Sushi Dojo has found its Mojo

Pants readers know that we love noting more than finding new amazing sushi places and sitting at the sushi bar drinking sake and having the best time. You will have to be believe me when I tell you that Sushi Dojo is something different. We knew it was something different about half-way through our amazing tasting journey, but it took me until the morning to really understand how to articulate it. It was the first time that I really trusted a sushi chef and tried things out of my comfort zone , and I was rewarded greatly. First things first: Chef David Bouhadana is no ordinary sushi chef. For starters, he is not Japanese, he looks like he could have been in my Hebrew school class, dude is 27 years old and BRINGS it. When you go, make a reservation and request to sit with him. He is charming and approachable and easy to trust; he explains different things about the dishes and gives insight into how to best appreciate the food. It was a wild ride and we had the best time, and it was a bit more insightful than blindly trusting a seasoned sushi chef who is too busy to engage with you.

Oh- and then there is Max. Cute and intelligent Max, the sake sommelier, who had my heart when he referred to my refill as a “re-up”. He knows a lot about his job and the small size of the spot allows him to spend time with customers who want to know more about sake, and he also provides tastes before its time to commit to a bottle (or carafe, or, um, both). The sake sommelier is not a kitchsy thing, it is a real service that allows diners to get informed about this spirit and expand their boundaries. As I try more I really love sake, but it goes down a little too easy which makes things a little fuzzy when trying to recall everything we ate…

Anyway, speaking of expanding boundaries, I ate some shit that I would have never tried a few years ago. It was almost hard limit stuff, but I didn’t have to invoke any safe words; the presentation was so clean that even things that were a little scary to me were presented in an as non-threatening way as possible. Below are are some of the things that were new to me entirely or were presented in a new way; there were also some gorgeous sashimi and straight-forward sushi (Anago to die for!). The pictures will speak volumes as well…I know the Pants are partial to nights at a Sushi Bar, but Sushi Dojo is a real learning experience that even seasoned sushi eaters should have.

Live Clam- yep, this sucker was moving until right before it was served to us

Scallop muscle- this came with the first dish, I actually enjoyed the tougher texture- not a ton of flavor

Quickly steamed octopus- also came with the first dish, firm

Longer boiled octopus- see picture below; this has the texture of octopus that you get at greek restaurants, very meaty

Copper River salmon vs white salmon- they were served side by side on the sashimi plate for comparison; we love Copper River salmon and have never had white salmon before; the flavor of the white salmon is much more mild than that of the Copper River; it was also less oily

Giant Oyster- this thing was fucking enormous; the shell was like a giant bowl; this oyster from off the coast of Washington was briney and silky, a real treat with every bite; thankfully Chef David cut it up into pieces for us, to make it less scary and easier to eat

Santa Barbara and Japanese Uni- I never had Japanese uni before. The Santa Barbara uni was served just on rice, the rich, melty gooey perfection that it always is. The Japanese uni was a little smaller and a tad bit firmer, and Chef David served it with some nori, to bring out a little salt and add a little bit of crunch. Now that is a fun taste test…For our final piece he put the Japanese uni on top of another piece of fish and wrapped it all with a thing slice of nori…I mean !!!

A shout-out must be given to Josh Beckerman, the Foodie Magician; I was creeping on Instagram late one night and the second I saw his pics from Sushi Dojo, I called for a reservation…www.nycfoodie.com