Long Island Restaurants

Sushi Ya

Co-owners Eric and Kelly Leong of Sushi Ya watch hibachi Chef Chih Ho Wu work his magic. (Newsday photo/Jim Peppler)

Cleavers clank, flames flare, food flies.

It's showtime at Sushi Ya's hibachi table, where it's not uncommon to find wide-eyed children enthralled by the spectacle of chefs wielding knives amid controlled conflagration.

What's appealing to adults is that you don't have to sit at the large communal table to order something from the very appealing hibachi menu. And you can find your pleasure in lots more than just those hibachi specialties.

For starters, get a bowl of salted edamame, soybeans in their pods, which are healthy enough to nibble with abandon until the rest of your meal arrives. A must is the toasted cod marinated in miso sauce, sweet, buttery fish that virtually melts on the tongue. Hamachi kama -- broiled yellowtail collar -- is a flakier fish, delicious in its own way. I especially liked the yaki shrimp, sauteed with a citrusy and light garlic lemon sauce. One evening, the hostess recommended fried soft-shell crab, which was crisp and imbued with a sweet marine flavor.

Another night, that same hostess was particularly helpful in customizing dishes for my husband, who had just embarked upon the South Beach diet. On an earlier visit, I had tried the spicy tuna roll -- done conventionally, with rice -- and it proved exemplary. This time, the sushi chef put together a well-conceived, cucumber- wrapped California roll with chile-spiked spicy yellowtail -- rice-free.

A friend and I shared a sushi and sashimi platter for two, a gorgeous, generous assortment featuring 16 pieces of sashimi, everything glistening; eight pieces of sushi; plus two rolls, spicy salmon and dragon (eel, cucumber and avocado). Another time, the tri-color sashimi platter, composed of salmon, tuna and yellowtail, made for an equally satisfying main course.

If cooked fare is more your style, the hibachi chef does a delectable combination of chicken and shrimp with vegetables, everything infused with the smokiness of the grill. Even without rice, it made for a hugely satisfying dieter's dinner. Another hibachi combination, steak and shrimp, was just as good.

Chicken teriyaki is a dish that, all too often, comes out overcooked and overly sweet. It was neither here. But the chicken and beef negimaki combo had been done to a state of leatheriness. For a taste of this and that, try the bento deluxe, composed of four pieces of sashimi, juicy beef teriyaki, crisp but oily shrimp tempura and -- as is the case in most Japanese restaurants -- ordinary shumai (shrimp dumplings).

On our second visit to Sushi Ya, we were recognized as repeat customers. "Let me put together a special dinner for you," the hostess said, asking about dietary needs and individual preferences. Attentiveness such as this is what wins a new restaurant old friends.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 8/17/04.

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