sushisamba

what can one say?  when you're wrong, you're wrong.  i was wrong.

in my "sake and sushi" post i made quite a few cracks about dead sea creatures only being enjoyed as long as sufficient levels of sake are consumed to make just about anything taste alright.  this was before i was aware of sushi with a brazilian/peruvian smackdown!  think of it - two amazing taste cultures entering the octagon for spicy hand to hand combat.  the view of the spectator is pure entertainment as these two mix their distinctive flavors into a fantastically luscious succulent entertainment for the tongue.   my my my my my!  not sure what they're putting in the water down there, but it's working!  we should find out about these additives.  i mean, sure, it's nice to have a little fluoride in the water but honestly, how does that compare to the addition of latin love and flavor?!  if you want a sense of the experience, just go to sushisamba.com.  the opening beats are an auditory semblance of what the taste buds get to enjoy (there's also a place there to listen to five compelling compilations of lovely latin tunes. let me know what you think).  if you want the experience for yourself, you'll want to hang out on south 7th avenue and bleecker street.  

i was completely at the mercy of my friends who seemed to have a good sense of what should be ordered.  the only sushi i really knew was the old reliable california roll.  even typing that makes me laugh since that is first grade cafeteria sushi compared to sushisamba which can only be described, then, as doctoral level studies in flavor.  i was lost looking at the menu when, thankfully, tamsin and maria took over the ordering duties.  maria said i had to have the seabass and who was i to argue?  i wasn't prepared for how much i would enjoy these skewers of delight and any mental reluctance that lingered quickly evaporated into total trust of whatever else they ordered.  

tom, sarye, myself, and the aforementioned ordering gurus left this delight for one of new yorks many hidden treasures.  the "little branch" sits in the basement of the building at 7th ave. and leroy street.  very unassuming entrance.  just a little brass plaque on the door with the name so you have to be in the "in" crowd to know about this place.  or, like me who is not in the "in" crowd, be invited by those who are.  that's really my only hope in this place.  theologically speaking, it's the only hope that any of us have.  gotta love invitations!

if someone invites you to sushi samba, you should seriously consider.  if tamsin, tom, maria, and sarye do it, drop everything and go right then without hesitation!