Shinn East

Tick tock goes the clock at Shinn East, an East Village sushi bar with a $69 omakase. You’ll wait outside for the people already eating to finish, feeling like an anxious Black Friday shopper, ready to throw elbows to get to your seat first. The sushi is solid: the rice is warm and well-seasoned, the fish is fresh, and they’ll even pull out the blowtorch, caviar, foie gras, and gold flakes to impress. But they’ll do it quickly, pumping out your 12 pieces of nigiri and a hand roll in about 40 minutes (that’s one piece every 3.1 minutes), with a 10-minute a la carte period at the end. All of this makes Shinn East wonderful for a date with the most important person in your life: you. 

photo credit: Will Hartman