When it comes to sushi, New Yorkers are known for seeking out new and noteworthy options, be it high-end restaurants that specialize in tasting menus with many types of fish or quick-service ones that keep those spicy tuna rolls coming.
Now, the latest thing in sushi has nothing to do with seafood. These days, it is all about the beef.
More restaurants in the city are featuring a meaty take on the Japanese dish—specifically in the form of wagyu, the pricey, highly marbled variety of Japanese cattle, combined with sushi rice. The item can be offered different ways—as the traditional nigiri with a thin slice of beef atop a ball of rice, or as a roll that incorporates the wagyu. Some enterprising chefs take the concept to a richly flavored extreme by combining the beef with uni (sea urchin) and/or toro (the fatty part of tuna).
The cost isn’t cheap, though it is certainly less expensive than ordering a wagyu steak, which can easily top $100 at dining establishments. At Sushi on Jones, the enterprising Japanese restaurant with Manhattan locations currently open in the West Village and at the Gotham West Market in Hell’s Kitchen, prices start at $15 for a single piece of beef sushi. And at Sushi Muse, a delivery and takeout service created by chef Hiroki Odo of the Michelin-starred Odo restaurant in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, bento-style boxes with the beef sushi as the highlight range from $41 to $90.
Still, restaurant operators say they are seeing demand for the dish.
“People love it,” said Jack Wu, owner of Wagyu Social, a newly opened restaurant in East Midtown Manhattan. Mr. Wu features an eight-piece assortment of wagyu sushi, with the option of having the beef raw or seared, for $65. Other restaurants generally offer the wagyu lightly cooked.
Mr. Wu said the appeal is the beef, of course—“It melts in your mouth”—but the vinegared rice helps cut the richness for a complete taste sensation.
Those who are connected to the city’s Japanese dining scene said the trend for meat sushi—or niku sushi, as it is referred to in Japanese on some menus—indeed speaks to the constant demand among sushi-savvy New Yorkers for innovation. But it also reflects how sushi restaurants and other Japanese places in the city try to stay ahead of each other with new or different offerings.
“The sushi market is one of the most competitive markets in New York. Each restaurant has to stand out,” said Jun Sakai, director of operations at J-Spec, a recently opened dining spot in Manhattan’s East Village that specializes in Japanese wagyu and offers beef sushi.
At the same time, the trend reflects increased interest in wagyu, which is sometimes best known for the type that comes from the Japanese city of Kobe, though the beef can be sourced from other parts of the Asian country. There is American wagyu as well, but many Japanese restaurants in New York opt for the imported version.
J-Spec’s wagyu, uni and caviar hand rolls. The restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village specializes in wagyu.
Photo: J-SpecNew York isn’t entirely alone in offering meat sushi. Some culinary observers noted the trend has already been building over the last few years in Japan. Even in the Big Apple, there have been chefs highlighting this different take on sushi for some time. For example, Masayoshi Takayama, who is behind the Michelin-starred Masa at the Shops at Columbus Circle, has featured it since the restaurant’s opening in 2004.
Mr. Takayama still has it available on request, according to a restaurant spokeswoman. And he offers foie gras sushi as another non-seafood option.
Still, some of those who delight in all things beef say a good piece of meat, especially if it is Japanese wagyu, is best enjoyed on its own. Count Cameron Hughes, founder of Holy Grail Steak Co., a mail-order company that specializes in wagyu, among them.
Mr. Hughes said he is happy to sell his beef to anyone who wants to pair it with sushi rice. But it isn’t his preference.
“As a purist, I do not see the need for it to be adulterated,” he said.
Write to Charles Passy at cpassy@wsj.com
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The Link LonkJanuary 29, 2021 at 04:39AM
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Where’s the Beef? It’s at Your Sushi Place. - The Wall Street Journal
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