Lunch Tuesday: Japango
Posted August 3, 2010 7:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Eating at Japango is a cramped experience.
The lineup at the Elizabeth Street restaurant stretches out the narrow door and onto the sidewalk. To sit down, our server pulls out the table so I can scoot onto the bench, then slides it back in so she can walk almost comfortably between the chairs and the sushi counter.
Still, it’s worth it for the fish.
The lunch specials are rarely the same – that is, you decide if you want sushi or sashimi, and how much, and everything else is up to the chef. The combinations often include standard fare like salmon and tuna, but unlike standard fare elsewhere, at Japango, they taste like salmon and tuna.
On a recent visit, the sashimi lunch ($11.99) also included fluke and lightly torched butterfish. The texture lived up to its name and grilling imparted a welcome smoky taste.
The rice came in a mound like ice cream or mashed potatoes at summer camp, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and the pickled ginger is pale yellow, not overtly, glaringly, pink from dye.
The sushi lunch ($16.99) included the same fish as well as a California maki. The maki, like the fish, is chef’s choice. Both meals came with soup and salad, which were no different from the dozens of soup and salad offerings at other sushi joints.
The servers are difficult to flag down but friendly and helpful, and reservations are strongly recommended – the 20-seat restaurant fills up fast.
Indeed, it’s not the place for private conversation. Not only could I tell what book the woman sitting next to me was reading, I could have read right along with her. Two tables over, a lengthy debate about sake had me wishing I had ordered some.
No website – call 416-599-5557.
