Time Warner Ctr   

Eating at Masa is like having a famous artist personally create a painting for you. Masa Takayama, chef-owner of the famous Jinza Sushiko in Beverly Hills, a 10-seat restaurant that some wealthy East Coasters have flown to solely for dinner, is now in New York at the Time Warner Center. Beyond the door made out of a 2,500-year-old cross section of cedar (found by Takayama in Japan), you'll find a serene setting of stone and wood, with a 10-seat counter and two eight-seat private rooms. Takayama personally prepares the prix-fixe menu, using fish flown in daily from Japan; a personal sushi chef is available, though, for tableside service at the private rooms. The menu reads like a foodie's dream: sea urchin risotto with shaved black truffle or a personal hot pot of lobster stock (with which one alternatively heats morsels of lobster tail and foie gras before dipping them into a light ponzu sauce -- think of it as fondue for an emperor). The price, of course, reflects the quality and personal service of the restaurant, although there is a slightly discounted lunch menu. Now if it only wasn't booked up until the next solar eclipse... -- Dan Glass