Sneak peek - Sushi!

The Inside Scoop: I owe Laura for introducing me to sushi, which I grew to like by the end of my sushi-eating marathon. Seven restaurants in one week is a lot of sushi. Too much sushi. But I got a real feel for what's good and what's average, both in terms of taste and presentation. Brookline has 13 sushi restaurants, which is nuts, and maybe a seperate story on its own. Tsumani was pretty great, though crowded. We waited about an hour on a Friday night, and that was even after we'd called ahead. Super Fusion was maybe the coolest because the head guy Sam was so confident that he was the shit. And he was. His stuff was even better than Tsunami's. (I blew it by leaving my camera in the car.) Though I also liked the shino express setup. In & out, very casual - almost like a taqueria. Cool music, too. And not once did I get sick! Though that eel wasn't my thing. I can't believe people eat that!


City Weekly (comes out Sunday, 2-12-06)
Table Hopping: Rookie sushi

By Peter DeMarco

As hip as sushi is, the thought of eating raw fish always made my stomach queasy. Turns out all I needed was a good coach. With my girlfriend Laura’s encouragement, I mixed my first wasabi-and-soy-sauce dip and dunked my first fatty tuna roll. And that was just the beginning. So here’s this week’s Table Hopping: Sushi through a beginner’s taste buds.

1. Blue Fin (cq)
1815 Massachusetts Ave.
Porter Square, Cambridge
617-497-8022

No fewer than eight Japanese, Korean and Chinese eateries inhabit Porter Square’s old Sears building, but none are as popular as Blue Fin, my coach’s favorite local sushi joint. “It’s the only place here that has a lot of ambiance,” she says. We grabbed a wooden table alongside a few other young couples and ordered the basics: a couple pieces (called nigiri) of tuna, fatty tuna and yellowtail. Closing my eyes as I took my first bite, I was surprised by how mild and even flavorful the fish was. The fatty tuna, colored like red beets, was even savory. Blue Fin is known for combining moderate prices with good quality, and such was the case for my first visit. Business has been so good, the restaurant expanded this month, adding another 20 seats.

2. Yoshi’s Japanese Cuisine (cq)
132 College Ave.
Somerville
617-623-9263

I had jogged past Yoshi’s probably a hundred times since moving to Somerville. At long last, I have stepped inside. Sanggi “James” Na (cq) and his wife, Sunmi, (cq) run a simple but neat restaurant featuring traditional dishes from their Korean homeland, as well as plenty of sushi. At Laura’s suggestion we sidled up to the sushi bar, where I watched with childlike curiosity as our chef pressed, rolled and chopped our order of Boston maki, a zesty 6-piece entrée made with salmon, lettuce, cucumber, avocado and mayonnaise. Neighboring Tufts University students also eat up Yoshi’s Lobster maki ($10.95), made with deep-fried lobster, and naruto, a cucumber roll with salmon, crab, avocado, and tobiko on the inside. ($5.95)

3. Village Sushi and Grill (cq)
14 Corinth St.
Roslindale
617-363-7874

James Paik’s (cq) bright and tranquil establishment is Roslindale’s lone sushi option in a neighborhood dominated by Italian and Greek restaurants. As a result, barely a day goes by when a sushi rookie like me doesn’t walk in. “Usually we recommend salmon or tuna,” to a beginner, he says. “For the adventurer, saba, or mackerel, which is very flavorful.” Unfortunately Paik’s sushi chef was fresh out – leaving me no choice but to try the cooked eel. (Not my favorite, but I’m told it’s an acquired taste.) Paik left the popular J.P. Seafood Cafe, which his brother Phil runs, to open his own place four years ago. His prices are reasonable ($5-$6 for standard maki rolls), and on warmer days, customers can nibble sushi outside on a small veranda.

4. Tsunami Japanese Cuisine (cq)

10 Pleasant St.

Brookline

617-277-8008

“Look at the boat! Look at the boat!” Laura exclaims as a vessel-shaped wooden tray sails by us, sushi and maki rolls piled high aboard its top deck. Presentation is taken seriously at Tsunami, one of Brookline’s hippest sushi hangouts, as are, of all things, tropical fruits. “Banana and eel is a very weird one, but lots of people love that dish,” says owner and Brookline native Yen-Hsien “John” Wu (cq). “We have one dish with pineapple and salmon; one with cantaloupe and salmon. They catch people off guard.” Following a friend’s advice we ordered the very fun pineapple maki (smoked salmon, pineapple and cream cheese) and the sensational torched spicy tuna maki ($14.95), a crunchy fried tempura roll that our chef heated with, yes, a blowtorch. Tsunami’s prices are a bit high, but the quality, particularly the Alaskan king salmon, is tops.

5. Super Fusion Cuisine (cq)
690A Washington St.
Brookline
617-277-8221

To judge Super Fusion by its diminutive size – a small counter and four, 2-seat tables – would be a grave mistake. Co-owner Kevin Zheng (cq) studied under Masaharu Morimoto, (cq) the famed Japanese “Iron Chef,” and the dishes he and partner Sam Huang (cq) whip up are at times electrifying. We liked the black widow maki, made with fried sweet potato, cucumber and avocado. But we absolutely loved the exquisite sake papaya maki ($10), a roll of fried papaya and cream cheese topped with a layer of smoked salmon, lemon sauce and wasabi tobiko. More than any dish, it spoke to what I’d been missing out on all these years.

6. Shino Express Sushi (cq)
144 Newbury St
Boston
617-262-4530

I barely had time before the Super Bowl for my last review, so Shino fit the bill perfectly. A tiny but cool basement hideout a block from Copley Square, it serves up some of the cheapest sushi around - $1 nigiri, $2 and $3 rolls – despite its posh locale. Like a pro, I ordered a piece of tuna, salmon, a fried tofu wrapper and a roll of natto - fermented soy bean. Though if I’d had a bigger appetite, I might have tried some of Shino’s offbeat offerings, such as the beef and onion roll or portabella and basil roll. ($6.50 each) Next time, for sure.

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