David's 18th birthday last night (and his girlfriend's 17th), took them to Nobu (his request, he loves Asian food and especially Japanese- his grandmother is Japanese). I realize Nobu is no longer considered cutting edge, but I have to say the food was quite excellent overall. I encouraged David to try the signature miso-black cod dish, he was really amazed. The kids did order some more standard sushi (which I think is a bit of a waste at Nobu), but really enjoyed it. I started with a fluke sashimi/baby spinach salad, then uni tempura, and artic char with amazing quick-fried spinach. Betsy had the Kumamto oyster trio, rock shrimp tempura, and eggplant with miso. Every dish was excellent (I didn't try the oysters, but Betsy said they were as good as when we had before), except maybe the eggpant which was good but unexceptional.
For a high end Manhattan restaurant, I thought the wine list was very reasonable. Plenty of good choices in the $30-50 range. Betsy and I shared a bottle of 2005 Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon (either $38 or $40). I really liked this wine, a bit richer than a typical Macon but with a nice snappy acidity and clean feel about it. Rich ripe apple and pear fruit (I thought a little peachy after a while), light yet gets your attention, with a steel/flint minerality to the finish. B+ (and A- for value in an expensive restaurant).
It went fine with with the fluke salad and the artic char , as well as Betsy's rock shrimp. I didn't try the wine with the uni, but the (mild) jalapeno tempura that accompanied it went fine. But as others ordered dessert, I (the anti-dessert-person) got an ankimo pate as my "dessert." Taking a sip after the pate, the Macon was suddenly almost tasteless. Like it had been diluted 3 parts water to one wine. I repeated, same result. I drank a glassful of water, and the Macon tasted the same as it had earlier in meal. Now that's weird, not something I had ever encountered before.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.