Edison, NJ — Ichi Umi

Ichi Umi 352 Menlo Park Dr Edison, NJ

732.906.2370 website map

Sushi and Buffet are 2 words that rarely go together. However, this week in New Jersey, I took the recommendation of some colleagues and had dinner at Ichi Umi. Ichi Umi is a large Japanese buffet restaurant. The atmosphere is upscale and the decor is modern and clean.

When I arrived at Ichi Umi, it was late in the evening but the selection on the buffet was good. I started with some sushi and sashimi along with raw oysters. The fish I had ranged in quality from good to very good. I especially liked the yellow tail nigiri.The oysters were also good, a nice touch.

When I went back to the buffet, I tried a variety of cooked food. I think this is the first time that I have ever had jellyfish, it reminded me of eating sea cucumber — very tasty. They also had a variety of seaweeds and cooked fish and shrimp choices.

Ichi Umi suprised me — next time I am in the neighborhood, I will be back.

Ichi Umi 3 rice bowls

Cherry Hill, NJ — Mikado

Mikado 2230 Marlton Pike Cherry Hill, NJ

856.665.4411 website map

When I asked my colleagues in New Jersey, where to go sushi, they all said Philadelphia. After pressing them for local recommendations, someone suggested Mikado. I did a web search and found that Mikado is a small chain of sushi/hibachi restaurants. I looked for the one closest to the office and found the Cherry Hill location.As a bonus, the Cherry Hill restaurant did not have a hibachi section so the focus was certain to be on the sushi.

Mikado is a large restaurant, nicely decorated inside. I decided to sit at a table so I would have room to spread out and read my book. I asked for hot tea and sat down with the extensive menu. In addition to the regular menu there were specials and two pages printed front and back of special rolls!

When my tea arrived, the waitress brought me a dish with some pickled daikon (I think). It took me a while to decide. Unfortunately, all of the special rolls that looked interesting to me had spicy tuna on them. After much debate, I settled on a deluxe sashimi combo and a Philadelphia roll. The combo came with a choice of Miso soup or salad and I chose the salad.

The Philadelphia roll was quite good, Mikado is in the Philly suburbs after all! ALl of the sashimi was fresh and tasty.

Everything at Mikado was good — I'll be back.

Mikado 4 rice bowls

Martinsville, NJ — Aoyama

Aoyama 1982 Washington Valley Rd. Martinsville, NJ

732.271.2558 website map

The Martinsville, New Jersey area is full of interesting back roads and huge homes. In the fall the trees are ablaze with color. There are several little shops and restaurants hidden in the hollows. Aoyama is tucked away into a little strip mall in a busy corner in the woods. I found Aoyama by chance while I was driving to a nearby White Castle. The next day I stopped in at lunch to give it a try.

Aoyama is a very clean modern looking Japanese restaurant in a corner storefront in a strip mall. I ordered a sashimi lunch combo with Miso soup and a salad. All of the fish was decent quality but nothing was outstanding. Since Aoyama is close to my company's New Jersey office, I will make it a regular stop.

Aoyama 3 rice bowls

Bridgewater, NJ — Sushi House

Sushi House 1341 Prince Rodgers Ave Bridgewater, NJ

908.252.9948  map

When I think of New Jersey, my first thoughts are not of sushi. I was on my way to a Thai restaurant and enjoying the incredible fall colors . (Here is a photo I took near Sushi House)  The Thai place was busy and since I had been taking photos I was short on time. I saw Sushi House next door and decided to have sashimi for lunch.

I ordered the lunch sashimi combo. It came with Miso soup and a small salad. The fish was good quality and the selection excellent. I found the snapper to be especially tasty.

While Sushi House is not the best sushi place I have ever visited — it wasn't bad either. Since it is located near my company's New Jersey offices, I will make it a regular stop.

Sushi House: 3 rice bowls

Bernardsville, NJ — Tsuki Jaoanese Restaurant

Tsuki Japanese Resturant 23 Mine Brook Road Bernardsville, NJ

908.953.0450 map

I had been anticipating a visit to Tsuki for a couple of days. Looking at Internet review sights, Tsuki got consitently good reviews. Some reviewers even called it the best sushi in New Jersey. I just had to give it a try.

WhenI I got to Tsuki I recognized the neighborhood. Tsuki is located in Bernardsville, NJ in the midst of several upscale restaurants and shops. It is practically next door to the Bernards Inn with its excellent dining room.

Walking in to Tsuki, my first impression was that the decor needes upgradiing. The booths had tall wooden backs that provided extra privacy. I thought the combinationof the wooden booths and bare walls made the restaurant very noisy. I did appreciate the lighting since as usual I was reading a book.

The specials board had a pretty good selection but I didin't see anything I liked. I ordered a sashimi combo, gyoza and a Philadelphia roll. The gyoza was excellent. The Phily roll was rather plain, just smoked salmon and cream cheese — personally, I prefer a little avocado in it.

I have to say I was disappointed in the sashimi combo. The mackeral was excellent but the portion was tiny. Overall I think that all the portions were small. The tuna was good but the other fish were just adequate. In the end I have no real complaints about Tsuki.

Tsuki Japanese Restaurant 3 rice bowls

Collingswood, NJ — Sagami

Sagami Japanese Restaurant 37 Crescent Blvd. Collingswood, NJ

(856) 854-9773 map

I had a difficult time trying to find a sushi place in South Jersey. I used the in car GPS in my rental car and on three subsequent nights I ended up at sushi places that had gone out of business. I was nearly ready to give up when a colleague recommended Sagami. When I did some searches I discovered that Sagami gets very good reviews. Collingswood, New Jersey is a Philadelphia suburb and it has even one some Best of Philly awards for sushi or Japanese cuisine.

Sagami is difficult to find. It is located in an old building on busy Route 130. The parking lot comes up quickly and if you are not careful you will miss it. When I entered the restaurant it looked lake an old pizza place from the 1970s. Lots of dark stained pine and very dark. Sushi Pilgrim generally does not give points for trendiness but this was the opposite.

The Best of Philly review (Sagami was the 2004 winner for Japanese food) notes:

... some of the region's best sushi -- pristine, without showy multi-ingredient maki to overshadow the fish ...

Translated, this means that Sagami has a pretty lame menu. As I perused the menu I noted its lack of selection. There were no specials and the menu had few choices. I ordered a sashimi combination.

The fish was decent, I really have no complaints. What I failed to see was how Sagami ranks so highly in other reviews. Perhaps I have been spoiled by spending so much time in West Coast sushi bars.

Below average ambience, average service, average quality, Sagami was pretty average all around.

Sagami: 3 rice bowls