* (1 stars)

Many people think this is the best sushi in New York. I don’t get it. Most restaurants I’ve been to serve better sushi.

“Omakase” is where you put yourself in the chef’s hands and multiple specialties are served. I’ve had it in some highly regarded restaurants in Los Angeles. At one, special delicacies were flown in daily from Tokyo (they later were put out of business for selling endangered species). At another, plate after plate of tiny tastes were served, with each thoughtful ingredient contributing to an almost life-changing wonderment.

Not at Sushi Yasuda. Here, the omakase showed up as a platter of sashimi looking like it was cut up by an axe murderer. Nearly every fish had the soft, mealy texture of near-pudding, and it was all uniformly flavorless. Then a platter of sushi showed up. Same fish, now on crumbly rice. The final plate was a piece of eel sushi, also mealy. How do you even make eel mealy? At $357 for three, the biggest dining disappointment ever.

Sushi Yasuda
204 E 43rd St
New York, NY 10017
(212) 972-1001
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-yasuda-new-york