Sushi Yasuda, New York, NY

Sushi Yasuda is a labor of love between the founders – Naomichi Yasuda, Shige Akimoto and Scott Rosenberg – who passionately believe that this remarkable food in this unique environment must be experienced and shared. They are bonded by their love of classical sushi and are devoted to maintaining the purity of their vision at all costs.

“Since it opened at the end of 1999, the trio of owners staked the restaurant’s reputation on a pure, uncompromised expression of the traditional art of sushi making. They succeeded brilliantly.”
– Eric Asimov

Perhaps the most complex and difficult part of making sushi is perfecting the rice. Sushi Yasuda uses a mix of Japanese short and medium grain rice, combined with Japanese red and white rice vinegars, Japanese sea salt and a small amount of sugar. The water has been purified with bincho-tan (Japanese charcoal). The rice is cooked in precise proportions at calculated temperatures for a specific time. Like scientists in a lab, Mitsu has refined their method after years of research and experimentation. Using their hands as instruments, they evaluate how moist the rice is before cooking it. They adjust the amount of water accordingly.

While Sushi Yasuda brings in fish from all around the world and much from Japan, the chefs highly value outstanding local and regional varieties. Mitsu selects the fish one by one, evaluating each for freshness, size and its “spirit” or “energy.” They then carefully begin the comprehensive process of cleaning, preparing and storing. Paper-thin sheets of delicate Japanese cedar-wood line many of the boxes, and different varieties of fish are stored in separate boxes. The chefs carefully control the aging process of the fish—an essential part of making sushi. “Just-caught” fish is not always ideal for being eaten immediately as sushi, and different fish require different methods of refrigeration and storage for ideal preservation and taste.