We’re talking seriously old school—and expensive. Kaiseki, the Japanese cuisine that began in Kyoto more than 500 years ago, is suddenly all the rage these days, according to the L.A. Times. With its extreme focus on presentation and seasonal ingredients, it’s captivating trend-setting Western chefs from Spain to the U.S. (Okay guys, you’re a little late, no?) “The dining experience is intimate, more like going to someone’s home than to a restaurant,” the paper reports. “Most traditionally, the meal is served in your own room at a ryokan—as most in Kyoto still do—while you are wearing a kimono and reclining on a tatami mat. It feels much that way in a kaiseki restaurant like Kikunoi, where you dine in a private room, often with a view of a serene garden, sculptured to be viewed from tatami level.”

You still can’t find a full-fledged kaiseki restaurant in Los Angeles. Chef Daniel Boulud is planning one for New York, due to open later this year. It will have all of eight seats.

My favorite memory of eating in Japan revolves around the conveyor-belt sushi joint in Kyoto where I dined almost daily for a month. But a close second is the one kaiseki experience I had, also in Kyoto, on tatami mats and looking out onto a perfectly manicured garden. It was in November and it was the first time I ate—and somehow enjoyed—tempura-battered fall leaves. While kaiseki meals can cost more than $200 per person, that lunch didn’t cost more than about $60, as I recall. It was well worth every penny.

Photo by Konohatengu via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

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