Serious about sushi By Vicki G. Marshall and Margaret M. Toohey “The memo has footnotes. It has exhibits. It is crisp and professional and is written on stationery of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, one of New York’s elite law firms. Indeed, it is the hottest law firm memo around town, but it is not about Enron, Tyco, or any corporate scandal. It was not even written by a lawyer. It is the sushi memo, and here is its story. A Paul Weiss partner, Kelley D. Parker, apparently received a subpar order of takeout sushi. So, according to the memo, she asked a paralegal to research local sushi restaurants. The paralegal took to the task aggressively, interviewing lawyers and staff members at the firm, reading online and Zagat Survey reviews, and producing a three-page opus with eight footnotes and two exhibits (two sets of menus). The memo concludes by expressing the hope that Ms. Parker will now be able to choose ‘the restaurant from which your dinner will be ordered on a going-forward basis.’’’ —New York Times, October 22, 2003 Though our sushi research will probably never rise to that level, the Foodies are slowly but surely becoming aficionados, and when we learned through a friend about the opening of the Sea Bar in Williamsville, with the celebrated and much respected Mike Andrzejewski (former owner and chef at Tsunami; Spree, May 2006) at the helm, we immediately made plans to go. We were joined by sushi expert David Brock and his wife Marilyn, and using David’s knowledge and experience of both the Sea Bar and sushi, we had one of our more memorable meals. The Sea Bar offers composed plates such as seafood tacos—fish, avocado, salsa, and herbs in a crunchy shell; Japanese salad—greens, seaweed, veggies, and crunchy noodles with ginger miso vinaigrette, along with their versions of nigri/sashimi and maki. The specials that night were intriguing enough for Margy to order the avocado shrimp (a superb delicate mousse punctuated with black sesame seeds) and for David and Vicki to order the udon noodle soup (a richly flavored mushroom broth filled with udon noodles, napa cabbage, and scallions). David suggested in advance that we had to end the meal with an “astounding dish” on the menu, but before we could get to it, we shared plates of crab mango (citrus herb sauce in mame nori), Best Spicy Tuna (outstanding and deserving of the “best” description), BBQ salmon (salmon, smoked salmon, avo, chili barbecue sauce), and crispy scallops, a special that night. Each dish was delicately but outstandingly flavored with perfect proportions of rice to fish and delightfully flavored sauces. We also enjoyed a wonderful wine that David had personally tried, an Austrian Gruner Veiltliner, from Hofer ($29), perfect with the meal, and coincidentally featured on the Today Show the very next week as one of four outstanding wines to look for. Then came the finale. David had raved about this dish, and with just cause. The beef on weck was a true reflection of the contemporary cuisine of the Sea Bar. The dish included small bits of roast beef, wrapped in rice, wrapped in a micro thin slice of rare roast beef with caraway seeds and kosher salt sprinkled in and on the pieces. We then dipped them in a delicately flavored horseradish sauce. The ultimate, traditional Western New York dish in a sushi bar? We were speechless. It was that good. The Sea Bar has a pleasant décor with a marble stand-up or sit-down counter. A lovely collection of blue glass sculptures lends a cool touch to the surroundings. An open kitchen reveals Mike A., working with an assistant. It’s great to have him back in the restaurant scene. The Sea Bar offers a full take-out menu; to enjoy a wonderful meal on site, calling ahead for reservations would be worth a try, although they were not taking them when we were there. Sea Bar 5235 Main St., Williamsville 204-5283 Vicki A. Marshall (goya@adelphia.net) is a graphic designer. Margaret M. Toohey (mtoohey@lewistoninsurance.com) is CEO and owner of the Lewiston Insurance Agency. Visit the Foodies online at www.foodiestalk.blogspot.com. Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top