"I don't think Masa's reputation rests solely on its audacious $595-per-person prix fixe (before drinks and tax)—which may be the most expensive in the city—but on Masa Takayama's ethos and mastery of fish. He apprenticed for years at Ginza Sushi-ko in Tokyo, worked in Los Angeles in the late eighties, and when he debuted Masa in the Time Warner Center in 2004 he was operating at the pinnacle of fine dining; where do you go from the top?" - Shauna Lyon