text: I have been wanting to eat at Nobu since I first learned about the NY location when I was in high school.  Now, my age has doubled and I still never thought I would get to try it.  My dad was here for NAB in April and in front of him, Eric R. surprised me: for my birthday we had a staycation reserved at Nobu Hotel and Nobu Restaurant!!!  I was beyond excited - supposedly we got \"preferential seating\" if we were hotel guests, but I never figured out what that meant.\n\nThe restaurant entrance is right next to the Nobu Hotel lobby, so it was easy to get dressed up and walk to the front.  We were seated immediately in the back of the restaurant, very close to another 2-top where we could easily hear the next party's conversation, so we were forced to chat with them sometimes.  Service was very slow, though our server was nice, we were surrounded by huge round tables with parties of 6 or more and it was hard for us to get his attention at all.  Eric R. had whiskey and 7, and I got the cracked basil cocktail with soju, yuzu juice, and pink peppercorns, tasty but tiny for $16.\n\nSince this is a once-in-a-lifetime meal, we decided to order for ourselves rather than do Omakase.  The server suggested we do cold dishes, then hot, then sushi, then dessert.  We started with 2 cold dishes: yellowtail tartare with caviar, and beef new-style sashimi.  When the tartare arrived, it was doused in wasabi-soy dressing, very overpowering and not noted on the menu.  Eric was able to eat most of the top part that was not sitting in the dressing, and I ate the rest.  The server tried to convince us to order another one without sauce - no way!  The new style sashimi was amazing - thinly sliced beef topped with chive and sesame, seared by hot sesame oil accompanied by yuzu juice and soy.  It was so good that the ladies next to us then ordered it.\n\nOur next course was hot: black cod miso and nasu (eggplant) miso.  They came together, perfectly flavored.  The cod was delicate and the eggplant skin crispy but soft inside.  Our third course, sushi, was ordered in 3 increments: toro scallion maki, nigiri: hamachi belly, salmon belly, scallop, saba with kelp, amaebi with fried head, ikura, fluke, uni, anago, big eye tuna, temaki: yellowtail jalapeno, negihama, salmon skin with avocado.  The big eye was sooo fatty and amazing.  All of it was amazing actually!  Fresh and delicate, served with tart yuzu soy.  Lastly, we ordered the banana harumaki for dessert (banana, dulce de leche in spring roll with passionfruit sauce) - it came out with a candle and Happy Birthday scripted in chocolate!\n\nThe next morning we did Nobu in-room dining for breakfast.  I had zosui (rice soup with tofu, mushroom, egg) and Eric R. had the breakfast okonomiyaki (with egg batter Osaka-style).  It was very good.  I really enjoyed my special birthday staycation meals and if I ever went back to Nobu I would sit at the sushi bar for sure!