The Long Island Sushi Experience
If you’ve never eaten sushi before, you may have some reservations or even some misconceptions about what it’s all about. To begin, know that while the majority of sushi is uncooked, there are some cooked-fish sushi treats you can try as your introduction to this great cuisine. If you’ve never eaten sushi before, treat it just like swimming in the ocean; don’t go alone! Take an experienced friend along who can help you figure out what all those terms mean. Do you know the difference between maki sushi and sashimi?
A great cooked-fish seaweed is called the Unagi roll. This is cooked eel rolled up with rice and sometimes a bit of green onion or sprouts. Don’t let the word “eel” scare you—this is a great, soft textured and sweet sushi roll that has a teriyaki-like sauce on top. Most people wind up loving the unagi so much after the first try that they order it every time they come to a sushi bar. Another sushi roll that features cooked fish is salmon skin maki. This is a crunchy treat that is rolled with sprouts, sometimes a bit of grated carrot and other vegetables. Of course, there are maki sushi rolls that have no fish in them at all—kappa maki is a cucumber roll, shinko maki is a mild-flavored daikon radish roll. Some sushi bars also feature a smoked salmon roll that has cream cheese and cucumber. Delicious eating for anyone who loves smoked salmon! If you are feeling bold enough to try nigiri sushi, you’ll be ordering the ‘stereotypical’ sushi; the raw fish on a little bed of rice. Those who enjoy a good beer should definitely have a Japanese brew with sashimi as it’s quite delicious paired with the fish, and it also helps in case you get a fish flavor you aren’t crazy about! Good first-time nigiri sushi includes the fatty tuna known as ‘toro,’ salmon aka ‘sake’ (pronounced the same way as the Japanese rice wine called sake) and yellowtail aka “hamachi”. When ordering at the sushi bar, make sure you understand the pricing system—some orders are charged “by the piece” in the case of nigiri sushi, while others are one price for pairs of nigiri. If you encounter a “conveyor belt” sushi bar, understand that in most cases you are charged by the plate, but in some sushi bars you may be able to get a special for a certain amount of food. When in doubt, it’s always best to ask. This is just a tiny introduction to sushi, there are literally hundreds of varieties to sample and fall in love with. If you are curious about eating trying some, Long Island has a large number of sushi bars to help you on your way to your new culinary adventure. Here are a few places to help you get started: Shogun Japanese Steak House, located at 4556 Austin Blvd in Island Park. This is a typical Japanese restaurant that offers a wide variety of tastes aside from sushi. You can try yakisoba-- a fried noodle dish in a slightly sweet sauce –along with your sushi experiments. Benihana’s, located at 205 Northern Boulevard in Manhasset, is a very popular chain restaurant with an extensive sushi menu as well as the famous “cook-at-the-table” meals many people know and love. Kotobuki is located at 86 Deer Park Avenue in Babylon. Some people believe Kotobuki makes the best sushi on Long Island, so you may be tempted to start your sushi journey here! They have been serving sushi for more than thirteen years, so this is a good bet. This is a smallish restaurant, so it’s best to arrive early and be prepared to wait during peak dining hours. Nisen Sushi, at 1969 Jericho Turnpike in East Northport, features something many sushi lovers would be thrilled to have in their area—free home delivery! This restaurant has a variety of other Japanese delicacies to explore besides sushi, so you’ll never run out of options when ordering from home. Joe
Wallace
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Japanese food seems quite exotic in the beginning; raw fish, seaweed and those octopus tentacles can be a bit daunting to the uninitiated. In spite of the first-time squeamishness of many first-time sushi eaters, there are plenty of middle-of-the-road offerings to try before getting to what many Japanese chefs call “challenging” sushi.
Maki sushi is your best place to begin. Maki is fish or vegetables rolled in a seaweed wrapper with rice. Most people get their first experience by eating the California roll, which can be real or imitation crab, some veggies, rice and seaweed. 