Review: Yamaguchi in Port Washington
Octopus in vinegar sauce at Yamaguchi in Port Washington. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
There’s nothing fancy about Port Washington’s oldest sushi spot, opened by Akira and Yasuko Yamaguchi in 1988. Then, it was one of very few sushi bars on Long Island; but now Yamaguchi is one of several within a three-block radius. That said, not only does it stick to its traditional guns in the face of fusion and ever-more-elaborate maki rolls, it continues to excel.
The room is spare, black tables and chairs with Japanese Shoji screens partitioning the room, and that’s just fine, because the emphasis here is squarely on the fish: hopping fresh and simply prepared.
Ask what the chefs recommend on any given day; fluke usuzukuri, or thinly sliced with ponzu sauce, squid with cod roe, and salmon roe with grated yam are perpetual standouts. Sashimi and sushi includes the usual suspects, but also mirugai (giant clams), awabi (abalone) and uni (sea urchin) that deliver a briny wallop. Rolls are standard affair — bearing none of the bells and whistles of rolls at nearby spots like Tiga and Hana — but they are excellent, especially the fluke and ponzu, which riffs off the usuzukuri. The omakase is a standout.
Yamaguchi’s kitchen specializes in homestyle dishes such as chawanmushi, a delicate savory custard steamed in a special porcelain cup, as well as starters drawn from the izakaya (bar snack) tradition, which include fried or chilled tofu, buckwheat soba with grated yam, ebi shinjo (fried shrimp patties) and nasu hasami age (fried eggplant stuffed here with crabmeat). Warm your belly with over a dozen noodle dishes and soba and udon soups. Wash it down with a selection of wines, sakes, and Japanese beers like Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi.
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A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
