It sounds like a place I could really relate to. We love sushi and sashimi and our son grew up loving it. But in NJ, there are very few Japanese-run sushi restaurants. On the east coast the Chinese and Korean populations are very much larger than the Japanese population (unlike California) so one thing I would like to hear about in this thread would be – what sushi restaurants in the NY metro area are really worth seeking out? Are there some that are both great AND affordable?
In fact I have a sushi restaurant (Midori) only a couple of blocks from my house, and the fish there is quite fresh and tasty, the rolls are imaginative. It is run by a Chinese family, which only occasionally means we run into problems with their misunderstanding of Japanese traditions (notably with an expensive wasabi root that I bought and entrusted to them for a banquet).
Some day I hope to visit the sort of place where you ask for soy sauce as “murasaki” (purple) but as yet I have only read about those…
What’s your favorite sushi place? What makes it better than the others?
We really like Sushi/Sashimi, but as you say, there are not many places in NJ that make you DIE to go.
We haven’t been in a year, but used to go to Sushi Nouveau in Montclair. But it seemed to lose something a few years ago. Again, another place we haven’t been to in a while is Diamatsu(?) in Mountainside. But none excite us anymore and we have backed away. I would love to find a place that we could feel excited about again.
IMO. Sushi in the states is best in so cal. Nozawa. Katsu-ya. Sasabune. Urasawa etc. La area rocks. The bay area is okay and my fave is Hana Japanese in rohnert park surprisingly.
My favorite in the Silicon Valley is Kitsho http://www.yelp.com/biz/kitsho-cupertino, and it is still one level below those (Nozawa, etc) in LA. I will try Hana.
One of my friends went to Nozawa for the first time, he sheepishly asked chef whether they serve sashimi, he was almost kicked out. Maybe I am a sadist: I really enjoy restaurant with attitude, as long as the food is good.
When it was my turn to go there for the first time, I was not hungry at all, besides, after several days of Japanese food, I was in no mood for sushi. I went anyways around 9pm to at least feel the attitude.
Boy, was I surprised. The fish was fresh and the rice was warm! Oysters was as fresh as those from my hometown in Taiwan. (Back in my hometown, southern part of Taiwan, freshness has its premium. Fish was sent to the market at 4am and price steadily drop from then. By noon, fish is virtually worthless if unsold.) Lobster hand roll… yum yum. I kept eating and eating until my friend called it quits (my friend’s treat). I could have gone on disregarding my bulging belly. From that day onwards, I began to like sushi more than sushimi.
Frank, in NYC there are the usual suspects like Yasuda and Ushiwakamaru (absolutely amazing, truth be told). But if it’s a regular dinner out and I don’t want to spend a fortune, I like Mishima in Midtown, and sometimes Sasabune (I’ve come to terms with their lightly-packed rice, as you’re supposed to eat with fingers and not chopsticks, and the fish is quite fresh).
Yep. Though I’m sure some NYers disagree, the best sushi is here in LA. It continually makes me WANT to like it more. Despite the realization that I’m eating some top-notch stuff, sushi rarely ranks up there with my very best meals, and I guess I’m a dillettante in that I like an occasional roll. I also really like a places like Orris or Kiriko where I can get a mix of sushi/sashimi with some meat/cooked dishes. I also like the izakaya spots like Musha and Nanbankan.
I’ve never been able to rationalize the $400 per person at Urasawa. Went to Nozawa twice and witnessed the suhi nazism in action, which combined with the travel make it undesirable. The distance has also kept me from Asanebo which many rave about. A maniacal foodie friend loves Sushi-Gen, but I’ve yet to go.
Luckily there’s a great concentration of places in West LA. I can take a long walk to Sasabune so we go there and bring wine as our most frequent even though some others might be a tad better. In that group (below Urasawa), I’d say Mori and Zo. They have some really good stuff. In fact I noticed that Mori has Buri belly right now which is tempting to go try. I also go to the Hump as it has a good combo of food and vibe. Maysuhisa used to be great but IMO has really slipped, yet remains very expensive. I’ve yet to try the Nobu “flagship” on La Cienega.
When we lived in Sacramento proper, Shige was where we got our sushi. In fact I brought sushi from there to the hospital to celebrate the birth of our sons. Sushi and a bottle of bubbly.
Now that we are down in Elk Grove, we patronize Kintaro.
And my boys are almost seven and have been eating sushi as long as I can remember.
Not sure how far you are from Summit, but there is a great, reasonable place called Taka. Love it, but bring your own stems.
Many over rated places in NJ, will get you some other names when I get home. I think I am crossing up places in my head, and would hate to mislead you. I always keep the cards of places worth going back to.
Sushi is a Japanese thing. You can see some red around NYC but most of the Japanese people I know are professors or businessmen, not restaurant guys. Obviously not every good French restaurant is run by a Frenchman but a lot of the best are.
I spent a year living in Japan many years ago and grew to love sushi there and have loved it ever since.
In New York, Sushi Yasuda is also my #1 - good call, Michel! Closest thing to what I had in Japan that I’ve had here in the U.S., L.A. included. Unfortunately, I don’t get there often because of budgetary constraints. Lots of good but usually costly places in New York, though. In NYC I get by for less by going to places like Tomoe, go (on St. Marks Place, not to be confused with the awful Go Sushi), Yama, sometimes even Monster Sushi filled the bill well enough. Just tried a place called Tenzan that was not bad, will have to go and have more there to confirm my initial impressions.
When I was in Tokyo a little over a year ago I had such excellent sushi at just a regular neighborhood place, for $10 for lunch. Sigh. If only I could do that everyday!
Alan, I think I gave a slight edge to Ushiwakamaru for all-out high-end sushi. As I mentioned, however, my go-to gentle price/high quality place would be Mishima. Added bonus: $10 corkage.
That is a great place – not to break everything down to simple ethnicity but to make the same point again, Chef “Ike” Aikasa is Japanese. I understand that he will do Omakase if you ask nicely. There is a great sense of humor on the menu, they serve Fugu (it is the Atlantic Blowfish which I think is perfectly safe, served cooked) but what the menu says is “DANGER!” and when the waitress serves you she says “good luck!” It’s like the Simpson’s episode where Homer eats Fugu – “Don’t worry, there is a map to the hospital on the back of the menu!”
Of course the sous-chef (in the Simpsons episode) really does make a hack job of the Fugu. I’ve never had it but apparently it is cut extremely thin and arranged in designs on the platter, as sashimi. I saw one presentation where each piece of fish represented the feather of a crane, perfectly “drawn” in fish on the serving platter. This gives you the idea
I can’t claim to have tried too many places in Jersey, but my favorite is Zen in Livingston. It also has the benefit of being BYOB and having a good wine store to visit a few doors away: Wine Legend.
If anyone travels to the Berkshires of Western MA, Bizen is very good.
Thanks Michel - will definitely try those places next! $10 corkage is indeed a draw. What do you all feel are your most successful pairings with sushi?
