Located in an unassuming strip mall near TGI Fridays, Wasabi in Orange may well offer Connecticut’s best sushi—and certainly Connecticut’s best highly affordable sushi.
As one enters Wasabi’s foyer, reminders of its numerous accolades are everywhere.
One can’t blame the restaurant for tooting its own horn a little, because as great and popular as the eight-year-old restaurant is, its name still doesn’t roll off every sushi lover’s tongue.
I took my visiting mother to Wasabi, but we bypassed the dining room
for the sushi bar,
where Mom quickly settled in
and started getting to know chef-owner Tom Ke.
We were taken great care of by the friendly staff,
but we refused all offers of alcoholic libation, like these sakes, because it was during work hours.
Some customers went for hot lunches, like this one I photographed as it passed,
but we were in a sushi mood. You will not easily find fresher or better prepared sushi. Served with miso soup
and a ginger-dressed house salad,
Mom’s two-roll sushi lunch ($9.50)
included a vegetable roll
and a yellowtail and scallion roll.
My three-roll sushi lunch ($11.50)
did not include the plate in the middle but included a salmon and avocado roll,
a spicy crab roll
and a salmon skin hand roll.
But the truth is, we shared everything except the hand roll, so we could enjoy twice as many kinds of rolls.
There were also attractive specials,
like the aforementioned plate in the middle,
which contained ankimo or monkfish liver in ponzu sauce, one of my favorite treats.
We finished our wonderful lunch with a couple of other treats, including grated daikon radish with ikura and ponzu sauce
and this pretty tempura shrimp and mango roll.
Wasabi, 350 Boston Post Road, Orange, 203-795-5856, www.wasabiorange.com