I hope I never have to eat my dinner whilst looking at a person in a baseball cap
food sounds yum though
I went here last week and got the chef’s set along with a couple other rolls a la carte. Each one was very, very good! Couldn’t recommend this place enough to sushi lovers - terrific food and atmosphere. Oftentimes sushi needs or at least is much improved by some additional soy sauce, but at Nami Nori the rolls are perfect exactly as they come.
Rereading this excellent article, I find Slide 5 my favorite: temaki, accoding to reader Kenji NY, a "hand roll", with red or black caviar added to it at extra charge. To be taken not with the bare fingers, but with hashi, Japanese chopsticks.
Thanks to both Nami Nori, and to the NY Times for reviewing a restaurant that actually has vegetarian choices!
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I generally enjoy the NYT reviews. This one is no different although I would caution against Japonisme gone bad. In this case, the author makes a statement implying he knows Japanese when the statement itself isn't correct and the author almost ceryainly does not. To whit, "English-speaking sushi bars usually call their temaki hand rolls, although “hand-rolled sushi” would be a closer translation." て（te）巻（maki） comprises two characters meaning, respectively, "hand" and "roll." It does not improve the reviews credibility for its author to show off about something it seems most likely he knows little about.
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@Kenji NY
Your comment touches more broadly on the Usans' ignorance of languages other than the American English. From the remains of a grade-school (poor) instruction in Japanese in the former Empire of Manchu-Di-Guo, I retained only the katakana. Now I can only say in Japanese "I am an illiterate foreigner" and "Sword is the soul of the samurai".
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Once you can spend 100 bucks at a restaurant instead of using discipline to keep the bill under 30 dollars (how much alcohol did you drink anyways) it's no longer a $$ restaurant.
Everyone knows booze pads the bill, the dollar signs should be a reflection of the actual food prices.
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Wow! Another review of a tiny restaurant that’s difficult to get into. At least this one is In the Village not in a place that’s in the middle of no where. I’m still waiting for Pete Wells to tell us about a dining experience on the UES where so many Times readers live and eat at restaurants. The same can be said for the most part on the Upper West. I have a tough time getting into places near we stay, Carnegie Hill, but they must not be worthy of Mr. Well’s time. PB
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@pbilsky Don't you live in Vermont?
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@Local Labrat They say that they visit NY, staying near Carnegie Hill.
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What a fabulous sentence: "They tend to have a slightly loose, casual appearance; like silk scarves on the shoulders of Parisian women, their nori wrappers seem to have fallen into the right position by accident. "
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Appropriately enough given their grazing-affable menu, ”nami nori" is also the Japanese term for "surfing."
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@ Shirokuma Toyama
Do "the real Japanese" surf wearing the two traditional samurai swords, the long katana and the shorter one wakizashi?
@Tuvw Xyz No, of course not; that would get them arrested. A wet suit and a long cable are more likely accessories.
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Okay, so who are Steven M and Tuvw Xyz and what do they have to do with this restaurant? Obviously something.
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@Patrick If you frequent the comment sections in the food section, you will see that the latter somehow comments on nearly every article here. It's not some shill.
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@Patrick Clearly this is your first time on the comments section here. No, neither of us have anything to do with this restaurant. Also, shills tend to defend their restaurant when being attacked, not pile on praise to an already great review.
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@Patrick, LOL, Tuvw Xyz's comments are ubiquitous in the NYT, especially in the food section. I'm sure he has nothing to do with the restaurant. Just being able to state his personal preference in sushi/sashimi/nigiri is adequate.
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For comparison sake I also read the Masa review Pete helpfully linked to the one. While he gave that restaurant an additional star, it’s hard to imagine he had a better time there than he did at this one. This place sounds worth waiting for and coming into New York to try.
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This reminds me of Katsu-ya’s Kiwame “next door” experiment in Studio City. A ramen bar with mediocre ramen but good sushi exactly as described here.
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"..the line outside seems to have started earlier and grown longer," which is why I never visit restaurant critic's picks. I leave the new spots for the foodinistas to pick-over like a fresh carcass and then visit several months later, fashionably late. I don't enjoy listening to the hovering queues make comments like, "oh look, that four-top looks like they've finished their entrees" and the like.
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@ Steven M. New York, NY 1h ago
I am deeply honored by your thinking of me on a trip to Singapore. Am glad that the trip was pleasant, and welcome back!
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Been waiting for this review to drop. Glad to see such high praise, and I look forward to going there before one of my many visits to the IFC Center during Oscar Season.
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Great and best wishes of success and popularity! For disclosure, I do not like nori (seaweed), and my preference is nigiri, with salmon eggs or red caviar on top.
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@Tuvw Xyz I was actually thinking about you this weekend when I went to Singapore. My hotel breakfast buffet had an abundance of red caviar as part of the buffet, along with the traditional accoutrements. I also had a scallops florentine there. It was very much enjoyable.
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