It is What It Is

The much anticipated Blue Ribbon Sushi finally opened in early November, though not, as far as I could tell, during the first week, as New York magazine had reported.

The menu offered the usual sushi dishes, but also had fried chicken on the menu. Feeling somewhat nostalgic for home, I was very excited about finding a restaurant that offered Japanese friend chicken. Blue Ribbon went to the top of my list.

The first time I stepped in, the only seats available right away were at the sushi bar. To order fried chicken at the bar felt like it'd be a grave insult to the four chefs and four assistants behind the glass display case, so I went the other way instead, entrusting myself to the chef with a request to "Omakase onigaishimasu."

The server suggested I go for better quality, rather than more pieces. For those with an open mind and palate, do what the server asks. I ate fish I'd never had before, artfully placed on a plate decorated with the fish skeleton, head still on, pinned to look as though the fish was preparing to leap out of water.

Though the server was careful to point out every type of fish on the tray, I can't remember the names — most of them, named in Japanese and English, I'd never heard before.

Suffice it to say that salmon was not on the plate. The only slices of tuna were otoro, the fattiest cut of tuna belly that melted on the tongue. Several slices of one fish still had the skin on, but there was not a scale on it, and the skin was perfectly intact.

As with most good sushi places in New York, Blue Ribbon is not cheap. And it's probably made more expensive for being inside a Thompson Hotel. But some things are worth it.

However, do not have the fried chicken. It only made me long for the juicy, tempura battered pieces of boneless dark meat I could get for about $7 a box at the Mitsuwa Marketplaces in L.A.

The wing, thigh, leg and breast pieces (bone in, which is fine) were wrapped in a spicy breaded coating rather than a batter (I prefer batter) and disappointed with a flavorless, unsalted — and in the case of the breast, very dry — chicken inside. The order comes with a small dish of wasabi honey, which I'm guessing is made with slightly watered down honey mixed with wasabi powder. For those who like wasabi, this is the highlight of the dish.

The staff on both occasions was very attentive, efficient and friendly. If you're on the Upper West Side with a hankering for raw fish, Blue Ribbon Sushi is worth a stop. For the Japanese fried chicken of my L.A. years, though, I'm looking elsewhere.