TEAM EPIPHANY

It’s not often that two of music’s most well-respected superstars get together to not only collaborate on an album but also a whirlwind, laser and fog-laden tour. So, unsurprisingly, a solid amount of Team Epiphany members found their way to the “Watch the Throne” concerts at both Madison Square Garden and Washington DC’s Verizon Center.

Reactions, vantage points and favorite moments all differed between Team members. Some thought that the performance of a certain European-themed, Hit-Boy-produced track three times in a row was overkill, while others relished in its extravagance. Some thought that Kanye’s leather kilt (skirt?) was simply ridiculous, while others (well, maybe just one of us) thought it fit his fashion-forward rockstar persona perfectly. In terms of the solo sets, some thought that the effortless, pitch-perfect rapping of Jay-Z’s classics overshadowed Kanye’s emotional, multi-faceted performances, while others preferred the vocoded splendor of “Runaway” and “Heartless.” Regardless of our differences, however, the resounding conclusion reached by us all was the same: this concert was epic. 

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People love exclusivity when dining in New York City. From speakeasy bars to clandestine alleyway restaurants, the trend has become so pervasive that I personally find it tacky. A noted exception, however, is Sushi Azabu. Why? Frankly -because the food is good enough to justify any kind of gimmick.

Saunter into The Greenwich Grill on Greenwich and Laight Streets in TriBeCa and let the host (who is rarely Asian, yet always speaks flawless Japanese) know that you’ve made a reservation for dinner at Azabu. Without a whiff of pretention, you’ll be whisked away to the back of the restaurant, led down a dark and inconspicuous set of stairs and plunged head-first into the most authentic sushi bar experience this side of Tokyo.

The best way to dine at Sushi Azabu is to sit at the bar and order the Omakase (or one of the smaller iterations of the chef’s menu, if you’re not feeling particularly hungry or adventurous). Get a sake or imported beer and sit back in gustatory wonder as the master chef doles out hit-after-hit of melt-in-your-mouth, straight-from-the-ocean, seriously sublime sushi. Don’t ask what anything is – the chef will just point to your dish and bark its name in Japanese. It’s refreshing, in such a label-conscious society, to be in a place where the names truly don’t matter. Each piece of sushi is decadent in its Zen-like simplicity. Forget the specifics of your meal and indulge. Take a leap of faith. Dive in. Enjoy.  

My Recommendations: Omakase, the mochi/green tea ice cream sundae if you have room for dessert. 

- Douglas Brundage

 TE’s NYC is an ongoing series of city-centric reviews, recommendations, commentaries, collaborations and more about everything and anything related to NYC. 

Douglas Brundage is a Social Media Coordinator at Team Epiphany. 

Learn more about Sushi Azabu over at their website.