When an Italian tells you the best place to buy lasagna is from Porzia’s, you listen. With my luck, they also happened to be opening a new restaurant (previously, they operated a takeout joint), a no reservation establishment that can accommodate about 24 people a seating.

Porzia’s menu changes frequently with a focus on seasonal ingredients, which allowed me to try one of the sweetest cantaloupes I’ve ever experienced. If you’ve ever had musk melon, the two slices in the prosciutto and melon ($18) rivaled the prized melon in sweetness and went wonderfully with the freshly shaved Parma prosciutto, which was especially delicious when I sampled a slice covered in olive oil.  

One dish that’s constant on the menu is their lasagna, offered in a “classico” or “bolognese” format. Given I like my pasta saucier, we ordered the lasagne bolognese ($26) a hefty brick of pasta with so many layers of pasta and cheese that sat in a pool of meat sauce and was covered with finely shaved cheese.

The fresh pasta was silky and soft except for the top layer that’s broiled adding a crispiness to the otherwise soft dish. If you like pasta, you’ll swoon over this dish. And while it was delicious, it was also heavy and could use more sauce between the layers.

What impressed me was the tagliatelle with red shrimp al limone ($29), a lighter pasta that’s nonetheless a flavour bomb. I had to ask for a spoon to properly enjoy the sauce: a combination of chili peppers, rich olive oil, and slivers of garlic that ends with a lemon note that’s not overly acidic. After having bites of lasagna, I found the dish so refreshing and the tagliatelle chewy but still silky. Porzia’s you need to make this a staple.

As a secondi we shared the acqua pazza sea bass ($38), which consisted of two fair-sized pieces of perfectly poached fish cooked just to the point of flaking. The broth had a rustic feel to it with chunks of stewed onion, tomato, and artichokes amongst a host of herbs and white wine. If you like fish stews or bouillabaisse, this is the dish for you.

I’m so glad my friend let me in on the secret of Porzia’s and that they opened a restaurant. I have no doubt that as others discover the place, it will become bustling as their food is simply sublime. 

MSSM isn’t your traditional omakase restaurant. As you ascend the steps from Yorkville, the energy level of the restaurant matches the neighbourhood. At least three people yell out shari as you enter, which means ‘sushi rice’ in Japanese. There’s music pumping and in lieu of the typical wooden sushi bar the dining room contains white graffitied walls and pink neon lights. We aren’t in Tokyo anymore Toto.

Also, unlike typical omakase spots, the sushi bar is HUGE. It can easily accommodate twenty people with five chef stations laid out so that each are preparing food for about four customers. Despite the sheer number of patrons, there’s something intimate about being nestled in a group around one chef, in an instant he put me at ease with questions and jokes… conversations are encouraged here.

What also makes them different is the price point - $98 per person instead of the $200+ that you’ll usually pay. Chef Masaki Saito realized not everyone could afford (or get a reservation) to his two Michelin star restaurant, hence opened MSSM as a means of allowing more people to get to experience the art of omakase.

Traditions be damned, MSSM starts off their menu with a hand roll. Filled with finely chopped tuna and pickled radish wrapped with shiso leaf and freshly toasted nori, it’s an interesting and hearty way to start off.  

The following bonito with apple onion sauce was too pungent for my liking with so many leeks, ginger, and chives. Perhaps if it’s accompanied with something creamy, like a sesame sauce, it would help balance out the dish.

MSSM also uses a sense of showmanship, presenting trays of the seafood that would form the ten pieces we were about to sample before slicing and preparing. Once ready, a bucket of rice is whisked out and periodically changed to ensure it’s at the optimal temperature. Indeed, the rice is nice and warm but could use more vinegar.

To start, the stripe bass (shima Suzuki), a clean and light tasting fish that is often used to warm up the palette. It’s immediately followed by salmon (zuke sake) that’s been marinated for a couple of hours in a “mother sauce” that gets cooked, added to, and reused… not unlike a sourdough starter. What a flavourful piece topped with a finely chopped green onion paste.

MSSM’s scallop (hotate) tastes clean especially when finished with drop of lime juice. I love that it’s not overly gummy so that you could chew the seafood and take in the scallop’s sweetness. A sprinkle of sea salt may bring out the flavours even more.

A hand torch crisps up the skin of the sea bream (madai) while also bringing out the fish’s oils and flavours. With a light dusting of salt, a bit of chili radish paste, and a drop of lime, it’s a nice bite that gives out heat and a slight smokiness.

In fact, I really appreciated the garnishes used on the nigiri. The bit of chopped yuzu peel on the blue fin tuna (akami) gave the fish a freshness that awoken the otherwise meaty fish. Our chef explains that they chop the garnishes by hand as they found using a food processor adds a bitterness to the items. Yes, that is one of the many tasks that keeps them busy before dinner service.

What really intrigued me was the chawanmushi sushi. I’m a big fan of the steamed egg and couldn’t understand how they were going to morph it into sushi. What first arrives is the typical dish – steam egg steamed with bonito and kelp stock. It didn’t look like much, and we’re told to just have a taste of it – good but not overly exciting.

The chef than takes it back and adds sushi rice, Dungeness crab sauce, yuzu peel paste, and wasabi before re-presenting the chawanmushi in front of us. Once it’s all well mixed together, it becomes this incredible eggy seafood risotto that is one of my favourite bites of the dinner.

After the high comes a small low, a spot prawn (botan ebi) with lime. While I’m glad it wasn’t too gummy, I still don’t like the texture of the raw shrimp … not one of my favourite bites.

It’s unclear whether torching the bluefin tuna belly (toro) makes it better. Sure, I liked that the fish oils were starting to liquify, but I found the piece a tad chewy – not necessarily from the fish, but perhaps from the spring onion inside. While still a nice piece, it just didn’t the pow of flavour that normally comes from a fatty tuna.

Give me dashimaki instead of tamago any day. At MSSM, the egg omelette is warm and savory with a moistness that keeps the layers light and fluffy. All hail the dashimaki!

The hand torch makes one last appearance with the sea eel (anago). After being liberally heated, some lime and yuzu peel is added to the slightly sweet, delicate, and tender eel. What a wonderful final bite.

So, what makes MSSM’s omakase experience different, other than the price? It certainly relies on volume. The five chefs are preparing the omakase at a decent clip and soon after they are done the miso soup arrives. The broth is made with fish bones instead of a strong dashi so there’s a mellowness to the soup. It’s adorned with Japanese chili powder and spring onions, giving it a spicier finish than traditional versions.

Dessert consisted of house made strawberry daifuku. Certainly not as incredible as the version I had at Kappo Sato, but still a good rendition of chewy mochi encapsulating sweet azuki paste and a juicy strawberry.

As a warning, don’t arrive too early for your reservation. As MSSM relies on volume, the seatings are close together and they may not be ready if you show up more than five minutes early. Luckily, Yorkville is a great place to walk around, so we kept ourselves entertained for ten minutes with ease.

Given some of the chefs and staff have worked together at Tachi, there’s a natural ease in the operations despite our opening week visit. I love the comradery and casualness between the staff, which makes us laugh and feel comfortable speaking to the strangers sharing the table around us. After all, it’s not every day you hear the sous chef joke that the chef is her “work husband” instead of curtly replying “yes, chef”.

Not taking themselves seriously and laughs is what MSSM is about. When I asked what the name stood for, our chef cheekily replies - Masaiki Saito Sexy Man. It’s unclear if this is real or he’s joking, but after seeing their sake pot, I thought there could be some truth to the name. And yes, call me a child, but if you serve me sake in that vessel with two round cups, you must expect a photo like this. Take it easy and just enjoy the shari!

When a coworker suggested meeting at Nomé Izakaya for a team get together, it was a brilliant recommendation. After all, in Japan, an izakaya is often the place where groups meet after work for small plates and rounds of drinks before heading home. It’s an environment that you can be loud and getting things to share is a must.

After sampling two of their salmon rolls, I found them so similar that it’s difficult to distinguish between. Both the apple salmon roll ($19.80) and the seared salmon roll ($20.80) are encased in the fish with cucumber, avocado, asparagus, and crab meat salad on the centre. Where the difference lies are a few ingredients: the apple salmon including julienned apple and onion, while the seared salmon features cream cheese, coleslaw, and a host of other condiments. Both were freshly made, stuffed with fillings, and potentially the seared salmon having a slight edge with the plethora of sauces used to add interest.

For those who are squeamish about raw fish, Nomé Izakaya’s extensive menu offers tons of cooked dishes. Their chicken wings ($14.80 for a lb) were a hit with a shatteringly crispy crust and juicy interior having been wet-brined in soy sauce-based marinade. They were flavourful enough naked, but a hit of the spicy honey garlic made it even better.

The Japa-burgers ($17.80 for 3; extra piece for $5.90) are akin to a smashed burger slider with tomato, lettuce, onion, barbeque sauce, and a garlic mayonnaise. Interestingly, they toast the bottom of the bun so it resists getting soggy – I like it crispier so this was perfect for me, but I can see those who like a super soft bun finding this to be a drag.

While the sliders were delicious, there wasn’t really anything “Japanese” about them. I would have liked a more pronounce sauce (perhaps subbing teriyaki for the barbeque) and more Japanese ingredients (slivers of toasted nori in lieu of the lettuce) to differentiate the burgers.  

Dive into the mac & cheese ($15.80) upon arrival as it’s so gooey and rich when it’s hot out of the oven. Diced bell pepper, onion, and bacon are mixed throughout to give it interest (shrimp and scallops are also available, we eliminated these to accommodate an allergy). I didn’t expect an izakaya to make such a stellar pasta, but this rivaled many Southern joints.

The bulgogi tacos ($18.80 for 3; extra piece for $5.90) were large and filling but missed the mark. Firstly, the beef was the ground variety rather than shaved, which detracts from the bulgogi feel of the dish. Moreover, the menu mentions a host of toppings - lettuce, onion, fresh jalapeño, kimchi, Japanese beni shoga, garlic mayonnaise, spicy salsa, and furikake – but really what stood out the most was just a lot of mayo. Being a heavier taco, it really could have benefited from kimchi (mine contained none) and a fresher element like green onion.

If anything, a crispy pork belly ($12.50) taco would be a tastier dish. On its own, the slices of deep-fried braised pork belly were melt-in-your-mouth good but would benefit from a crispier crust to give the dish more contrast. It’s served with a generous squeeze of seaweed paste, which looks amazing but doesn’t offer much flavour, along with fresh scallions. They’re tasty to munch on but a couple of slices wrapped in a soft tortilla with a mango slaw and a stronger condiment would be incredible.

While izakaya’s are about sharing, if you’re a hands-off-my-food type of person the aburi salmon donburi ($16.80) would be the ideal choice for a single person. The small bowl of sushi rice was topped with a generous portion of diced seared salmon, aburi sauce (a mayonnaise-based condiment), shredded salad greens, red onions, and a raw egg yolk. It was flavourful and works as a complete meal for one.

But truthfully, most of the fun about visiting an izakaya is going with a larger group and letting go of niceties and just allowing yourself to be boisterous. At an izakaya, sharing is caring.