It has been many years since I’ve been to Blue Ribbon Sushi, so I thought it time to make another visit and write something up.  It was Sunday night, 9/11/11 and things were pretty quiet in the city.  After having some OK snacks at The Dutch, my friend Paula and I decided to bail and see if we could walk into Blue Ribbon without a reservation.  It worked, no problem.

We had a relatively simple menu, but everything was perfect.  Of course the $70 bottle of Denshu Tokubetsu Saki they talked us into didn’t hurt the situation!    We started with a light cold appetizer Oshitashi Horenso, which were rolls made of spinach, napa cabbage and dashi.  It was light, refreshing and healthy.  We followed with an order of rock shrimp tempura, a dish we try absolutely everywhere.  After having 10 different versions over the years, it was nice to enjoy what I felt was a traditional preparation.  In terms of the tempura, that’s pretty standard.  But the wasabi sauce and especially the daikon oroshi made this one stand apart.  I am not saying it is my favorite.  That honor belongs to Morimoto.

Next we did  a couple of rolls and pieces of sushi.   We had the spicy tuna with tempura flakes, the himachi and enoki mushrooms and 2 pieces of salmon.  Overall, perfect sushi as we would expect.  We really liked the flavor on the spicy tuna and the tempura flakes add a nice texture. As I said, our menu was simple, so it is hard to judge.  The prices were quite reasonable really (without the sake).  I can say we had a great time and got toasted.  So that alone would bring me back again and again.  Next time I won’t wait so long between visits.  This has inspired a complete Blue Ribbon re-introduction tour.    Next stop will be the original.

4/15/2013

Also check out our write up of Blue Ribbon Bakery Kitchen and Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya, the LES sushi location.  It is far larger than Blue Ribbon Sushi and has outdoor seating in the summer which is fabulous.

 http://www.blueribbonrestaurants.com/rests_sushi_man_main.htm
119 Sullivan St. – Soho