Like many people, Sushi is one of those things that at first scared me, with concerns of food poisoning and such. But since it was an important part of Japanese culture I decided to try it anyway, and have been a huge fan since.
Sushi is now available almost everywhere these days, from Chinese restaurants to Whole Foods Market and even Publix. Of course the best Sushi usually comes from real Japanese restaurants – and by that I mean those where the Sushi is prepared by an actual Japanese person. Sure, strictly speaking, anyone with fresh ingredients and the right preparation techniques can make great tasking Sushi, but I’ve noticed if the chef is Japanese the odds are much higher you’re going to be delighted by the flavor.
In places with a relatively high Japanese population like parts of New York or California, there is surely hundreds of restaurants owned and operated by native Japanese, but in South Florida (especially Coral Springs and the surrounding areas) it’s very difficult to find one.
Nu Sushi is a unique gem with two Japanese Sushi chefs (板前さん) who make excellent Sushi. Their ingredients’ color, texture, odor (no trace of fishiness), and overall taste are all amazing, and I’ve never had better tasting sushi. We’ve tried the following dishes:
- JB Tempura roll
- JB roll
- Tuna roll
- Ikura (salmon eggs)
- Tempura Udon
- Chirashi sushi (salmon, tuna, and other sashimi (刺身）topping a bed of rice)
With the exception of the Udon, whose broth left something to be desired, these were all excellent, reasonably priced, and I highly recommend them. The only other thing that I am not a huge fan of there is the noodles in soy sauce broth that come a the beginning of the meal.
The waitresses we have seen there don’t seem to be Japanese, but they are very polite and always friendly. Another nice thing about this restaurant is it stays pure to Japanese cuisine, with no dishes from other Asian culture. Their early bird specials are an inexpensive way to get two full rolls with some extras (gyoza, salad, miso soup, etc.)
Their main sushi chef and owner, Yuji (shown in picture), is an extremely nice guy who knows how to speak small talk with customers without being nosy or annoying. I had a brief conversation with him in Japanese, and discovered Nu Sushi had been around for over 20 years which is a testament to its quality and good service.
When I asked the meaning behind the name “Nu” (which doesn’t particularly sound Japanese), he gave a surprising answer which immediately made sense. The road the restaurant is on is North University road, hence “NU”.
1312 N. University Drive
Coral Springs, FL 33065
Tel. (954) 755-5211
References
http://nu-sushi.com/index-menuid=30.php.html
http://nu-sushi.com/index-menuid=20.php.html
The featured image Nu Sushi’s kitchen was taken from google, via the following link: https://www.google.com/maps/preview/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x88d90514a3137a9b:0xc608909e2476c6b7!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttps://plus.google.com/102018853468150543738/photos?hl%3Den%26socfid%3Dweb:lu:kp:placepageimage%26socpid%3D1!5snu-sushi+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ei=SOM-U53XH8HLsQTi2YGQDg&ved=0CJEBEKIqMAs