Sushi Yasuda

I had been planning to take Gabe to Sushi Yasuda for his 24th birthday for awhile now. It's a REALLY big step up from our regular monthly dinner outings, pretty much in terms of cost. But after doing a lot of research on this place (by reading a ridiculous amount of reviews on Chowhound, blogs, etc), I honestly couldn't have imagined a better place to take him.

Sushi Yasuda is really in a class of its own. Of course, it's no Masa, and it's actually cheaper than some other high end sushi restaurants in the city, but not only is Sushi Yasuda claimed to have the freshest fish around, it has exceptional variety and provides such a unique culinary experience. Since neither of us have ever had quality sushi before, I not only wanted us to finally eat fresh, high quality sushi, but I wanted to give us the most traditional and unique experience possible. So finally, after much research and debate over whether or not I should make the jump to such high end dining, I made reservations to sit at the sushi bar in front of Chef Yasuda himself.

Here, you can either sit at the table and order a la carte or you can get the true experience by sitting at the sushi bar in front of a sushi chef, which is the most traditional way of eating at a sushi restaurant. There are actually very affordable sushi box sets you can order (as cheap as $20 for 5 sushi pieces and a roll), but I feel as though nothing comes close to doing omakase, which is when you allow the sushi to pick every piece of sushi you eat, in whatever progression he chooses. Not to mention, I have no doubts that the older fish goes towards those sushi boxes while the freshest fish possible is given to the hands of the sushi chefs at the bar.

We were greeted by a warm and friendly atmosphere. I was intimidated prior to arriving, thinking it would be an uptight place due to such a high reputation and expensive food, but the staff was so kind and welcoming, and the minimalist decor gave a warm and serene feeling in spite of the overall slightly fast-paced environment. After one of the staff took our coats, we were seated immediately in front of Chef Yasuda. We were given warm moist hand towels to clean our hands (something I haven't had at a Japanese restaurant in so long!) and of course the menus, though we knew right away that all we wanted to do was leave ourselves in the hands of Chef Yasuda-san. We were also given a complimentary amuse of some kind of cucumber salad which tasted good to me. I ordered a glass of plum wine, and Gabe ordered a cold, mild Kikusui sake which our waiter responded to by saying that he made a good choice and that that particular sake goes very well with sushi. He was even kind enough to offer me an extra stone cup so I could try the sake too.

Finally, Yasuda turned his attention towards us and probably assumed we wanted to do omakase since we weren't looking at the menu or fish list, so he told us that he would start by picking our nigiri. The first fish he gave us was the King Salmon. While allowing the nigiri to literally melt in our mouths, we couldn't help but just smile. It was that amazing. After swallowing that first piece, Gabe said, "I don't wanna go to work tomorrow," which essentially implies that he felt like he was on a vacation. It really did. Throughout the entire meal, it almost felt like we were in another world. Not only were we eating the most traditional and freshest sushi possible, but we really were experiencing something new.

I won't talk about every single piece of sushi we had. Between the two of us, we had 46 pieces of nigiri which probably sounds ridiculous, but Yasuda's nigiri is actually slightly smaller than all the average places. The size was perfect for me because I have a small mouth and can never fit nigiri from other places in my mouth without fearing I'm going to choke. Additionally, smaller pieces means we can try even more. Compared to other sushi places of equal (and even lower) caliber, the fish is priced appropriately.

You really can't leave Sushi Yasuda without at least one piece of O-Toro, the most expensive and fattiest toro. True, every nigiri we had melted in our mouths, but O-toro is just out of this world. Aside from toro, everyone must try the White King Salmon, Uni, and the Peace Passage Oyster. Gabe came in wanting to try the White King Salmon, but when we arrived, it had been crossed out of the menu meaning they ran out for the day. Luckily, Yasuda gave us White King Salmon without us even asking. It turned out to be the last pieces! Lucky for us, huh? Other standouts include Uni (best uni you'll ever have in your life) and the Peace Passage Oyster.

Yasuda also seemed to have given us an Unagi tasting throughout our meal. He gave us 3 different types of Unagi. He also gave us two types of sardines and literally instructed us to compare the two, as one is a bigger fish than the other. The bigger fish was certainly meatier in texture and taste, and we both liked that one more. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of it.

Some other things to note is that it's actually not normal to eat sushi with chopsticks, at least not at this place. It seems as though they want you to eat with your fingers. They even give a wet cloth to clean your fingers before each piece. Additionally, Yasuda, as with all the other sushi chefs there, put soy sauce and wasabi on everything for you. They don't want you to put any more than that because they put the right amount that's appropriate for that fish. From what I noticed, some pieces got wasabi, some got none. Just depends on what Yasuda feels is right.

Some may ask whether it's even worth it to sit at the bar because the cost will be considerably higher if you don't do the sushi boxes. It all really depends on what you want. If you want to save money and still eat great sushi, get the Sushi Matsu for $34 - 12 pieces of nigiri and half a roll. You have to choose from a limited list of fish, so it also depends on if this matters to you or not. If you order a la carte at a table, of course you can control how much you spend and what you eat, so it can cost the same as doing omakase at the bar depending on what you choose. But I feel as though sitting at the bar and doing omakase is a true experience. Do it at least once. The price will get pretty high, but it will be worth it if you value and appreciate such fresh sushi and a unique dining experience. I really enjoyed the fact that Chef Yasuda spoke to us and told us about a lot of the pieces of nigiri he was offering us. It seemed as though he engaged in more conversation with his other customers and joked around a bit with them, but I think he sort of just feeds off of them. He probably noticed that Gabe and I didn't have too many questions and were talking more to each other than anything else, so he just didn't talk to us as much as he did to other people, but that's fine. Bottom line is sitting at the bar in front of Yasuda and doing omakase is worth it at least once and/or if you have the ability to splurge a bit. I would more than gladly do it again and again...if only I had some extra cash.

Some photos:King Salmon and Toro

Toro #2 with a sprinkle of sea salt

Uni and scallops

White King Salmon

The final tally (click for clearer photo)

Thanks to Gabe for the photos!

Sushi Yasuda
43rd st. btwn 2nd and 3rd ave.