Fusion Sushi + Funny Friends = Fabulous Times

5Nov2009 Filed under: Food & Wine, Grae News Author: k. parris

I <3 my friends. Really, I do. Only with my friends can I do wings, fries, and beer on Football Mondays, 4-star Continental dining on Tuesdays, McDonalds on a Wednesday, and the restaurant that we throw a dart at in Zagat on a Thursday, and eat in on Fridays, all while having a blast. (Not to say that we eat these things religiously on these particular days of the week…but you get my drift.)

On this particular Thursday night, some of my friends decided to go Japanese and hit up a trendy sushi spot that opened up close to Herald Square and invited me to get out of the rain and join them.

Rain…sushi…rain…sushi…sushi! =o)

The tiny restaurant, called Alpha Fusion, specializes in Asian fusion cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine. Albeit small, the restaurant has a certain je ne sais quoi about it that is reflective of its Asian influences. Due to the fact that it was happy hour, we of course began with the obligatory glasses of wine – Shiraz (or Syrah), a full bodied red with black cherry and plum notes, for me, Pinot Noir, another red with sweet berry accents, for my friend, and Riesling, a sweet, dry white with floral hints, for my other friend. The bartender, very pleasant and accommodating, recommended some of their more popular appetizers, such as the Thai Crispy Crab Cakes with Pineapple Salsa, or the Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Roll with Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce. After a bit of debate, we each decided to order an individual appetizer and split it three ways.

If you’ve never had edamame, you’ve really got to give it a try. As my choice of appetizer, edamame is the soybean plant, picked before completely ripe, either boiled or steamed, and salted with either coarse salt or sea salt. Sounds plain? It is – plain, simple, and utterly delicious – as well as nutritious. Edamame, aside from being considered a protein, contains Omega-3 fatty acids, essential for good cardiovascular health and brain function, amongst many other things. In addition to the edamame, we got the Veggie Mini Rolls with Thai Chili & Honey Lemon Sauce, as well as the Thai Crispy Crab Cakes recommended by our bartender. Everything was so delicious; we almost didn’t make it to the main course. Emphasis on the ‘almost’. LOL.

Now. A bit about sushi. A big misconception about sushi is that it is ‘raw fish’. “Sushi” is actually the Japanese word for ‘rice’ (su being vinegar in Japanese and shi coming from meshi, the Japanese word for rice) – as in the sticky vinegary rice used to roll up your fresh fish and vegetables. What we know now colloquially as ‘sushi’ is a raw or cooked fish or shellfish item, placed with thinly sliced vegetables, wrapped in nori (seaweed), and then in the ‘sushi’ rice. It traditionally in our culture is served with daikon, Japanese radish, wasabi, a strong horseradish based paste, and gari, or pickled ginger. Nowadays, however, restaurants like Alpha Fusion are constantly coming up with ways to step outside the proverbial ‘box’ and change the way sushi and its partner, sashimi, are viewed.

For our entrees, I decided to keep it simple with a twist: a salmon mango roll, a play on the salmon roll, & a crunchy spicy tuna roll, a spicy tuna roll with pieces of tempura batter incorporated. One of my friends played it relatively low key as well with a salmon skin roll. My other friend, however, blew both our minds with this dish below (forgive the lighting), a Spring Blossom roll, which is a spicy tuna, salmon, and yellowtail roll adorned with four different types of caviar. It was. So. So. Good. I wish that I had a more colorful, foodie/chef savvy description for you, but I don’t. It was just good. Really, really good. In fact, all the rolls were good. Really, really good. =o)

The great thing about Alpha Fusion (aside from the yummy sushi and the oh so sensually put-together plates), are the prices. Our bill was significantly lower than expected for three people consuming drinks, appetizers, entrees, and more drinks, less than $150, which, in New York, is amazing. If you ever find yourself craving some sushi (as I do often), then this is the place to do it.

Alpha Fusion is located at 361 West 34^th Street, between 8^th and 9^th Avenues (closer to 9^th Ave). Reservations and specials can be found on their website, www.alpha34.com, or by phone at 212-279-8887.

K. Parris Catering and Personal Chef Service, LLC, is an off-premise catering company specializing in French influenced Caribbean cuisine for the elegant yet trendy urban professional. We offer full service event planning, catering, and personal chef services tailored to family friendly as well as urban chic events. For more information, visit her website at www.kimberlyparris.com.