Fish Fridays - Sushi Survey

A while back, Rene and I had lunch with a fellow food writer visiting from NYC. While discussing the various cuisines of New Orleans, The Big Apple remarked: "I usually steer away from sushi when I am down here. I would rather spend my time eating things like oysters and softshell crabs in New Orleans, and save the fresh salmon and tuna for when I visit the Northwest."

I understand that when people visit New Orleans, they are looking for oysters rockefeller, barbeque shrimp, and other dishes which our city is well known for. I'll admit that when I have visitors, I take them to eat po-boys and gumbo as opposed to burritos and burgers. But to dismiss an entire genre of food based on regional stereotypes would amount to missing out on a lot of good eats.

I love sushi and firmly believe that New Orleans has quite a few sushi bars worth dining in during Lent. When I'm looking to avoid weighing myself down with fried seafood and peeling crawfish while wearing suit just isn't an option, I usually turn to raw fish. In this inaugural edition of Fish Fridays, here is my ranking of the 10 sushi bars that I have visited over the last year.

1. Kanno - After your first meal prepared by Chef Hide and his wife Lin, you will never again hesitate to make the journey to Fat City. I'm partial to the Lobster Dynamite Roll and Hot Garlic Softshell Crab, but Hide has never steered me wrong with any of his impromptu creations.
2. Kyoto - While the quality of the rice has varied on recent visits, I still believe that Kyoto serves some of the best sushi in town. Best bets: Poke Salad and the Shrimp Sara Roll.
3. Sushi Bros - Quality fish, sizable portions, and fast service all at an affordable price. The 4 Roll Lunch Special, complete with soup and salad, will run you $11. If you're into more complicated rolls, I recommend the FEMA Roll (pictured top).
4. Sake Cafe (Uptown) - Extensive menu of special rolls with unique preparations and a dizzying array of sauces.
5. Little Tokyo (Mid-City) - According to the menu, fish is flown in weekly from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. If the Japanese style "fish and chips" is available, order it as a starter.
6. Shogun - The first sushi bar in the area. Try the Steve Roll of barbeque eel and avocado.
7. Ninja - Some of the nicest staff in the business. Don't miss the Cajun Tuna Tataki.
8. Rock-n-Sake - At night this place resembles the Jersey Shore, but during Friday lunch the crowd is more my style. Order the Calamari Crunch Roll, but be prepared to battle on the dance floor.
9. Wasabi - The original location on Frenchman is better than the new one in West End.
10. Hana - Big fan of the complimentary noodle salad and the large portions (see the salmon box above), but unfortunately I find the fish lacks in quality behind the others.

Little Tokyo Two Step

People are always claiming that one location of a restaurant is better than another. (This happens all the time with Drago's.) Sometime this preference bears specifically on ambience or geographic location, but personnel probably plays the biggest role, especially in the back of the house. In Kitchen Confidential Bourdain explained how the goal of a line cook is to perfectly reproduce a dish in the exact same way every time a customer orders it. So even though like ingredients may be arriving through the delivery door, what eventually ends up on the table could differ widely depending on whose doing the cooking in between.

Little Tokyo on Causeway was where I had my first ever sushi experience, but the Mid-City location has been my default choice for raw fish since it opened. I'm not exactly sure whether the two restaurants source their fish from the same place, especially because the Carrollton location makes special note that it flies fish in weekly from the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo.

This is the "Six Brothers Sushi" from Little Tokyo on Causeway. Fresh tuna and salmon curled around a bit of snowcrab, rolled in rice paper, and topped with a heaping spoonful of colorful masago. Perfect for the carb conscious looking for something more than sashimi.

Here we have the "Japanese Style Chips and Dip" from Little Tokyo on Carrollton. The dip part is just a mound of the mixture which comes in the Dynamite Roll - chopped tuna and salmon (perhaps a little whitefish) mixed with sriracha and the tiniest bit of mayo. The chips are fried yuca sprinkled with salt and drizzled with ponzu sauce. I absolutely loved this. It's $13, but this is a hefty amount of fish.

My preference? Mid-City. First, this location is extremely clean - a factor which carries more weight with me when it comes to eating raw fish. But most importantly I find that Mid-City has a wider selection of fish and a more creative menu (with dishes like the above chips and dip). What say you?

Little Tokyo Causeway - Par
Little Tokyo Carrollton - Birdie