AKINA'S SUSHI BAR
ADDRESS:
424A EAST 14TH ST
NEW YORK NY 10009
TELEPHONE:
212-388-1127
FAX:
212-388-1135
ONLINE MENU:
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OPEN HOURS:
MONDAY-THURSDAY
11:30 AM - 11:00 PM
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
11:30 AM - 11:30 PM
SUNDAY
12:00 NOON-11:00 PM
Dine in or Take Out
Delivery Available
Grand St. - 34th St.
Sixth Ave. - Avenue D
by Joel R. Simon
If you are new to sushi, the following primer may help you on the road to culinary enjoyment. Basically, sushi is fish and other ingredients on a special kind of pickled rice. It may come in one of three forms: (1) Nigiri Sushi is a small piece of fish on a compact piece of pickled rice. (2) Rolls (cut up into small sections) have a seaweed (yes, seaweed, very healthy and tasty too) covering and the fish and other ingredients, such as cucumber, avocado, etc. are inside. (3) Chirashi is a bowl of pieces of fish etc. on a bed of rice. Traditionally, nigiri is Tokyo-style sushi and chirashi is Osaka-style sushi (Osaka being the second city of Japan, often called the "Chicago" of Japan). You can also have the fish without any rice at all, and this is called sashimi.When we say that sushi uses "raw" fish, this is only partially true. The raw fish is saltwater fish (like tuna), but freshwater fish, like salmon, which may contain parasites, is indeed cooked, although it is cold when it gets to you, the diner. Other kinds of fish that are served at Akina include fluke, striped bass, and mackerel. In addition to "normal" tuna, you may chose to eat spicy tuna, tuna belly ("toro"), or yellowtail. You may choose smoked salmon or salmon toro as well as "normal" salmon. Also served are squid, surf clam, eel, king crab, shrimp, and sea urchin. Rolls may be simple, just seaweed, rice, and one kind of fish, or very complex, using a variety of seafood, vegetables, etc. Fish roe (think "caviar") are also served.Three items are eaten with sushi: ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce. A little pile of sliced ginger (a root) is on the plate (or in the container, if you are getting take-out or delivery). You should eat a little bit of it after each nigiri (or roll section) to clear your palate for the taste of the next nigiri. The little green pile is wasabi, a kind of grated horse radish which is extremely powerful. Your nigiri may already have a little wasabi between the fish and the rice, but you can add a little bit (or more, to taste). Just be careful not to use too much! Finally, you may pour a little soy sauce into a tiny dish, and dip your nigiri or roll section into it (with the fish on the bottom so the nigiri does not disintegrate into the soy sauce).At Akina, you can enjoy sushi and sashimi as entrees or appetizers, or order individual pieces. The standard dish is "sushi regular," which consists of seven pieces of assorted nigiri and "California" roll, which contains crab, avocado, and cucumber. "Sashimi regular" is an assortment of thirteen pieces of seafood. "Sushi deluxe" and "sashimi deluxe" have more pieces and more variety. "Vegetarian sushi" avoids seafood altogether but still is a tasty entree. "Akina sushi" consists of three tuna, three salmon, and three yellowtail nigiri. "Tuna sushi combo" is just tuna nigiri and tuna roll, and there are similar combos, some with spicy tuna roll instead of California roll. Finally, there is "chirashi," which as was explained above, consists of pieces of seafood, etc., over a bed of rice.Another kind of dish on the sushi part of the menu is "don," short for "donburi," the Japanese word for "bowl." In this case, the seafood is served over cooked rice with a sauce. The most interesting and tasty "don" (in my opinion) is "Una Don," una being short for "unagi," which is eel. The Una Don is broiled eel (kind of a fishy chicken taste) with a tasty barbecue sauce over rice. In Japan there are whole restaurants which just serve this one dish, but I believe that Tim and his staff have mastered the art of making this dish equal (or even superior) in taste to these specialty restaurants.Of course, you can order your sushi or sashimi by the piece, creating an appetizer or side dish if your main course is from the cooked part of the menu. At the other end of the spectrum, you can order large combinations if you are feeding two diners or a larger party.Presentation is important in Japanese food, and if you actually have your meal at Akina (if you get take out or delivery the presentation is up to you, although everything is well packed), it will always come out attractively presented on the plate;. If you are lucky (or specifically request it, hopefully not when the restaurant is full on a Friday night...), Tim or the sushi chef will prepare your entree in a special design with various decorations, as seen in the photos accompanying this essay.
SUSHI REGULAR by CHEF ADI
SUSHI LUNCH BOX
CHIRASHI by TIM CHANG
"GENJI" ROLL
Now that you know all about Akina's sushi offerings, learn about the great food from Akina's kitchen.