Sushi

SushiSamba Joins The Bluefin Ban

The conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar ended earlier this week. The conference failed to ban the international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna,a move that some fear could doom the endangered fish. Luckily many restaurants are taking it on themselves to stop using bluefin tuna without waiting for a ban. The SushiSamba restaurants have become the latest to remove bluefin tuna from all menus. The restaurant group's No Blue campaign supports the growing worldwide movement to protect the Bluefin Tuna. SushiSamba has pledged to work with its purveyors to establish a sustainable seafood program at all of its locations, moving toward eliminating all non-sustainable seafood from its menus. The No Blue campaign ban covers all bluefin tuna including Otoro Tuna and Chu Toro Tuna.

"SushiSamba's Managing Partners and I stand firmly in our decision to remove Bluefin Tuna from our menus nationwide, effective immediately. We are aware of the issues surrounding bluefin fishing methods and support the preservation of endangered species in our world," stated SushiSamba Corporate Chef Michael Cressotti. "I hope that other restaurants will follow in our footsteps to help protect this wonderful species. SushiSamba is currently in the process of working with our fish purveyors to establish a sustainable seafood program at all our locations."

The SushiSamba website (www.sushisamba.com) has a link for customers to sign a petition against harmful fishing practices that kill bluefin tuna. Rampant commercial fishing has reduced the mature Western Atlantic bluefin population by 80 percent since 1970 and the fish could be extinct in as few as ten years.

Tags: bluefin tuna, cites, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild, sushi, sushisamba, tuna

The New American Sushi

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Celebrity Design

Chef Tracy Griffith (right -- and yes, she's the half sister of Melanie Grifftith) has created a whole new kind of sushi, Americana style. Think BLT and Cowboy rolls, and a vegetarian option served with fresh Green Goddess dressing.

Griffith, who has the distinction of being the first female graduate of the California Sushi Academy and one of the few female certified sushi chefs in the world, has compiled her creative new sushi recipes into a book called Sushi American Style. The delicious, raw fish-free fare is also available (as of Monday) in NYC Dean & Deluca stores, and is coming to the rest of the country in 2010.

So, what's it all about? We had a quick chat with Tracy at the New York Times building store and sampled all the sushi in the gallery below.

Luxist: So, Tracy, you developed all these rolls yourself, right?

Tracy Griffith: Yes, for my cookbook, Sushi American Style.

L: What was your inspiration?

TG: My inspiration was sushi customers in LA. I worked in a sushi bar and they always ordered California rolls, and I was like "Why?"

L: Why indeed!

TG: They said "I don't like raw fish." So many people are afraid of, or don't like, raw fish. So, being a chef, I had to start making something else besides California rolls. I started thinking, "What's good with white rice?" It's a very neutral base, like pasta or bread, so [I made the] BLT roll after my favorite sandwich, and Green Goddess, because it's so great with asparagus. Chicken Run has chili-garlic peanuts on it because I was in Bali, and in Bali they put chili-garlic peanuts on everything, and I thought, "Wouldn't that be good?" So, that's how it all started; it was for customers who don't eat raw fish.

L: What are people saying so far?

TG: Oh, they love it! Actually, it's kind of funny, because they walk in and look at me like "What?" and then they taste it and go "Oh, wow! That's great!"

Click through the gallery to see our tasting notes on all the new American sushi that you'll find at Dean & Deluca.

Gallery: American Sushi by Tracy Griffith

Tags: dean and deluca, Dean Deluca, DeanAndDeluca, DeanDeluca, sushi, Tracy Griffith, TracyGriffith

One Of London's Most Expensive Restaurants Shut Down

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

One of London's most expensive restaurants has closed its doors in the fallout from the recession. Tatsuso served high-end sushi and was famous for its exorbitant prices. Wealth Bulletin says that the restaurant went into liquidation in May with liabilities of more than £338,000. The restaurant was located in the Broadgate development and catered to London's financial types. Mehmet Arkin, the appointed liquidator, blamed the restaurant's woes on the collapse in corporate expense accounts and noted that several London institutions had closed their credit accounts with the restaurant at the start of this year. Arkin said the restaurant is not planning to reopen.

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Tags: london, restaurant, sushi, tatsuso

Masa Drops Set Menu Price

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

We all define the term discount differently. At Masa, Manhattan's ultra-pricey temple of sushi, the cost of dining has dropped from $450 to $400 for the set menu. This may not seem significant but it may be the first time that the Michelin-starred restaurant at Time Warner Center has ever dropped prices. Masa's business manager Veda Nishikawa told Blomberg's Ryan Sutton that the recession had nothing to do with the price drop. A reduction in the cost of freight to fly in Masa's fresh fish daily inspired the restaurant to pass on its savings to the consumer. As oil prices drop the cost of global air shipping is reduced. Of course if Masa really wanted to impress diners they could roll the prices back to the $300 the set menu cost back in 2004 when the restaurant opened.

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Tags: fine dining, FineDining, manhattan, masa, restaurant, sushi

SUSHISAMBA 7 Shares their Valentine's Day Cocktail Recipes

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Spirits, Events

SUSHISAMBA is a staple restaurant for many New York sushi lovers. Though Japonais normally has my vote for best sushi, SUSHISAMBA 7's Valentine's Day plans look amazing.

SUSHISAMBA 7, at 87 Seventh Avenue South, will be featuring a number of delicious dinner specials, including Maine Lobster Taquitos, Tuna Tataki, Lobster & Palmito Salad, Oysters & Pearls, Pan Seared Foie Gras, Austrialian Wagyu Beef Tataki, Kobe Gyoza, Japanese Style Salt & Pepper Mongo Ika, Broiled Alaska King Crab, Seared Muscovy Duck Breast, and Braised "Bone In" Short Ribs. Yum!

Best of all, they're featuring Naughty and Nice Valentine's Day Cocktails, and we have the recipes. Here you go:

Naughty
3 strawberry halves
1 piece of watermelon rind
Muddled jalapeño peppers
1.5 oz tequila
0.5 oz creme de fraise des bois liqueur
0.5 oz sweet and sour

Muddle fruit and jalapeno peppers in glass until pulverized. Add liquor, shake vigorously and strain. Serve in martini glass and garnish with a pierced strawberry and jalapeno.

Nice
3 strawberry halves
1 piece of watermelon rind
1.5 oz tequila
0.5 oz creme de fraise des bois liqueur
0.5 oz sweet and sour

Muddle fruit in glass until pulverized. Add liquor, shake vigorously and strain. Serve in martini glass and garnish with a pierced strawberry.

You can keep those delicious drinks on the books all year! If you haven't finalized your Valentine's Day plans yet and are in New York, call 212-691-7885 for reservations.

Tags: cocktail, cocktails, drinking, drinks, entertainment-awards, sushi, sushi samba, sushisamba 7, valentine, valentines, valentines day

The $100,000 Tuna

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

It may not look like much but the 282-pound Japanese bluefin tuna shown above brought in more than $100,000 at auction recently. Two sushi bar owners, one in Hong Kong and one in Japan, paid $104,700 for the big fish at a Tokyo fish auction on Monday. The price was about ten times the average price and the highest in nearly a decade. The first sale of the new year traditionally brings hight prices but the prices were even higher because of a shortage of high quality Oma bluefin. There were just three available at the Tsukiji market compared with 41 last year. A smaller imported bluefin caught off the cost of the U.S. sold for $15,400. Members of international tuna conservation organizations have agreed to cut their bluefin catch quota for 2009 by 20 percent to 22,000 tons which could mean more high prices this year.

For a great behind-the-scenes look at the world of tuna sales, I recommend The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg, it's got some fantastic descriptions of the chaos and commerce in Japan's tuna auctions. It also explains that the tuna's tail is sliced off (as shown above) at auction to expose the quality of the flesh.

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Tags: fish, japan, sushi, tsukiji fish market, TsukijiFishMarket, tuna

Nobu Slated to Open in Qatar

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Luxe sushi empire Nobu, backed by Robert De Niro, plans to open an eatery in Doha, Qatar's capital city. Planning is in the early stages and the exact location is unknown, but the odds-on favorite is the landmark Four Seasons Doha in West Bay on the Arabian Gulf, the Qatari Penisula reports. This will be Nobu's second Middle Eastern outpost, following the branch at the newly-opened Atlantis in Dubai's Palm Jumeirah. Qatar, which has the highest per capita income in the world, is also the site of upcoming restaurants from famed chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, part of the country's growing luxeification. Nobu currently has has 21 restaurants in 16 cities around the world.

Tags: Doha, Dubai, Four Seasons, Four Seasons Doha, FourSeasons, FourSeasonsDoha, Gordon Ramsay, GordonRamsay, jean-georges vongerichten, Jean-georgesVongerichten, Nobu, Qatar, Restaurants, Robert De Niro, RobertDeNiro, Sushi

The $1,000 Sushi Roll

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Going out for sushi always runs slightly on the expensive side, but Koi restaurant in New York is taking it to the extreme with their latest menu addition, the High Roller sushi roll that sells for $1000.

So what does a thousand dollars look like in the form of sushi? Well, it starts with marinated and poached fois gras that is covered with succulent Langoustine (lobster). Then the roll is brushed with saffron/vanilla bean butter and encrusted with caviar. Finally, when the roll is served the Chef comes tableside to shave white Alba truffles and drizzle them with 100 year balsamic.

Enjoy! (I wonder how many people have so far?)

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Tags: dining, high roller, HighRoller, koi, koi restaurant, KoiRestaurant, most expensive, MostExpensive, sushi

Cindy & Mel Sushi Pillows

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

There is something very appealing about decorative pillows, although they never have quite the same sense of purpose as the pillows that your might ordinarily put on your bed. These sushi pillows by Cindy & Mel have particular appeal, probably because they look almost edible. They also have the added bonus of being far more comfortable than non-pillow sushi, not to mention that they last longer. The pillows are painstakingly made out of high-quality fabrics, with hand-painted designs. They make great housewarming gifts for sushi-loving friends. Ebi Nigiri (shrimp) pillow: $58. Other pillows: $48.

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Tags: art, comfort, cotton, decor, decorative, food, furnishing, gift, pillow, pillows, shrimp, sushi

Nobu Restaurant at Atlantis

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

It seems that sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa won't rest until there is a Nobu in every major hotspot. The latest Nobu is at Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The first Caribbean Nobu has a bit of a Bahamian flavor with Conch Cevice, Lobster Ceviche and Nobu Style Cracked Conch joining Nobu's typical Japanese fare. The design of the restaurant includes an open sushi bar and a sake cellar. The sake cellar is a twelve-person dining area located inside a domed tower lined with sake bottles and windows providing marina views.

[via Breaking Travel News]

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Tags: atlantis, bahamas, cuisine, dining, fish, nobu, restaurants, sushi

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