I went to Sushi Yasuda in New York City last night and oh boy! This was a great experience. Firstly, they are a very traditional sushi-ya, no spicy rolls, or other American funkyisms. And they made this pretty clear when my dining companion (a colleague of mine) asked about a spicy scallop roll. But, our waiter was very nice and polite and steered us towards interesting specials and made us aware what the itamae suggested that night.

I started out with something I’d never had before; flounder roe. It was very interesting. whitish/gray clumps that were very subtle, and tasted like a combination of all the delicate flavors of green onion and the ocean. Very unique. I went on to Ankimo (monkfish liver), one of my seasonal favorites, and then started ordering sashimi and sushi with gusto.

Before our sushi arrived, the waiter brought out a seaweed salad comprised of 5 different types of seaweed with a bowl of dressing for dipping. Some of these were the norm (wakame) and it was missing some I am used to (hijiki), which wasn’t a problem. But it was great. A very rounding experience and the textures were something at which to marvel.

Then our dinner arrived. Each piece was perfect. Not perfect in the sense that it looked like a machine measured and manufactured it, but perfect in they way the food was balanced. They use fresh wasabi there without even being asked (a sure sign of high quality) and the itamae had really put the perfect size neta on the nigiri-zushi. The whole piece fit in my mouth perfectly so there was no embarrassing ‘squirrel mouth.’ And it was very fresh. The o-toro was amazing and the buri was definitely the best I’ve had in years. What was really neat was that the presentation was very simple yet beautiful.

My usual place is great, but Sushi Yasuda was really a whole new experience. The service was great, the food was incredible, and we drank too much sake (but it was worth it and I wasn’t driving anyway). It’s really great to have the experience of dining in a traditional sushi-ya as well, I didn’t miss any of the fancy, flowery rolls and mixes. I was there for the fish and I got more than I expected out of the dinner. It was a fancy dinner with what seemed minimal effort (which is entirely untrue, they put a lot of effort into their presentation). And it blew my mind. It would have blown my wallet too, but I was being treated 🙂

If you have an opportunity and don’t mind paying up for it, check out Sushi Yasuda. You don’t have to be on your best behavior, but you do have to be there on time (they don’t hold tables, they are so busy and popular). And definitely look for the specials.

Warren

Warren Ransom

I have always been fascinated by the creation and culture of different foods, particularly sushi and sashimi in the modern era of Japanese cuisine. I am a classically trained chef and sushi connoisseur, also having operated a food service company and enjoy investigating and experimenting with food around the world.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This