I have harbored a smorgasbord of feelings about the concept of all-you-can-eat sushi. On one side, sushi is one of my favorite foods, so how nice to eat it affordably and limitlessly! On the other, of all the foods that need to be of good quality and properly handled, sushi stands near the top of the list—just below blowfish.
And in between, there are my aesthetic concerns that some non-Japanese sushi purveyors won’t cut the fish well or will employ too much rice with the sushi or won’t get the sushi rice right (which just ruins it for me). And believe me, you’re talking non-Japanese purveyors 99% of the time, because the concept of bargain sushi runs counter to the Japanese culinary art.
My first encounters with all-you-can-eat sushi were in New Haven and Baltimore in the mid-1980s. Neither place was terrible, neither was exceptional. And if I remember correctly, the price was pretty close to $20 then! So how, you’re wondering, can all-you-can-eat sushi joints manage the trick almost three decades later, when costs have risen so much?
Well, part of the answer undoubtedly lies in the increased popularity of sushi. The sheer increase in the numbers of customers (and purveyors) makes such savings possible. Still, sushi is like anything else. If you want the very best quality, you should be prepared to pay for it. One of the top reasons most American food is so mediocre is our bargain mentality. The people of countries like Japan, Spain, France and Italy understand that good food is worth the added cost.
In my opinion, the best sushi in Connecticut can be found at Wasabi in Orange, and it’s actually pretty affordable. Other places I really like include Sonobana in Hamden, Miya’s Sushi in New Haven, Feng Asian Bistro in Hartford, Toshi in Avon, Toro in Newtown, Nuage in Greenwich, and Matsu Sushi and Tengda in Westport.
Sushi is no longer just yuppie food. “Real men” still don’t eat quiche, but now they eat sushi. Come to Sushi X in West Haven, and you’ll see people of all ages, races and economic strata happily mingling cheek by jowl. You may even find biker types with tattoos covering every visible inch of their bodies. And believe me, the diversity of the clientele is part of the restaurant’s charm.
Even today, I still have plenty of reservations about all-you-can-eat sushi, however. When I’m blogging as opposed to reviewing, I’m not in the business of fingering my less-favorite eateries. However, I can tell you that when I smell fish as I enter a sushi bar—I leave. At this point in time, I’m only endorsing one all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, and it’s this one. If I find another one I trust, my readers will be the first ones to know.
So that’s my rant on all-you-can-eat sushi. My buddy and I have visited Sushi X twice so far, once in early February and once in mid-March. Its location in the big plaza at the corner of Captain Thomas Boulevard and Campbell Avenue makes it easy to find.
After 6:30, you’re likely to run into a wait.
But when we arrived the first time,
checking in with the folks at the hostess station,
there was still space at the sushi bar.
Otherwise, there wasn’t an empty table in the house, front room
or back.
Our helpful waitress explained how the all-you-can-eat deal worked.
If you don’t finish a food item, you’re apt to be charged for it, a policy which ensures that customers don’t waste precious food.
There are little wire cups
which hold order slips for both the kitchen
and sushi bar.
From a lineup of options,
my buddy and I ordered beers,
but there were also good deals on hot
and cold sake
that we availed ourselves of on our next visit. And although we didn’t have any, I believe that green tea was included in the deal.
Sushi X is spectacularly efficient. During the brief wait for our food, I checked out our surroundings. Norens were used as wall decorations.
Origami cranes
and other artwork
hung over the sushi bar.
Soon, our food started to arrive. We began with edamame, which I find refreshing and good for the tummy. But be careful with this item because it’s a large and filling portion.
We ordered oysters, and under other circumstances I might have had dozens.
My buddy had a seaweed salad,
and I had a house salad with ginger dressing,
but we especially enjoyed the kani (faux crab) salad.
Then we tested a couple of benchmark items that many non-Japanese-owned restaurants struggle to get right. We were pleasantly surprised by the miso soup, which was spot on.
Another thing many non-Japanese owned restaurants botch is tempura. Served with tentsuyu sauce, Sushi X’s shrimp
and vegetable tempuras (sorry, no photo) were excellent, the batter crisp and greaseless. These shrimp,
these gyoza,
and these baked mussels were very good as well.
A final trio of items that really pleased us included the fried calamari,
the ribs,
and the teriyaki fish.
But despite all of those great pleasures, we really came for sushi. On our first night, there were four chefs at the sushi bar.
The fish appeared fresh and of high quality.
I photographed one sushi chef putting together a cucumber and tobiko roll—notice how drastically the camera misinterpreted the color in the first shot as it exposed for the chef and overexposed the food.
Topped with mango and avocado, the tuna tartare is justifiably popular.
Viewed from above, you can see that it was heart-shaped during our February visit
and hexagonal during our March visit.
Customers can select from an impressive variety of sushi choices, and as long as they finish everything, put together spectacular orders. My buddy and I tended to order cautiously, so as not to risk getting stuck with added charges (which I’m guessing rarely happens). I’m not going to identify every separate sushi item, but let readers view the photographs and see how creative, pretty and fresh it appears.
Here’s a side and front view of one sushi plate we put together.
And here’s a front and back shot of another sushi plate we put together.
I think the quality of the sushi is obvious. Now let me show you what a more courageous couple ordered.
We finished that night with an order of fried banana.
During my buddy’s and my second visit, there were at least five sushi chefs at work.
We revisited many items that we had enjoyed. I will just show photographs of the items that we hadn’t tried before. Here you see a peppered tuna appetizer,
here a red snapper with jalapeño special,
here a pair of Alaska hand rolls,
and here a pair of salmon skin hand rolls.
We ordered two small sushi assortments,
and then finished with ice cream.
These pictures are worth a thousand (actually 1,250) words.
Sushi X, 220 Captain Thomas Boulevard, West Haven, 203-933-2888
www.sushixct.com