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Yasuda to leave NY's Sushi Yasuda


LPShanet

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Apparently, the restaurant will remain open (with the original manager), and one of Yasuda's deputies will be taking over the reins at the counter. They promise no change in quality, but Yasuda himself has always been such an important part of the experience.

From the NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/dining/24yasuda.html

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ate there for the first time on tuesday with a long time regular, right in front of yasuda. it's a temple to sushi for sure, but yasuda's presence and personality seems like it will be hard to replicate. it was $$$$ but perfect in every way i can measure and i'll go back whenever i can (especially before he leaves) but it sure seems like it will be a ship without a captain.

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This will be an interesting transition to watch. I guess it could go either way. It's conceptually possible for the restaurant to maintain standards. The last two times I've been, I had chefs other than Yasuda and on one of those occasions I enjoyed the experience more that I do with Yasuda. But I haven't a clue what goes on with purchasing and handling, and how that will be affected by his departure.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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I'm curious about the guy that mentioned that Sushi Yasuda lacked excitement? Not everything should be "exciting" fusion sushi rolls and the simplicity and quality of the fish can be exciting in its own right. I can't think of many sushi restaurants anywhere I have enjoyed more than Sushi Yasuda.

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I'm curious about the guy that mentioned that Sushi Yasuda lacked excitement? Not everything should be "exciting" fusion sushi rolls and the simplicity and quality of the fish can be exciting in its own right. I can't think of many sushi restaurants anywhere I have enjoyed more than Sushi Yasuda.

QFT. I think those who lean heavily towards eating only fusion-style sushi (and especially novelty rolls) can't be counted as knowing or appreciating sushi at the highest level. There is certainly a place for those artisans who evolve the form at a high level (e.g. Seki/Gari, Nobu in its day, and the like), but any time someone assesses really superior traditional sushi as boring, and cites an absence of fusion dishes and rolls with seven ingredients, you can be pretty sure you're dealing with a relative noob to the form. An overall knowledge of food doesn't guarantee a knowledge or understanding of sushi. And certainly all food writers don't have strengths or preferences in all cuisines. I don't remember the specific quote, though, so is it possible it referred to the (intentionally) low energy of the room?

Edited by LPShanet (log)
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I'm going for dinner on Wed with 3 other guys at the sushi bar, 6pm first seating. I didn't request Yasuda's station, but I'll try when I confirm the res later, but I assume we will sit with someone else. Is there even room for a party of 4 at his station?

My real question is how to order. The four of us like variety, eat anything, and have large appetites, and are willing to spend whatever to get what is good. What's the best way to communicate this? Also, I guess we only have 90 min as the next seating is at 7:30 I think. Is that enough time to mostly fill us up?

Ed aka Wordsmithing Pantagruel

Food, Cocktails, Travels, and miscellany on my blog:

http://www.wordsmithingpantagruel.com/

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I'm going for dinner on Wed with 3 other guys at the sushi bar, 6pm first seating. I didn't request Yasuda's station, but I'll try when I confirm the res later, but I assume we will sit with someone else. Is there even room for a party of 4 at his station?

My real question is how to order. The four of us like variety, eat anything, and have large appetites, and are willing to spend whatever to get what is good. What's the best way to communicate this? Also, I guess we only have 90 min as the next seating is at 7:30 I think. Is that enough time to mostly fill us up?

there is definitely room for 4 in front of the boss, and i would just let him do what he wants tempered by what you like. you will eat enough, and don't let the food sit there when he puts it down as even the temp is perfect. price better be no concern!

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I'm going for dinner on Wed with 3 other guys at the sushi bar, 6pm first seating. I didn't request Yasuda's station, but I'll try when I confirm the res later, but I assume we will sit with someone else. Is there even room for a party of 4 at his station?

My real question is how to order. The four of us like variety, eat anything, and have large appetites, and are willing to spend whatever to get what is good. What's the best way to communicate this? Also, I guess we only have 90 min as the next seating is at 7:30 I think. Is that enough time to mostly fill us up?

As mentioned above, there's no need to order. And since you're open-minded, hungry and willing to spend, it's even easier. Just tell the sushi chef you want to let him choose, and he'll take care of the rest. Most of the people at the bar will probably be doing the same. You can let him know if there's anything you especially love or avoid, but other than that, just sit back and enjoy. One specialty of the place is doing "flights" within the meal of different examples/versions of related products, such as uni from several different sources, or different fish in the same family/category. As for the timing, you'll probably be fine. As long as you're still eating, they won't make you leave.

It'll be good no matter whose station you're at, but definitely try to get Yasuda if his station is available. He usually works the end of the bar, so there's room for more than four ultimately.

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  • 1 month later...

The first time we ate at Yasuda, we didn't realize we could request a specific person to make our sushi, so we ended up eating sushi made by the chef who eventually took over Yasuda's position. Being that it was the first time, our knees buckled after every bite; it was like tasting and falling in love with sushi for the first time all over again. We requested omakase and the chef did not fail to please. We didn't know sushi could be THIS good.

The second time we went, we asked for Yasuda and his personality does add to the overall experience of eating there, but both experiences yielded superior sushi. The restaurant sets the bar high for their seafood and most diners who are serious about their sushi will find the quality uncompromised.

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I'm going to try to get one last reservation when he returns to NYC from his holidays (anyone know if he's back yet?). I went in December and sat at Chef Yasuda's station, it was by far the best sushi experience I've had.

The last 2 weeks of genuine Yasuda sushi.

I'm confident the protege will do well in terms of making sushi, but I do hope his personality shines through once he's running the show, and no longer afraid to speak.

I work at day, I run my start-up at night. Somewhere in between, I eat and blog about dinner - EatBigApple New York Food Blog

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