I consumed a lot of television during the dark days of the pandemic, but there was one show that I really grew to love and look forward to—Midnight Diner.
Still streaming on Netflix, the show is a study of Japan’s late-night bar culture, and the ability food has to bring back powerful memories. With the magic pairing of food and feelings, this show quickly became a favorite in my rotation. With over five seasons and 50 episodes to watch, I carefully doled out each show, watching only a few episodes at a time to make the show last as long as possible.
The storyline follows the owner and chef of a tiny diner that opens at midnight in the Shinjuku District in Tokyo, Japan. His guests simply call him “Master” when they come in to eat at his ten-seat chef’s counter in the middle of the night. Because his place is quite small, “Master” only offers four items on his menu, but if his guests want something different, and he has the ingredients, he is happy to make it for them. The show introduces you to new characters when they come in and order something off-menu that reminds them of a specific time in their lives, which is how we, as the viewers, learn the personal stories of everyone on the show.
Oh, how I longed to eat the Japanese dishes the “Master” would whip up every night on the show, but as I watched Midnight Diner, I realized that what I was really missing was the opportunity to sit in a restaurant at a tiny chef’s counter, eating and drinking and talking with strangers over the course of a meal. It was the communal dining experience I really missed, and one I feared might never return.
I was reminded of my love for Midnight Diner recently, when I sat eating, drinking, and talking to strangers at the 24-seat communal hand-roll bar Kata Nori, which recently opened in downtown Kansas City in the East Crossroads, serving sushi hand rolls, sashimi, crudos, and a few small plates, along with a selection of sake, wine, and beer.
The restaurant itself is small, and reservations a must. There is a seating area in the front of the space with a single rail where you can order a drink while you wait for your seats to open at the horseshoe-shaped sushi counter. On the walls are murals of the skyline of Kansas City sitting among the cherry blossoms, giving an urban energy and pop of color to the space.
Once seated at the bar, you’ll review the compact menu and place your order with the server. A single slate tile is then placed on the counter in front of you, as you watch two chefs take turns making and dropping cylinder-shaped hand rolls one at a time on the tile for you to immediately eat with your hands before they become too soggy.
We ordered a three hand-roll set and received a spicy sake (salmon), hamachi (yellowtail or amberjack) and spicy tuna hand roll, each one made by hand and served one at a time. Later we ordered the hotate (scallop) hand roll, and it might have been my favorite of the night since it came with tiny pieces of crunchy garlic rolled inside with the sweet scallop. The hand rolls are loose filled with just the right amount of sushi rice, vegetables, and tiny slivers of raw fish that might have a light bit of soy sauce brushed across them before they are wrapped in a sheet of seaweed.
Next came the fatty tuna sashimi—four to five expertly sliced pieces of tender, light-pink tuna, each with thin white stripes of fat and topped with real wasabi root grated on top. It was simple, but silky, and the combination of fish and wasabi tasted clean and refreshing. The maguro crudo was beautiful—thin slices of red tuna draped over yellow watermelon cubes topped with candied serrano peppers and fresh cilantro, all of it resting in a pool of prik nam pla (Thai fish sauce). The dish was a flavor bomb with the tangy fish sauce melding with the sweet watermelon juice.
The quality of the fish was exceptional, served at the perfect temperature to really savor the distinct flavor of each fish. You can tell a proper sushi chef is in the house, because no part of the fish is wasted on this menu. The hand rolls might be made in front of you, but the more composed dishes come out of the kitchen in the back. The sushi chef slices the sashimi with precision; plating the more complex crudos and beautiful small plates before they are served.
This overall flow allows for lightning-quick service and ensures maximum freshness. It also means you need to come hungry and ready to eat, because once you order food, it will be served at a fast pace. It’s helpful to remember that it’s nearly impossible to share a hand roll, so plan on one per person. I suggest ordering a couple of hand rolls each, and then sharing sashimi or a couple of crudos or small plates, along with a glass of your favorite sake, wine, or beer.
Speaking of the drink selection, it was a work in progress when I was in, but they do plan to add a selection of cocktails soon to the drink menu, along with a much more expansive selection of sake. We ordered the Hakutsuru Chika sake, which came in a cute glass drinking jar with a little Japanese girl on it, and the Manaki Wanko Genshu “Lucky Dog” juicebox full of sake, both paired perfectly with our meal.
The founders of Kata Nori are friends who grew up together in Kansas City. After Nam Phan and Kyung Kim started talking about opening a small hand-roll place here, they reached out to their friend and chef, Anh Pham, who came onboard as culinary lead at Kata Nori, after years spent working as the lead chef at Uchi, a popular restaurant serving elevated Japanese dishes in Houston, Texas.
I may have been a little skeptical going into my first Kata Nori meal, but I left a fully formed fan due to the quality of the fish and the creative plated dishes, not to mention the utter speed with which we were served. It scratched my itch for a real communal dining experience and managed to delight me all in the less than the 40 minutes it took us to eat.