216488 Thu Dec 02 14:30:15 -0800 2004 2 18 Manhattan 0 1152525 went to Sushi Yasuda last night to celebrate my wife's bday. we arrived on time and were promptly "squeezed" in at the sushi bar in front of yasuda-san. didn't realize before but they squeeze in appx 10 people in front of yasuda where he can serve them all at once. this was my first "issue." because he always had no less than 10 people he was serving he had no real attention to any 1 group. and his omakase has no real beginning or end. absolutely no order in which fish are served so basically what he's making for someone he'll make a few extra to serve others. this was my biggest complaint. i guess i'm used to an omakase meal at the sushi bar to have a beginning and and end where the order of the fish served is intentional and purposely presented. as always the fish was magnificent. very fresh. many many fish you cannot find at most other sushi places. the 4 different kinds of toro were amazing. only had 3 different kinds of yellowtail and those too were great. arctic char was the best i've ever had. ebi was so good we asked for more. yasuda's fish has the "melt-in-your-mouth effect more than any other sushi place i've been. i'm not sure if it was "too" soft yesterday but i noticed it... i prefer my fish with a little bit more structure and body but my wife was swooning. the 3rd "issue" was i felt his rice to fish ratio was off. a bit too much rice considering how thin the fish is cut. i love his sushi size but yesterday i felt he used too much rice but considering how much pride he has in his warm-rice sushi style maybe that was on purpose. anyway, my wife and i both agreed a little less rice or a thicker fish cut would have been perfect. as usual we were rushed into doing everything as in ordering, finishing appetizers, ordering and re-ordering sake, etc... but by now i'm used to it at yasuda so it wasn't a big deal to me. my wife was a bit put off as it was her first time at yasuda but all in all the service was very prompt and kind. the 2 of us had 1 appetizer, omakase sushi which included about 15 pieces each and 1 roll, and 4 sakes total which came out to $370 including tax and tip. i definetely feel i got my money's worth and would again recommend Sushi Yasuda as one of the TOP 3 Best sushi places in NYC but it wasn't as good as 3 years ago... Thu Dec 02 14:30:15 -0800 2004 0 halo 1 1152592 Thanks for the update. I agree that yasuda is the best- and that is painfully apparent when you try a place like megu. Too bad that Yasuda-san has become even more of a machine. He used to have plenty of time to tell stories. I guess it has finally become more popular. (Surprised me that it was never packed, but I guess the expense, if you want to do it right, mitigates the audience) I used to be a regular so still get decent treatment the few times a year I visit- but I agree it must feel a bit annoying to drop $150+/ head and get shephearded out in 45 minutes! I also feel that all of his pieces start to taste the same after a while... Chico Thu Dec 02 17:00:23 -0800 2004 1152525 0 Chico 1 1152676 Nice report, thanks. Fri Dec 03 09:59:54 -0800 2004 1152525 0 Dave