New York City: Brushstroke (August 2016)

My spouse and I enjoyed lunch at Brushstroke on a Saturday afternoon in mid-August 2016. You can make a reservation to dine via telephone or by using the online Open Table system. Note that if you wish to dine at Mr. Ichimura (a slightly more exclusive part of Brushstroke), you must telephone to make a reservation (you cannot reserve Mr. Ichimura online). Brushstroke is open for lunch and dinner Mondays through Saturdays (closed on Sundays). We reserved an 11:30 am spot for lunch, which is the restaurant’s opening time, but the doors were still locked when we arrived. We actually had to call the host and asked to be let in! However, it was all uphill from that slightly rocky start.

Brushstroke, which opened in 2011, is located in TriBeCa at the corner of Hudson and Duane Streets. This location previously housed restaurants such as Danube and Secession, which were also created by chef owner David Bouley. Namesake restaurant Bouley is located just across the street. David Bouley trained great chefs like Dan Barber, Anita Lo, and Eric Ripert. David Bouley currently operates Brushstroke, Bouley, and private event spaces Bouley Botanical and Bouley Test Kitchen.

The Brushstroke space is elegant, decorated in steel, stone, and wood, reminiscent of a Shinto shrine, with rice paper curtains on the bottom half of the windows, so that light can still enter but gawkers on the street cannot observe. A large chef’s counter (where we sat) dominates the dining room, and if you choose to sit here, you can observe the workings of the kitchen. Many tables of different sizes and shapes are available if you choose to dine traditionally.

Brushstroke features Japanese kaiseki cuisine, which serves a series of focused, intricately composed dishes. Instructors from the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan, prepare the food. Two tasting menus are available along with an a la carte sushi menu for the bar. Brushstroke has a full bar, and we ordered a Japanese beer and a non-alcoholic elderflower drink to start.

We ordered the lunch kaiseki menu, which included four courses for $45. First, we received an interesting divided plate that contained a 3-item amuse bouche. Next, for our Zensai course, we ordered the scallop (with orange clam, trout caviar, green apple foam, and served in a clear dessert-type glass) and the sashimi assortment (which was worth the $35 supplement). For our shusai (main dishes), we ordered the Chilean sea bass (with tomato yuan-yaki and brown shrimp), and the octopus (with squid ink sauce and leek vinegar). Our main rice entrees were the beef cheek (with egg-don) and the sasanoha sushi (with smoked salmon, and red miso kobia wrapped in banana leaves). Brushstroke serves desserts a la carte; they are not part of the tasting menu. We could not decide between the pudding and the green tea ice cream. Although we ordered one, the restaurant delivered both because we were celebrating a birthday.

Our kaiseki lunch at Brushstroke was superb! It was an amazing presentation of unique ingredients and dishes in a beautiful atmosphere.