We've known that former Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada loves to (allegedly) eat $100,000 in meals by using public money from his publicly-funded health clinic, Soundview Health Clinic. Last month, federal prosecutors said that Espada and his family spent about $60,000 on sushi and lobster and finally the NY Post has broken out Pedro's Picks For Publicly-Funded Family Dinners. more ›

The Blue Ribbon empire has colonized a new location with its casual sushi lounge schtick: their latest outpost is this seductive-looking restaurant in the Thompson LES Hotel on Orchard Street. Located in the space formerly occupied by the critically-maligned Shang, the tenth Blue Ribbon in America seats 150, and includes izakaya-style dining—traditionally, that involves sitting on mats and dining off low tables like in Donnie Brasco, but here it refers to the items you'd typically find at a Japanese izakaya joint. more ›

The corruption trial of disgraced former State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. and his son, "Pedro G.," finally kicked off yesterday in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. In her opening remarks, prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny unloaded on the Bronxchester pol, telling the jury Espada stole "more than half a million dollars from a public charity" and used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle which included extravagant meals, spa trips, luxury cars, vacations—including "sixty thousand dollars on sushi and lobster." Espada "even went out and tried to buy a Bentley," Pokorny alleged. more ›

Foie gras, what can't you put it in? Despite the fury the fatty liver often incites, foodies love the stuff. And since we've seen the doughnuts, we really shouldn't be surprised it is popping up in sushi. Everybody, say hello to the latest French import to our shores, SushiShop. more ›

SushiSamba, the stylish restaurant that fuses together Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine to surprisingly delicious effect, is rocking a pretty appealing happy hour these days, at both their Manhattan locations. Seen here is the lounge at the original location on Park Avenue and 19th Street; it's a funky place where they show Sumo wrestling on TV screens behind the bar. This month they're doing a Brazilian happy hour, with $6 specialty cocktails and a special menu of Brazilian-inflected bar food for $6 a plate. more ›

Eater today points out an interesting lawsuit currently making its way through the courts against Upper West Side sushi restaurant. Susan Deprado claims that on the night of June 27, 2008, "somewhere around midnight" she received a takeout order of tuna rolls with spicy sauce on the side. Except she says the spicy sauce in question came with a little semen. more ›

Since the tragedy in Japan left the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant teetering on the edge of a meltdown, alarms have been raised about radioactive materials spilling in the water. And some NYers are particularly worried about their favorite delicacy: sushi. It's a serious enough concern to Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin that he has bought a radiation detector: “I just want to make sure whatever we use is safe...Nobody knows how the currents will carry the contaminated water," he told the Times. more ›

Remember how Jeremy Piven quit the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow "because of mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi"? Turns out he's back on the chopsticks again, and getting so bent off the stuff that he's tweaking out in sushi restaurant bathrooms. The Post says he was restricting himself to vegetarian rolls on Saturday night at Chicago sushi restaurant Sunda, so maybe it was the sushi DTs that caused the Rush Hour 2 star to drop his BlackBerry into the toilet. But that doesn't explain why, instead of fishing it out for himself, he summoned staffers to pick the phone out of the toilet for him. You can't blame that on sushi withdrawal; that's just Piven's signature douchiness! more ›

Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin have been pushed to the brink of extinction in the past half century, with stocks declining by more than 60 percent in the last decade alone. Today the Times editorial board praised President Obama for endorsing a ban on international bluefin trade, and urged the administration to "use all of its influence to get the European Union and others to follow." Two-thirds of the members must support the ban for it to pass this month, but Japan, where bluefin is "the crown jewel of sushi," is fighting back. Fisheries minister Masahiko Yamada has vowed to "lodge reservations," and many in Japan think say this is just the latest instance of "Japan-bashing." more ›

Last week, the Village Voice dispatched an intrepid, if not suicidal, reporter to test and review a sickening new dining option: Duane Reade brand sushi. Rebecca Marx's feature ran on a Friday, we dry-heaved all Saturday, but by Sunday were able to convince ourselves it was all just a dream. Until today, when the Post chimed in with semi-appalled commentary from Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. We're just going to have to accept this: you can now pick up a yellowfin tuna roll, made by machines, with your toothpaste and adult undergarments, which you're probably going to need not long after consumption. more ›

Escolar, a fish famous for causing diarrhea and anal leakage, has been found masquerading as tuna at sushi restaurants, according to a DNA research study recently published by a group of scientists. The escolar was found five times during the brief research project, which included visits to 31 sushi restaurants in NYC and beyond. The study also found that some restaurants are also selling endangered southern bluefin tuna. more ›

The four stars in Yasmina Reza’s hit play God of Carnage have agreed to extend the production after taking a break for part of the summer. Performances will end after July 26th so James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, and Jeff Daniels can fulfill other commitments, and resume on Sept. 8th, running through Nov. 15th. In an interview with the Times today, Daniels explained that "there were no ego trips, no outrageous demands. Just basic needs. We’re people that make plans, and we were making plans way back before we even started rehearsals." And in a nice little dig at Jeremy Piven's infamous withdrawal from Speed-the-Plow due to "mercury poisoning," Daniels added, "No one’s missed a show, and we’re eating fish." The brilliantly-performed one-act about two narcissistic Brooklyn couples fighting over their sons' playground tussle is up for a Tony against Dividing the Estate, reasons to be pretty, and 33 Variations, and both male and female cast members are competing against each other in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories. The award show will be broadcast on CBS Sunday night, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. more ›

Jeremy Piven is expected to appear live and in person before an Actors' Equity grievance committee tomorrow in order to defend himself against producers of Speed-the-Plow who accuse him of faking mercury poisoning last December to escape his contractual obligation to the Broadway production. It was originally assumed that Piven's lawyers would plead his case, but the Posts's Michael Riedel says the hard-partying actor is expected to surface. Unless, as one producer quipped, he "has too much sushi on the plane from LA." Hey-oh! When he quit, Piven's physician claimed the mercury levels in the star's blood were "very elevated," and last month Piven agreed to a second blood test administered by a doctor hired by the producers. (The results of that test are not known.) If the grievance committee rules against Piven, he'll be forced to settle financially with the producers or risk expulsion from the stage union. And though there are five actors on the committee, the unnamed producer says that doesn't necessarily bode well for Piven: "I don't think many theater actors are in favor of what he's doing. They take jobs on Broadway very seriously, and he's a Hollywood actor, behaving like one." more ›

Hayashi Ya, a Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side, charges $26.95 for their all-you-can-eat menu, but if you don't eat every last bite, they slap on a 3% charge. This raised eyebrows at WCBS, and reporter Kristin Cole trooped over there to measure the outrage. Only everybody seems pretty okay with it; diners insist it "helps with their waistlines," and the manager says it helps "with the restaurant's bottom line." Er, anyway, compared to the penalties at other restaurants—like that place in The Great Outdoors that was going to charge John Candy the full price of a 96-ounce steak if didn't eat all the gristle and fat—3% of $26.95 seems reasonable. Plus, according to WCBS, one in six Americans can't afford enough food, while an estimated 27 percent of all food in the country ends up in the trash. To get involved locally, here are links to the Food Bank For New York and City Harvest. more ›

This week Frank Bruni double-fists it with a review of two sushi places: Kanoyama, in the East Village, and Sushi Azabu (pictured), in TriBeCa, that both "stand out in part because they’re navigable in ways that aren’t too financially wounding." Kanoyama’s "brimming, glistening combination platter...is first-rate, and doesn’t give you the sense you sometimes get at other restaurants that what you’re saving in money you’re sacrificing in freshness." The clandestine Sushi Azabu, accessed via a secret staircase in the meh Greenwich Grill, is "erratic. Get the scallop sushi or the spicy tuna roll, lavished with sesame and a chili-spiked mayonnaise, and you’re in heaven. Get the crispy fried squid and you’re in a strip-mall sports bar." more ›

This week Frank Bruni files two shorter reviews for the Times instead of handing down his usual hefty decision on a single restaurant. He heads east to follow up on Sushi Yashuda on 43rd Street, declaring that from the time it opened "more than eight years ago, when William Grimes awarded it three stars in The New York Times, it has been among the best. And a recent visit suggested that there’s been no slippage, no drift." On the other hand, the expensive new urban rustic restaurant Forge, the premiere of Marc Forgione (son of famous chef Larry Forgione), is stillborn: Like Ziggy Marley or Sofia Coppola, Marc Forgione has chosen to follow in some daunting paternal footsteps... I found the kitchen’s performance inconsistent, and on one visit the wait for food was ridiculously long, especially since the restaurant wasn’t crowded. It has scores of seats to fill, most alluringly in its spacious bar area. There you can enjoy house cocktails mixed with real thought, not just sops to the fashion of the times." more ›

more ›

Barbecue and sushi aren’t the first two cuisines you'd expect to find cohabitating under one roof. Leave it to Jim Goldman, a.k.a Brother Jimmy, to open Lucky Mojo, which features that oddball pairing – plus Tex-Mex and New Orleans fare. An eclectic, highly uneven menu isn’t the only challenge this new Long Island City spot faces. Lucky Mojo’s space has been afflicted with bad juju of late. In the ’90s it was home to the critically acclaimed Pearson’s Texas Barbecue. more ›

If your actions helped lead to what many called the biggest mob bust in two decades, would you be showing your face in the five boroughs for the Five Families to see? Well, Joseph Vollaro, who is supposed to be in witness protection, seems to live life to its very edge, as the Post reports he "brashly strolled into a Staten Island sushi restaurant Saturday night," picking up take-out. more ›

Gothamist finally got to try Sakae Sushi, the new kaiten – or conveyor belt sushi restaurant – the other night. We were quite pleased to find the Singapore-based chain’s first New York City location actually open; when we stopped by last week it was temporarily closed. Given that it’s Fashion Week it was vaguely appropriate to see the plates parading down the runway in the sleek, hypermodern space. Some might dis the pastel-colored plastic plates – beige, blue, green, pink and red – as unfashionable, but there’s a reason behind the candy-colored madness: tabulating the bill. Just like in an old-school dim sum house, the waitress counts up the number of dishes at the meal’s end. more ›

When it comes to sushi our tastes skew authentic. Mackerel. Amberjack. Occasionally a tuna and natto hand roll, not Christmas or Dragon rolls. Nevertheless, Gothamist remains a sucker for a gimmick. So when Sakae Sushi, a Singapore-based kaiten – or conveyor belt sushi restaurant – recently opened its first New York City location we couldn’t wait to tear open our disposable chopsticks and begin grabbing tasty morsels as they paraded down the runway. Midtown Lunch’s sneak peek and a perusal of Sakae’s 30-page menu, with everything from typical nigiri-zushi to oddities like corn salad sushi, as well as ramen and yakitori added to the intrigue. more ›

Padre Figlio: In Italian, the name means father and son, so it’s no surprise that this new Italian steakhouse is run by Mario and Antonio Cerra, the father and son team behind Da Antonio. After ten years, they’ve sold that establishment and are joining forces again to focus on high-end Italian meats, such as rib eye and a porterhouse of Piemontese beef for two. more ›

The Times ran a follow-up today about their investigation that found abnormally high levels of mercury in fish served at area restaurants. Toxicology reports from 44 pieces of sushi, ordered from places including Nobu Next Door and Sushi Seki, may in fact contribute to some New Yorkers’ 3 times higher-than-average blood levels of mercury. It turns out, however, that most New Yorkers just don’t care. more ›

Hold onto your chopsticks; the Times recently commissioned a toxicology report on sushi from 13 local establishments and got back some rather unappetizing results:

More than half of the restaurants and stores surveyed sold sushi with so much mercury that eating just six pieces a week would exceed the amount the EPA says can be safely consumed by an adult of average weight, which the agency defines as 154 pounds, 70 kilograms. People weighing less are advised to consume even less mercury. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill (the new one, at Columbus Circle). After a few rocky meals immediately after the opening, “the food has been consistently first-rate,” says Bruni. “Much of it also reflects the [owners’, Eric and Bruce] Bromberg’s winning playfulness.” He also says that while the sushi isn't the best in town, the fried chicken may be. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn have announced a plan to issue 1,500 new permits to vendors who commit to selling fresh fruits and vegetables from carts in low-income neighborhoods. The “Green Cart” plan, expected to be approved by the City Council, comes on the heels of a Health Department study comparing Harlem to the Upper East Side; it determined that supermarkets in Harlem are 30% less common than the UES, and that only 3% of Harlem bodegas carry leafy green vegetables, compared to 20% on the UES. The UES also has better sushi, but that disparity remains unacknowledged in Bloomberg's plan. more ›

Haru: The Japanese mini-chain’s takeover of New York is proceeding according to plan with the opening of their latest location in the financial district. The elegant, bi-level space (pictured) is located in the landmark 1903 Beaver Building, which calls to mind a mini-Flatiron Building. This location features two floors of dining to accommodate 160 guests, a 17 seat sushi bar, a second “alcohol” bar and two private party rooms. Like the other Harus, the extensive... more ›