From Maeda To Chiyoda

The space at 16 East 41st Street used to be a venerable, extremely pricey sushi bar called Maeda. Sometimes I would walk by, but in the interest of preserving my wallet, I'd head into Cafe Zaiya instead.

Now, Cafe Zaiya is a wonderful place if you want a quick Japanese lunch, but... dare I say, the new Chiyoda (formerly Maeda) right next door is... much better. I found this out yesterday, when I walked past Cafe Zaiya, looking for Maeda! Instead, I saw a spotless, attractive take-out/eat-in operation that seemed straight out of Tokyo. As I admired the salmon-mentaiko onigiri, ginger-topped saury sushi, and seared salmon sushi decorated with little lemon slices, something seemed familiar to me. The only place in NYC where I'd previously found such high-quality take-out sushi was the Katagiri grocery. Could this be the same sushi?

Indeed, it was! Apparently, Katagiri's sushi source has opened its first stand-alone outpost in New York. But Chiyoda offers a lot more than just sushi. There are luscious daily cooked specials like chicken namban and a salmon in a shiitake butter sauce, there are noodle soups and oden, there are intriguing salads like pumpkin raisin walnut and seaweed chicken, and desserts such as black sesame pudding. And there's a reason for the authenticity of Chiyoda: it already has over 250 stores in Japan.

Chiyoda Sushi New York: 16 East 41st St., (212) 400-8880. One small note: Although there's a CASH ONLY sign on the register, if you are a glutton like me and order over $15 worth of food, you can charge up that credit card.