This is how I roll

The closest I’ve ever come to dying was in a sushi restaurant.

It was my senior year at a small liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. I’d just finished the first chapter of my thesis and had taken two friends out to celebrate at our favorite Japanese restaurant — locally known for its behemoth-sized sushi rolls, over-stuffed with fresh fish and vegetables and very nicely priced. I had a horrid head cold from running myself ragged researching; I was coughing when the food arrived and, apparently, wasn’t swallowing well. After eating only a few pieces of sushi safely, I somehow managed to lodge the entirety of a spicy tuna roll in my windpipe.

When you are choking to death, at least in my experience, your life does not flash before your eyes. Instead, you sputter a bit, make the international sign for choking, get up from the table and stagger around like Frankenstein, all while being acutely embarrassed. “Well, this is mortifying,” I thought, as a nice young businessman on a first date got up to perform the Heimlich maneuver, and ended up punching me in the solar plexus. The situation was finally resolved when I reached down my own throat and pulled out a never-ending strand of nori (seaweed), much to the disgust of a quartet of white-haired ladies at the next table.

“Are you OK?” the businessman asked in a booming voice. His date swooned.

For those of you who may have been scared to try sushi in the past, I offer my wholehearted endorsement: be afraid; be very afraid. However, do not fear its “slimy texture” or “overpowering fishy smell” or the chance of publicly identifying yourself as an individual with sub-par chopsticking skills. If the sushi is properly prepared, the first two objections will not apply; it is also acceptable to eat sushi by hand if chopsticks just aren’t your thing. Instead, fear the addiction that may develop, potentially resulting in hazardous situations similar to the one described above.

Even though it was almost my undoing, I am still addicted to sushi. Growing up in the Hudson Valley, I never tried it — in fact, I never thought to try it, as the places where one could find it were few and far between. Today, I’m a full-fledged fanatic and, luckily, sushi abounds: you can even find decent take-out sushi trays nested between milk and bread in shopping carts at Price Chopper. For excellent sushi and overall experience, the best place to go is Tokyo Sushi on Main Street in New Paltz — my new favorite lunch destination.

What separates Tokyo Sushi from its sushi-peers is a combination of atmosphere, service, selection, and, of course, quality of food. On the outside, its red awnings blend in with those of neighboring businesses; on the inside, it stands out. Without being pretentious, Tokyo Sushi complements classic décor, such as wooden lanterns with painted paper inserts, with fresh flowers (miniature mums and dianthus on tables; orchids lining the storefront window) and Japanese artifacts. There are 12 tables for restaurant-style dining, plus a small five-seat bar at which patrons may watch the chef form their sushi with perpetually moving plastic-gloved hands. The chefs are friendly, and service is careful and hospitable.

For those looking for an introduction to the wonderful world of sushi or old pros seeking delicious standards, look no further than the Tokyo Lunch Box, only $9.95 between lunch special hours of 12 -3 p.m., Mon.-Sat. This substantial meal begins with salad — cold iceberg lettuce, carrot and tomato topped with pureed carrot and ginger dressing — and soup — a superb warm, milky miso, with small bits of seaweed and silken tofu cubes. The lunchbox arrives soon after: a black lacquered box with six brick-colored compartments, each featuring different treasures. For the sushi-lover, the main attraction is three pieces of nigiri sushi (fish placed atop rice, as opposed to rolled): one salmon; one tuna; one yellowtail. The coloration is bright, but not artificial, and the fish is served at the perfect temperature — not too cold. Salmon, the fattiest of the trio, is decadent and luscious; deep pink tuna and white-pink yellowtail are lighter, but similarly satisfying. They may be dipped, fish-side down, in soy sauce; some green wasabi diluted in the sauce by a chopstick point will add a solid spicy kick. The other sushi is a California roll — crabstick, straws of cucumber and an avocado slice rolled in rice dotted with bright orange roe — expertly sliced into six bite-sized pieces.

The Lunch Box also contains several large slices of vegetable tempura — sweet potato, carrot, yam and onion dipped in batter and deep-fried. Like french fries, the hotter and fresher the tempura, the crispier and tastier it will be, so I usually eat this first. The best of the lot is the yam, whose sweetness is perfectly complemented by the crisp batter. A tangy dipping sauce accompanies these tasty treats.

Another component of this lunchbox is the delicious gyoza — three fried pork dumplings made for dipping in a dark tangy soy-based sauce that makes your mouth pucker the tiniest bit. Both tempura and gyoza sauces are served in a separate dual-compartment dish and are of similar colorations. To tell the difference between them without a taste test, look for sesame seeds floating in one of the compartments — that’s for gyoza.

As if that wasn’t enough to satisfy you, the meal is topped off with a dome of white rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds and a compartment of lightly salted edamame, which are soy beans boiled in saltwater. To eat edamame, put the pod into your mouth and extract the beans with your teeth to taste the salt and reap the rewards; do not eat the pods. I felt awful for forgetting to tell my mother not to eat the pods before catching her in the act at lunch last week; she proclaimed them “a little tough” and agrees that edamame is much tastier when eaten the traditional way.

For those with slightly smaller appetites, the Sushi Box has all the elements of a Tokyo Lunch Box, minus the edamame, three pieces of California roll and one gyoza for $7.95; it still comes with soup and salad. There are also several two-roll pairings that come with miso soup, ranging from $4.95-$7.95. I recommend the spicy salmon and spicy tuna roll combo for $6.95, as I have finally made my peace with spicy tuna after my near-death. Here, it is coated in a spicy orange mayonnaise that can make you cry when matched with wasabi.

It is with heaviness in my heart that I must relay that, for vegetarians, or those who absolutely will not eat raw fish, the cucumber and avocado roll combination is only $4.95. There are also a number of non-sushi-based options for omnivores, such as teriyaki and udon (Japanese noodles in seafood broth), but I will not vouch for these, as I believe that it would be criminal not to try what Tokyo Sushi should be famous for — its absolutely delicious sushi.

For those of you who hear me loud and clear, try “Sushi for Lunch” No. 2 (salmon, eel, yellowtail, shrimp and octopus nigiri with a California roll) or check the white board near the bar for daily sushi specials. Or, for the connoisseur, order something special a la carte. I believe that Tokyo Sushi has the power to woo you. I certainly have yet to be disappointed.

Megan Labrise

(Orig. pub. date: March 14, 2007)