Build your own Temaki
Alright Nami Nori. I didn’t have much context going into this one except for hearing about these “sushi tacos”.. which I’d never seen but sounded like a mashup of two of the best things of all time 🐐. But once we walked inside, the first thing I noticed wasn’t the menu or what people were serving up at the sushi counter, it was the soft, indirect lighting and overall cool vibe in the restaurant. It almost looks like if you took out the tables they could’ve sold yoga supplies there.
The menu was pretty straightforward and no matter how you looked at it the center of the attention really was the sushi tacos called “Temaki”. I have to say I was skeptical about these things because there’s nothing - nothing worse than soggy Nori. I figured by the time they got to us the rice and fish in these would make the fresh crunchy Nori a soggy piece of seaweed that was hard to chew. BUT some Japanese genius thought of the solution. Each of these babies has its own individual plastic covering between rice and nori that you pull off just before eating it. Pretty cool invention that definitely would’ve sent my dad into a rant about how prudent and ingenious the Japanese are.
So, what did these things taste like? Honestly they were better than I thought. All of them were really flavorful, a few were a bit spicy, and I finished each one in two bites. They were as cool to look at as they were to eat, as you can see from Kenzie’s pics from her fresh new phone in this post. We also tried an appetizer that was crispy rice with a tuna sashimi type of dip, but it's not really noteworthy compared to the Temaki.
So… final verdict? I would eat at this place during a warm day when I was on the go and wanted something quick that wouldn’t weigh me down afterwards. If you’re in Soho doing some shopping and still have a long list to check off during your New York trip but want something to tide you over, this is your place. If you just want good sushi in this price range, period… you might as well go to Sugarfish that’s 5 minutes away and is more filling for roughly the same price. Or, if you're hooked on the idea of sushi tacos, the similarly-named Kazu Nori is also a great bet.