After giving the deep-six to 66, his Chinese-influenced outpost in Tribeca, Jean-Georges Vongerichten has turned Japanese and transformed the space into a soba-intensive mod-minimalist spot, Matsugen. It’s the chef’s long-awaited collaboration with the Matsushita brothers, Japanese restaurateurs whom JG had been trying to bring to U.S. for several years now after sampling their homemade soba noodles in Japan—and becoming a fervent fan.

“You’ve got a spy!” Vongerichten quips to us, peering over our shoulder as we dug into a delightfully hot, smoky bowl of seiro soba with duck and scallions. “I’ve been trying to convince [the Matsushitas] for seven years,” he says as he chats up our table, noting that everything finally came together when he showed them the former 66 space.

Three Mastushita brothers are onboard—two in the kitchen, one in the front of the house (they’ve also brought along seven chefs from Japan)—and the charmingly self-effacing Vongerichten adds, “I’m just a partner, I’m just helping out. I’m useless!” before politely excusing himself to make the rounds of the room.

Soba is the centerpiece at Matsugen, served hot or cold depending on which dish you go for, such as goma-dare (sesame sauce), yamakake (with grated yams) or the inadvertently named bukkake (a medley of scallion, bonito, yam, sesame, okura and nori, among others). The noodles themselves, available in three textures from delicate to coarse, are made in-house until 1 a.m. the day of service. (“They’re still making them by the time we close at night,” one of the servers marveled to us.)

For non-soba lovers at the table, there’s sushi, sashimi, kamameshi rice pots, tempura and appetizers like the delicate sea urchin with yuzu jelly, which comes dotted with lavender shiso flowers placed there with micro-precision using tweezers (or so we’re told). Grilled selections, from Wagyu rib eye to pork belly served atop a scalding-hot “Fiji lava rock,” add a welcome, savory heft to the menu.

The new digs echo 66’s sharp, minimalist aesthetic, with black Eames chairs and banquettes, metal mesh partitions, and Bertoia high chairs flanking the runway-length communal table. A crisp, precise backdrop for Matsugen’s crisp, precise flavors.

Food: Straight-up Japanese—hot and cold soba, tempura, kamameshi, sushi, sashimi, rolls, and grilled plates.

Booze: Curious cocktails (i.e. Yuzu Drop Martini ), over a dozen sakes, Japanese beer (including limited quantities of Hitachino Nest), and scotches.

Service: Vintage Jean-Georges—unobtrusively attentive and carefully studied, with a fluent command of menu minutiae (down to the cheesecloth used to distill the tomato juice used in a dessert of crystal tomato and coconut broth).

Vibe: Sleek and unfussy, with Modernist touches (Eames and Bertoia chairs, Saarinen tables) and a loft-like expansiveness


Matsugen
241 Church St. at Leonard St.
212-925-0202
Tue.-Fri. 5:30 p.m.-12 a.m..
Sat.-Sun. 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m.


Photo by Jori Klein