Comments (0) Best Place to Dine Alone - 2008
Blue Sea
Dining alone is one of life's underrated pleasures. Eat quickly; eat slowly. Gawk at other diners; bring a book. Have a glass of wine; have six. Every choice is sweetly your own, including the most important: Which restaurant? Blue Sea works on all sorts of levels. First, the food, an innovative array of sparkling fresh sushi presented with artistic flair (artists are said to eat by themselves quite often). Appetizers include a spicy lobster martini ($25) and ceviche of diver scallops with mango, ginger, and lime ($14). Nigiri kick bass with selections such as the roe from salmon, uni, and flying fish ($7). Maki and jumbo maki rolls are available, as is pressed oshi — don't miss the salmon and tuna with mango jelly. Sushi sauces excel: tamari, ponzu, asam manis, peanut, eel, and kim chee. Rolls are under $20, but Blue Sea is not cheap — especially if you delve into the caviar offerings. But that's another beauty of solo dinners — you pay for only one. Then there is the setup to consider. Blue Sea consists of one long communal table that juts at an angle from the sushi bar to the cusp of the Delano's still-happening-after-all-these-years lobby scene. Talk about gawk-worthy! Plus, while in regular restaurants it is generally considered rude to lean over to people seated at the next table and introduce yourself, it is common practice at communal tables, which are conducive to conversation among those who don't know each other. Even more so after imbibing some of the singular sake selections. Maybe you will make a friend. Maybe not. Either way, pristine sushi is a given.
