N/naka - Modern Kaiseki

Caroline the same person as Carole?

Godspeed

In the spirit of striving to push forward, we are thrilled to announce our new reservation system, Tock.
Reservations are scheduled for release on August 4, 2019 at 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time.

looks like they’ll be utilizing dynamic pricing.

https://www.exploretock.com/n-naka/

Guests may choose between a modern kaiseki for $225-275 or vegetarian tasting for $200-225.

I guess I got lucky going when I did when it was like 150/160. This price point puts it pretty out of reach for all but a very select few. I don’t blame her; the fact that reservations are sold out speaks for itself.

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After several attempts, I was able to secure a reservation in December. Has anyone been this year?

By 10:01 all the seats were gone.

BTW I had emailed with them before booking and they had no trouble accommodating a no pork no shellfish “kosher style” dietary restriction.

I recently had the best meal I’ve had in LA at Somni, so excited to try another of our heralded spots.

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I went in June.

I went in May. Still great!

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And… they’re sold out

https://n-naka.com/to-go/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-BVD7-BLGU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

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3tqg50

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I got to admit. This did get on my nerves.

I saw the Bento boxes pop up a week ago, but I wasn’t sure they would let me order with them again so I e-mailed them for their permission. It took them a few days to respond, and I’m glad that they allowed me to place an order again. I got a few boxes waiting for me and my close friend this week.

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new $85 jūbako option:

Kaiseki Jūbako
A thoughtfully curated selection of dishes, highlighting the essence of California kaiseki for you to experience in your home. With dishes like:
Braised Monterey Bay Abalone
Japanese Style Smoked Duck
Seared Wagyu Salad
Seasonal Sashimi
Sushi Selection
Binchotan Grilled California Kinki
Crispy Lobster Kara Age
Takiawase Braised Vegetables
Matcha White Chocolate Cake
Strawberry Daifuku
Passion Fruit Chocolate Truffle

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2 n/naka Kaiseki Jūbako available at retail price OR trade for Bento with Sushi box plus price difference

I managed to snag 2x n/naka bento boxes this morning. When I refreshed the page right at 10AM, the only option that showed up was the Kaiseki Jūbako. I rushed to buy it and had completed the purchase before realizing that the price was $85/box, not $38/box like I was expecting. Apparently they recently added this new higher priced option. I’m not entirely thrilled with spending $85/person right now, so I am looking to sell my 2 boxes, or trade with someone who has the cheaper box plus you would pay me the difference in price. My 2 Kaiseki Jūbako boxes are for pickup this Wednesday 4/8 at 7PM at n/naka. The total price for the two boxes, including tax and a $20 tip is $206.15.

Shoot me a message if you’re interested in buying the boxes outright, or trading plus paying the price difference if you have a reservation for the cheaper boxes. My preference is to trade with someone who has the cheaper box.

EDIT: Clearly if I had read the post right above this, I would have realized that there was a new higher priced option. But alas.

Extended OOE car-makase bang-bang continued…

n/naka bento with sushi

sashimi salad with garlic miso dressing shio koji-marinated tomato

kabocha potato salad, cucumber seaweed sunomono

panko-fried shrimp

shoyu koji-roasted sweet potato

miso-marinated black cod with sunchoke puree

tamagoyaki

a5 wagyu nikogori

matcha white chocolate cake

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Thanks for the report @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile: What did you think of the taste and QPR compared to Shunji? Thanks.

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I’d love to buy one of the Kaiseki Jūbako boxes off you - I sadly wasn’t able to secure either in time. Just let me know!

taste-wise i think i prefer n/naka just slightly over shunji, but shunji had the better qpr. the miso-marinated black cod, shoyu koji-roasted sweet potato and matcha white chocolate cake were the standouts. At 38 bucks I wasn’t expecting much from the a5 but it was still disappointing; miniscule and overcooked. I would have preferred a larger portion of a cheaper cut.

in shunji’s, i really liked the crab cake, shiitake tempura, and tamago.

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extended car-makase part II - kaiseki jūbako #covid15
this was a little more than twice the price of n/naka’s regular bento but more than twice as good, i thought this had a much higher qpr. everything in this two-tiered box was good to great, and a lot more like what you would eat at dinner. highly recommended @Chowseeker1999, @attran99, @NYCtoLA, @TheCookie, @Omotesando, @J_L, @CiaoBob, @Hungrydrunk, @Ns1, @butteredwaffles

highlights

  • lobster nanbanzuke
  • kinki
  • abalone with liver and truffle sauce
  • lobster, uni, caviar
  • matcha white chocolate cake
  • strawberry daifuku

two tiered box with a side of soup and dessert

owan soup - shiitake mushroom

lower level

upper level

sashimi

crispy lobster nanbanzuke
perfectly cooked and tender

california kinki with daikon, sansho, ikura
oily, smoky from the binchotan and delicious

i love you kinki
kinki

braised vegetables - eggplant, squash, broccoli, shimeji, golden beets, eggplant sesame sauce

ikura

lobster, uni, caviar
one of the best bites in the box

japanese roasted duck with mustard

braised abalone with liver and truffle sauce
all this was missing was some spaghetti

hamachi
nigiri has also greatly improved from what i’ve had at dinner

kinmedai

american wagyu tataki salad with ginger and ponzu

passion fruit chocolate

matcha white chocolate cake

strawberry daifuku
as soon as i bit into this it burst with incredible sweetness and i immediately knew this was from harry’s berries; even better than the ones i’ve had in japan, incredible .

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+1 on kinki, strawberry daifuku, and lobster,uni,caviar bite. So, so good. I also really enjoyed the owan soup. The kinki sort of reminds of Hayato’s nodoguro in its smokiness and oiliness, and in addition to @PorkyBelly’s comment on the daifuku, the strawberries were wonderful with the anko (red bean paste).

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:heart_eyes: