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Kuni’s To Go
By Alan Bedenko
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Sushi delights from the new Kuni’s.
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I am by no means a sushi cognoscente. With that admission out of the way, I still contend that Kuni Sato makes the best damn sushi I have ever eaten, anywhere. Most likely, it’s the best you’ll ever eat, too.
Formerly ensconced in the Elmwood space that now houses Kibarashi, Kuni Sato’s sushi-making magic used to make people gush. In November 2005, Kuni’s closed, much to the chagrin of a town that is better known for wings than wasabi. Sato said he needed a break.
Break over.
Down the street and around the corner at 226 Lexington Avenue, Sato opened Kuni’s To Go in November 2006. The best sushi you’ll ever eat is a phone call away. As the name implies, this is a to-go shop. There is no seating.
By visiting www.kunistogo.com, you can download a menu in .pdf format, print it out, fill in what you want, and fax it in. You can also phone your order in, and it will be ready for pick up within the hour. The décor is somewhat less than relevant, since you won’t be dining there, just waiting for your take-out order. It is, however, gorgeous: simple and modern with lots of light wood tones. You can peruse some free periodicals while browsing the unreadable Japanese brands of tea, soy sauce, and desserts. In the corner stands a soothing little water fountain with bonsai trees.
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Suburbanites who scoff at the idea of battling Elmwood traffic to get take-out before the remainder of the slog home should remember that sushi doesn’t have to be kept cool during the time it would take an average Western New Yorker to get home, nor does it have to be re-heated once you get there. Keep it at room (car?) temperature for the duration of the ride, and you’re good to go.
There are sushi and sashimi combos from which to select, but you can also grab food by the piece or by the roll. You can opt for a piece with or without the bed of rice. A piece of what, you ask? Try the yellow tail, which is succulent and tender; I prefer it with the rice, as sashimi. The shrimp is boiled, served with a thin layer of spicy wasabi horseradish.
The rolls, for me, are where it’s at, though. There are standard rolls (maki) and inside-out rolls (uramaki). The spicy tuna roll is a straight maki, consisting of raw tuna in a spicy mayonnaise-type sauce tightly wrapped in rice and nori (the dark substance often mistaken for seaweed). Don’t let the small size of this roll fool you—when you bite into it, there is practically an explosion of flavor.
The eel and avocado roll is an uramaki. It features an exterior layer of rice, nori, an interior layer of rice, eel in sweet sauce, and unimaginably thin slices of rich avocado. This selection is all about mouthfeel: the buttery texture of the avocado is well balanced with the smoky-sweet eel and the rice.
The California roll, another uramaki, features cucumber, crab, and rice, and can be ordered with or without an exterior sprinkling of flying fish eggs, or “tobiko.” Kuni’s version is delicate and soft, bursting with flavor and extremely satisfying.
You can also order a delectable, savory miso soup with big chunks of tofu, and a variety of salads. All orders come with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce together with chopsticks and napkins—everything you need for an amazing culinary sensation.
The best sushi you’ll probably ever eat this side of the Pacific awaits you on a quiet side street on the west side of Buffalo.
Kuni’s To Go
226 Lexington Ave., 881-3800
Fax: 881-4800
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