Nobu Matsuhisa once said that he wishes good food brings more peace and happiness into the world, and his new restaurant in Vail is certainly a step in the right direction.

Last year the the celebrity restaurateur and chef chose Vail for his latest expansion and he literally hit it out of the park with this one. While Nobu restaurants can be found all over the world, Matsuhisa Restaurants are only found in four cities — Aspen; Beverly Hills; Mykonos, Greece; and now Vail. The important distinction is that Matsuhisa Restaurants are privately owned by the Matsuhisa family, while the Nobu Restaurants are co-owned by Nobu, Robert De Niro, Meir Teper and Drew Nieporent.

To be honest, I was very skeptical about dining in a sushi restaurant this far from the sea, but having visited Nobu´s signature restaurant in NY, I was confident that if anyone can deliver fresh quality seafood anywhere in the world, it had to be Nobu. We were not disappointed.

While the sushi we had was amazing, it actually takes a back seat to the large variety of signature hot and cold dishes on the menu. I highly encourage you to try Matsuhisa´s signature “new style” sashimi, made with yuzu, scallions, sesame seeds and oil, and prepared with almost everything from salmon to scallops to beef. The presentation is so simple that it´s almost surprising when you taste how good it is. This is a great restaurant for family style dining with a group of 4-6 people.

The service was impeccable and the Sommelier has built a phenomenal wine list. His Austrian roots are evident in the extensive list of Gruner Vetliner´s which pair extremely well with almost everything on the menu.

Matsuhisa Vail really elevates the stature of the Vail dining scene and is definitely a great spot for foodies.

Tuesday - June 12, 2012