Whole Foods has now arrived in the LES, and on a recent Saturday afternoon, the place was packed with yuppies and hipsters alike scouring the aisles for just the right couscous salad to pair with their sesame-crusted salmon. For those with time to sit, there’s Sushiya, a kaiten sushi bar in a light-flooded space upstairs with a view of Second Avenue. All the rage in Tokyo, kaiten (meaning, conveyor-belt) sushi is a relative novelty in NYC. For neophytes, the concept goes as follows: Chefs behind the counter prepare a continuous selection of 100 sushi and dim sum samplers, stick them with color-coded toothpicks to denote freshness and place them on a rotating belt. Pricing is also color-coded: Red plates ($2.75) are cheapest, and include a modest heap of edamame, a seaweed salad or half a California roll. From there, pink, yellow, green and purple plates ($3.25-$5.00) include progressively more elaborate variations on standard sushi fare.
Sushiya will never satisfy true sushi snobs, but the dishes are creatively composed: seared salmon temari with ribbons of mayo and a single caper on top; sliced prawn negiri with a leaf of baby spinach and a sprinkle of blueberries; ikura temari topped with watercress and a shower of brilliant orange roe. It’ll cost you more than pizza, but it’s difficult to argue that the extra few bucks aren’t worth it.
Sushiya, 95 E. Houston St. (at Bowery), 212-420-1320
