For sheer, gutsy inventiveness, nothing I've eaten this year beats New Haven's MIYA'S (68 Howe Street, New Haven; 203 777 9760) where chef Bun Lai reinvents Japanese food by infusing traditional techniques and ingredients with his own quirky, American-style originality. Sushi rolls are wrapped in thin layers of fried eggplant and zucchini, stuffed with a variety of western ingredients like cheese, roasted garlic, and artichokes. While the food has not always been perfect when the young chef is not at the stove, when it is, it is sublime (best bet is mulitcourse prix-fixe "kaiseki dinner") and it is a joy in being in the presence of such an original mind.




