Duane Street and West Broadway

The traditional Japanese dinner called kaiseki, “rooted in the Zen monasteries of ancient Kyoto,” has become, over the centuries, more elaborate until it is now an “artistic event with an exquisitely choreographed tasting menu,” according to Rosanjin restaurant. One of the things I love about kaiseki (the few times I’ve had it) is the variety of ceramics and serving dishes used to set off each item. Nothing matches; everything has to be considered on its own terms. (“The presentation of just a few morsels of food can necessitate a chalice on a small plate on a larger plate on a tray. While a kaiseki meal is designed for, and promises, a measure of spiritual uplift, that state of grace doesn’t extend to whoever is doing the dishes,” wrote Frank Bruni in his review for the New York Times a few years ago. The rest of his report is also still applicable, I'd say.)