforting” is the operative word here: when the weather is so cold and dreary, is it worth going out for anything other than an experience that’s guaranteed to be a hit? (Unfortunately, sometimes the places that I loved the first time don’t hold up. I returned to Moody Tongue Sushi for their hand roll bar and it was… extremely disappointing. KazuNori will forever be my favorite place—their seaweed would never, ever be soggy. Just saying.)
I’ve fallen into a dining rut in addition to my creative one, which is one explanation for why OMB has been publishing a little less recently. (Sorry! I was also sick!) Frustratingly, the cure for a dining rut is a little less straightforward. After all, whether or not I enjoy a restaurant I take a chance on is outside of my control! But, I was scrolling Instagram one night and saw that Green Tile Social Club (a mahjong club I desperately want to be a part of) did an event with Kinjo, and then I immediately, blindly booked a reservation to dine there.
Perhaps the promise of a “cheap” omakase was what drew me in. I’ve been burned by them before—I had a brief streak of going to under-$100 omakases in the East Village one summer, and every single time, I thought that despite the not-so-terrible price, it wasn’t worth it. But, I’ve been stuck in the aforementioned rut… and even a fine but forgettable meal would have been more interesting than what I’ve been to for months.
By the way, I fully acknowledge that $95 is not insignificant, but in the world of omakase, it’s a pretty reasonable price—provided that it delivers the top notch experience that Kinjo did. Spoiler! (And if this all sounds horribly pretentious… I have no defense. It comes with the territory, I think.)
Besides having an all-around excellent dining experience, a meal at Kinjo is a feast for the eyes. Even just approaching the restaurant, located by the water in Dumbo, Viraj and I marveled at how beautiful the Manhattan Bridge looked up close, shining against the dark backdrop of the winter night sky. Some light research revealed that the building that houses Kinjo is a former torpedo factory, and I now have several follow-up questions about the manufacturing of torpedoes… but I think that’s for another sort of newsletter. Regardless, the building’s past gives Kinjo a historic charm, with high ceilings and wooden beams.
Kinjo has a cocktail lounge and a 13-seat omakase counter, and though Viraj and I didn’t spend any time in the lounge, the delicious smoky plum margarita I had with my meal makes me think that even just a visit to the lounge would be well worth it. At the counter, the vibe is intimate and elevated without feeling stuffy, and the $95 included an 11-course meal with the option to add additional sushi. Every single course was a hit—the pieces of nigiri we received ranged from fascinating and creative, like akami zuke (marinated tuna) paired with asian pear, to ridiculous luxury, like otoro with osetra caviar. It was all so exciting that Viraj and I added two more pieces: king salmon with finger lime and torched maguro kama topped with more osetra caviar, which they were offering as a special.
Beyond the sushi though, the koji duck was especially memorable, a koji-cured duck presented similar to how one would eat Peking duck, with a thin Mandarin pancake and paired with pineapple hoisin sauce and a shiso leaf. It was so good that Viraj and I started thinking that we needed to be eating all kinds of Peking duck with shiso leaves moving forward. And then we ended the meal with an excellent chocolate panna cotta with maple miso, and the chocolate was perfectly, satisfyingly bitter in the way that I seem to increasingly want my chocolate these days.
I have nothing bad to say about Kinjo—every single detail is so thoughtfully assembled and presented, and they only opened last October. It’s where I want to celebrate all my milestones at, and it makes me, once again, excited about dining in New York. So… now that I’m a bit more energized, there will be more reviews coming soon. I’d make some comment here about how I’m just going to keep returning to Kinjo and refuse to go to more new restaurants because it was so good, but let’s be real: I don’t have that kind of money. (And somehow, I’ve ended a review of an omakase experience feeling humbled… and grounded in reality…)
Bite It!
Book Kinjo on Resy here, and make sure to pay attention to if you’re booking the lounge or omakase counter. Reservations are easy to come by now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this place becomes hard to book in a few months!