15 East

When the restaurant Tocqueville moved a few dozen feet down the block, its owners took the vacated space, painted the yellow walls gray, put a sushi counter roughly where the bar was and added another sushi-focused Japanese restaurant, 15 East, to Manhattan. It's a crowded genre, but 15 East manages to stand out nonetheless with some of the cooked dishes --- don't miss the slow-poached octopus -- that augment the sushi and sashimi and with the sushi and sashimi itself: well sourced, carefully assembled and sensibly seasoned. The soothing vibe is matched with gracious service. — Frank Bruni