Illustration: Holly Wales
Numerous grades of trophy Wagyu nonetheless fly into city from Japan or Texas or Montana for individuals who demand it, however in 2024, many new dry-agers are reserved for fish, as at Time and Tide (48 E. twenty sixth St., at Park Ave. S.), a “steakhouse that solely serves seafood” the place a centerpiece providing is a $125 tuna collar, huge fin nonetheless hooked up (and even the “bread” course is an oversize Goldfish-looking cracker). Uncooked bars and fish homes are huge too: The style is French-ish at Penny (90 E. tenth St., nr. Third Ave.), New England–ish at each Smithereens (414 E. ninth St., nr. First Ave.) and The Otter (The Method resort, 58 Thompson St.), Italian-ish at San Sabino, Cajun-ish at Unusual Delight (63 Lafayette Ave., nr. Fulton St., Fort Greene), and every other ish you would possibly want at loads of different spots across the metropolis. As a development, seafood has lots going for it. For bold cooks, it affords selection that meat doesn’t (perhaps Penny will get periwinkles — tiny sea snails — to catch on), and the relative lightness means diners can go away dinner feeling at the least considerably virtuous. Can we yearn for the times when each new spot on the town supplied its model of a signature chef burger? It’s exhausting to overlook them an excessive amount of if you’re wrapping a heat sourdough tortilla round a hunk of hamachi collar at Corima (3 Allen St., nr. Division St.).