Raw Fish for Rich Palates at Masa: Big Spender

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Under the guidance of Chef Masa Takayama, the high-end sushi joint Masa was one of a few restaurants to receive three stars in the 2010 Michelin Guide to New York City, which was released this week, to the usual foodie fanfare.

Three Michelin stars are a big deal. In 2009, only 72 restaurants worldwide received the honor. According to Michelin, three stars "reward exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." To reach Masa, diners must brave a journey through a Manhattan shopping mall.

The restaurant, which opened in 2004, sits on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center, which also houses another three-star restaurant -- Chef Thomas Keller's Per Se -- as well as a Jamba Juice(JMBA), a J.Crew(JCG), and a Borders(BGP) bookstore.

"I suppose we were the best-dressed people on the escalators," says Jolyon Helterman, a longtime food writer who dined at Masa a few weeks ago. "Once we reached the fourth floor and walked past some swanky wine bar and then Per Se, which is even harder to get into, my dinner date joked that it was the priciest food court we'd ever been to."

There's no food menu at the intimate 26-seat restaurant, but rather a prix fixe experience known as "omakase," in which the chef selects all the dishes for the diners. At Masa, this meal costs $400 per person, which includes five appetizers ("izakaya"), a sushi entree with up to 20 pieces of expertly-sliced fish, and a dessert course.

Masa's dining room seats 26 diners.