Japanese restaurant swims against the tide in Korean-accented Leonia

The Sashimi Lunch at Hashi Sushi & BBQ, soon to be renamed Nakahara Sushi by Chef Fujio Nakahara.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I was both right and wrong when I thought "a new Japanese restaurant" in Leonia a friend mentioned was just another Korean-owned and operated storefront.

After all, that small Bergen County town has experienced the same dramatic changes seen in neighboring Palisades Park and Fort Lee, due to a large number of South Korean immigrants in the last few decades.

Well, Hashi Sushi & BBQ on Broad Avenue is Korean-owned, but the Japanese chef who prepares the wonderful sushi and sashimi, Fujio Nakahara, is poised to become the new owner in about 10 days.

He'll also be changing the name to Nakahara Sushi.

Chef Fujio Nakahara.

Yakiniku and omakase

The chef will continue to offer yakiniku -- Japanese for grilled meat -- including fatty wagyu beef, filet mignon and other prime cuts.

The intensely marbled wagyu is priced at $100 for 2 people and $200 for 4.

The menu also offers omakase, the chef's choice of five to 10 courses of fresh fish and seafood, priced from $60 to $100 a person with a minimum of two orders.

Omakase sushi starts at $40.

Of course, we were there for lunch, and I got what I wanted: 

Great shashimi (slices of raw fish) with pungent wasabi, a small bowl of miso soup, another of rice and several cups of hot tea ($15).

When we arrived after 1 on Thursday afternoon, only one other table was occupied, so we had the full attention of one of the servers.

I also liked the soundtrack of modern jazz.

My friend ordered the Sushi Mini Udon Combo from the lunch menu ($15), above and below.

From the dessert menu, my friend ordered Matcha Mousse ($6).

Some of the tables in the dining room have grills that use charcoal, above and below.

Hashi Sushi & BBQ opened last January. The name will change to Nakahara Sushi at the end of this month.

Details

Hashi Sushi & BBQ, 299 Broad Ave., Leonia; 201-482-4358. BYO, closed Mondays, free parking on street or in a nearby municipal lot.

Open for lunch Tuesdays to Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Call for weekend hours.

Hashi Sushi & BBQ also has a Facebook page.

Icelandic Wolffish with Jersey corn, fresh tomatoes and ripe peaches

Icelandic Wolffish, one of the ugliest creatures in the sea, yields sweet, flaky fillets, which I baked with Jersey corn, fresh tomatoes, ripe white peaches, fresh spinach and grated reduced-fat cheese.

I assembled all the ingredients in a large pan lined with parchment paper, then popped the Wolffish Medley into a preheated 400-degree oven. Dinner for three was served in about 15 minutes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whenever I'm in Closter, I drop into The Fish Dock to try another unfamiliar fish from Iceland.

I've eaten fresh, wild-caught Icelandic cod and haddock for years, thanks to Costco Wholesale.

But tusk, ling and wolffish are three others I've never eaten.

On Tuesday, I bought just under a pound of fresh wolffish fillets to prepare at home as a medley -- a dish of seafood and vegetables modeled on the one you can buy at The Fish Dock and pop into a preheated oven.

The one I made at home included kernels shaved off an ear of corn, fresh spinach drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a little salt; ripe white peaches I grilled for a few minutes on the stove top before cutting them up and adding them to the pan; and fresh lime juice and Aleppo red pepper over the fish.

You also can add pitted olives, mushrooms, thinly sliced eggplant or other vegetables.

The Atlantic Wolffish is also known as the Atlantic Catfish. Only the Monkfish is uglier.

Details

The Fish Dock, 219A Closter Dock Road, Closter; 201-564-7939. Website: The Fish Dock

On Facebook: 

Fish from the pristine waters of Iceland

For the medley I made at home, I cut up The Fish Dock's wolffish fillets into smaller pieces.

On Tuesday, the seafood market also offered a ready to cook Haddock Medley with Spinach, Tomato and Feta Cheese; a Cod and Salmon Fish and Vegetable Medley; and Ling fillets in a Sweet & Spicy Thai Marinade.

I had leftovers of my homemade Wolffish Medley over organic brown rice with organic tomatoes, organic red kidney beans and peeled garlic cloves, all prepared in an electric cooker.

Chef Ji says she couldn't handle two jobs

Image via Wikipedia

Sysco Corp. calls itself a global leader in distributing food to restaurants.

From Chef Ji Cha's Facebook page:

"We are sorry to say, but we are closed! I work for Sysco Foods Metro NY and I cannot handle both. If you need anything let me know. Many hugs to my fans and thank you for your support."

Chef Ji posted that message Feb. 2, 2011.

However, Moon Jar remains open for dinner only, though it is no longer called Chef Ji's Moon Jar and the food is mostly traditional Korean.

Chef Ji held down her day job while managing the Fort Lee restaurant, where she conceived the imaginative Korean-fusion menu and worked in the kitchen. 

In an e-mail, she cited another reason for leaving: She no longer saw eye-to-eye with investors.

She got two stars from Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung on Nov. 5, 2010, in The Record of Woodland Park.

Ung recommended Chef Ji's Korean sliders, bacon-wrapped scallops, spicy crispy dumplings, Asian wings and sake miso-marinated sea bass.

See earlier post, Chef Ji leaves Moon Jar in Fort Lee