Megu

Upon first glance, Megu seems to be a Japanese art gallery. All that is visible from the street is a giant hinomaru; the grand dining room is only visible once you descend the stairs. The cavernous space, housing an ice sculpture of the Buddha, is somewhat reminiscent of the room at Tao. Fortunately, the emphasis on atmosphere does not come at the expense of the food.

My dining companions were late, so I entertained myself by reading through the encyclopedic menus. The food menu includes a long dictionary of ingredients and a map of Japan organized by foodstuffs. The sake and shochu menu offers colorful descriptions of the 60 available sakes as well as a variety of sake trivia. Did you know that the oldest-known Japanese brewery keeps records dating back 860 years?

My hunger seemed to be escalating by the minute, so I was extremely happy when my friends arrived. (One of them mistook Thompson Street for Thomas Street.) We hurriedly set about ordering a great amount of food.

Megu's menu is divided into larger and smaller dishes, rather than appetizers and entrees. We wanted to sample an equal variety of raw and cooked foods; fish is a specialty, as it is flown in from Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Market.

We began with well-salted edamame on the branch (a presentation I had not seen before), red miso soup, and a citrusy "Japanese Caesar" salad. Then it was time for sushi and sashimi: a small chirashi of shrimp, tuna and yellowtail topped with strips of nori and a dollop of the freshest sweet sea urchin; thin slices of yellowtail sashimi served in an ice lantern; and a "black diamond" maki containing three kinds of tuna. We continued the feast with one more raw appetizer: a mound of ikura-studded salmon tartare served with crackers of salty salmon skin.

After a grapefruit palate cleanser, it was time for the cooked portion of our meal. We enjoyed a fantastic yellowtail teriyaki; the sweet rice wine was immediately apparent in the sauce. A whole fried sanma (needlefish) was battered in breadcrumbs and stuffed with three misos. We couldn't get enough of the charcoal-grilled skewers of Kobe beef, chu toro (premium tuna belly) and chicken tenderloin, topped with fried garlic or wasabi sauce. One of my companions was on the Atkins diet, so he enjoyed the meats to his heart's content. I (not being on any kind of diet) accompanied my meal with rice and a glass of Kikumasamune sake.

Amazingly, we (minus the Atkins dieter) were still interested in dessert after all of this. We continued the hot and cold theme by trying a hot chocolate souffle stuffed with sweet black beans instead of gooey chocolate sauce, and a "katekin" green-tea custard. (The willpower of the Atkins dieter faltered slightly, and I spied his fork edging closer towards the dessert plates.)

A soothing cup of genmaicha (popped rice green tea) provided an authentic end to this magnificent meal.

Megu: 62 Thomas St., (212) 964-7777.