Category: Japanese

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseNew MexicoSushi

Neko Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In 1968, Mexico City played witness to one of the most overt and controversial political statements ever issued during the modern Olympic Games when African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos extended their right arms upward and clenched their gloved fists in a black power salute. During our inaugural visit to Neko Sushi in the Sun Country Plaza, we couldn’t help but remember the famous civil rights protest when we espied two ceramic Maneki Neko (beckoning cat) figurines on a shelf. The Maneki Neko, a common Japanese sculpture believed to give its owner good luck, depicts a cat beckoning with an upright raised paw (which supposedly attracts money). The pose is eerily and innocently similar to that of Tommie…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Taka Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by its exterior facade…or even its interior for that matter A good example of this is Taka Sushi, a venerable Japanese restaurant on the city’s southeast quadrant. From the outside, Taka Sushi lacks the polish and veneer of its competitors, appearing more like a remnant of the 1960s with dated paint and austere signage. It isn’t much better when you step inside. Clutter (or “casual and homey” as Scott Sharot called it in his terrific tome New Mexico Chow), not feng shui, seems to define the restaurant’s decorating style. Leave the spit and polish to trend followers who are impressed with over-the-top flamboyance (can you…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Eurasia Bistro & Sushi Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In an ideal world, the culinary connotation of the term “Eurasia” would be a fusion of the distinct cuisines of both continents available all under one roof under which culinary adventurers would be like Venetian explorer Marco Polo tasting all the Silk Road has to offer. We should have realized that while the continents of Europe and Asia may be connected as a land mass (certainly not geopolitically), an Albuquerque restaurant featuring the cuisine of both continents is still far too novel a concept. While Eurasia turned out to be a misnomer, this contemporary Japanese restaurant may turn out to be one of the better, albeit more expensive restaurants launched in 2005. Situated on the site of the now defunct…

AlbuquerqueJapanese

Azuma Sushi & Teppan – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

Unfulfilled promise, unrealized potential, what should have been, what could have been–these are among the most tragic sentiments of any vernacular. For the most part, those were also the sentiments echoing through our minds while and after we dined in one of the Duke City’s most serene and attractive Japanese restaurant settings. We should have known better. Azuma is owned by the same gentleman who owns Albuquerque’s two China Star buffets, the Sam’s Club (with apologies to the Walton family) of Chinese buffets. China Star features sprawling troughs of nearly every conceivable Chinese food item in existence at a ridiculously low price that speaks volumes about the quality of the food. Azuma is “eye candy,” a beautiful establishment that may…

AlbuquerqueJapaneseSushi

Shogun Japanese Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno

It stands to reason that what is conceivably one of Albuquerque’s best sushi restaurants is named for the Shogun, the title accorded the supreme ruler of Japan for about eight centuries. What most people may not realize, however, is that sushi originated in China as a method to preserve fish by pickling and fermentation. Sushi, as we know it today, began to take form in the 18th century Japan when seafood vendors wrapped fish with seaweed and rice as an edible and decorative package which ultimately evolved into the roll (maki) style. The nigiri style, consisting of a piece of fish on a bed of rice, originated in Tokyo sometime later. Sushi’s integration into the American culture began in the…