B-licious
Best Sushi Near Stern: Tomoe
Priscilla Dell'Orto
Issue date: 12/8/09 Section: News
With looming deadlines and finals approaching at an alarming pace I've been spending way too much time in school. A couple of days ago, after one of those nine-to-nine days, I decided to walk over to Tomoe with a small group of Sternies for what was supposed to be a light sushi dinner before yet another miserable night - if you sized the market for organic tomatoes for a twenty-page Okun assignment you know what I mean.
This bustling little eatery is one of my favorite spots around school and is widely recognized as one of the best sushi places in Manhattan. Space is limited and the décor is unpretentious and down to earth. The walls are scattered with pictures of different kinds of sushi and random sheets of paper advertising house finger-food specials like fried oysters, octopus in vinegar sauce, and spicy pork dumplings.
Tomoe doesn't accept reservations and, since it is always packed, the line can get insanely long (especially for dinner) but we got surprisingly lucky. As soon as we stepped one foot into the Japanese restaurant, a hurried waitress greeted us with the usual "Wait outside!" A few tables were paying and we got a table after a record-breaking five minutes.
As often happens when dining in a group we ordered way to much food. Commensurately to its prices, Tomoe's portions are actually very big (boyfriend heaven, huh?) but we ignored this fact and ordered two starters to share and two sushi dinners. Service at Tomoe is very fast - our green teas arrived in a whiz, followed shortly by miso soups and our starters. The tiny sushi joint's popularity is due to the incredible freshness of its fish. We chose to begin with a salmon ceviche - tender salmon strips marinated in onions and scallions - and shumai - soft, steamed shrimp dumplings.
Just as I was beginning to feel full the waitress showed up with three giant California rolls filled with a huge quantity of thinly sliced crab, avocado, cucumber and fish roe, and a Sushi Deluxe - ten pieces of assorted sushi, half a tuna roll and half a yellowtail-scallion roll. Tomoe's are without question the best California rolls I ever had - just the right mix of fresh and juicy. The ten-piece sushi assortment doesn't sound that big but it actually feeds two people because each nighiri is made up of a two-inch slab of ultra-fresh, melts-in-your mouth raw fish over a little ball of rice.
At Tomoe, the check comes with juicy orange slices - probably to distract customers from the prices, which are slightly high but entirely justified by quality and portion size. After yet another satisfying experience at this bustling Village eatery, which is also a great takeout place, I decided to walk off all the food. And delay the infamous Okun market sizing…
Opening hours: Mon, 5pm-11pm; Tue-Sat, 1pm-3pm and 5pm-11pm; Sun, 5pm-10pm
This bustling little eatery is one of my favorite spots around school and is widely recognized as one of the best sushi places in Manhattan. Space is limited and the décor is unpretentious and down to earth. The walls are scattered with pictures of different kinds of sushi and random sheets of paper advertising house finger-food specials like fried oysters, octopus in vinegar sauce, and spicy pork dumplings.
Tomoe doesn't accept reservations and, since it is always packed, the line can get insanely long (especially for dinner) but we got surprisingly lucky. As soon as we stepped one foot into the Japanese restaurant, a hurried waitress greeted us with the usual "Wait outside!" A few tables were paying and we got a table after a record-breaking five minutes.
As often happens when dining in a group we ordered way to much food. Commensurately to its prices, Tomoe's portions are actually very big (boyfriend heaven, huh?) but we ignored this fact and ordered two starters to share and two sushi dinners. Service at Tomoe is very fast - our green teas arrived in a whiz, followed shortly by miso soups and our starters. The tiny sushi joint's popularity is due to the incredible freshness of its fish. We chose to begin with a salmon ceviche - tender salmon strips marinated in onions and scallions - and shumai - soft, steamed shrimp dumplings.
Just as I was beginning to feel full the waitress showed up with three giant California rolls filled with a huge quantity of thinly sliced crab, avocado, cucumber and fish roe, and a Sushi Deluxe - ten pieces of assorted sushi, half a tuna roll and half a yellowtail-scallion roll. Tomoe's are without question the best California rolls I ever had - just the right mix of fresh and juicy. The ten-piece sushi assortment doesn't sound that big but it actually feeds two people because each nighiri is made up of a two-inch slab of ultra-fresh, melts-in-your mouth raw fish over a little ball of rice.
At Tomoe, the check comes with juicy orange slices - probably to distract customers from the prices, which are slightly high but entirely justified by quality and portion size. After yet another satisfying experience at this bustling Village eatery, which is also a great takeout place, I decided to walk off all the food. And delay the infamous Okun market sizing…
Opening hours: Mon, 5pm-11pm; Tue-Sat, 1pm-3pm and 5pm-11pm; Sun, 5pm-10pm
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