This town, Ridgewood, isn’t a town we hang out in much. Honestly, half the retail joints and eateries are exactly the same as they are in Montclair. Just with way more white people. But apparently, as out-of-towners, we chose a place that absolutely no locals eat at for lunch. Granted, it was a really nice day out, and perhaps sushi just isn’t the cuisine folks gravitate to when the temperature hits sixty, or the sun is shining. To be fair, though, Shumi definitely has like a nighttime vibe to it. A fancy vibe, I guess.
Have you ever been to one of those resorts where everything is white and modern, and all the music sounds like it was made by gay European AI? Well, if you have, you’ll recognize that whole thing at Shumi. Honestly, though, it works for this place. Though, again, it definitely gives after-dark club and not so much nooner on a Saturday. I would call the decor dramatic mid-century Scandi, Japanese hybrid. Dark tile, neutral grays and light woods. It all feels very put together, unlike some other hodgepodge, more traditional Asian eateries where we usually end up. They’re definitely going more high-end. And I’m here for it — even for lunch. Though the innocuous music does make me subliminally long for a hot stone massage or some sort of kelp wrap.
So, what does a family of three do in the awkward silence — save the aforementioned “music” — of a completely empty restaurant? Well, you order lunch is what you do. And hope that the people who would otherwise be eating there aren’t actually home dying of ptomaine poisoning from their last visit. The ladies got a tempura appetizer, which was reportedly cooked to crunchy perfection. It certainly wasn’t a robust volume of tempura pieces — a couple shrimp and four veggies — but I suppose tempura is meant to be a light app to whet the appetite and not something to start to fill you up. My only initial complaint were the 8oz, room-temp bottled Diet Cokes we were served. Pairing that with a glass of ice only makes for watery soda, not cold soda. Just a pet peeve, but hardly worth a mention other than the fact I’m totally petty. But, the disappointment of my beverage aside, I was the smart orderer of the bunch, and went with the three-course lunch special. At $29 it was actually cheaper than the two rolls Ms. Hipster got and the one roll and one order of sushi Hipster Jr. Jr. ordered, and was way more varied and interesting. Granted, I got to finish Ms. Hipster’s second roll for her anyway, so win-win-win.
The special started with some of the better miso soup I’ve ever had. Usually I feel like that’s just one of those things Japanese restaurants throw in as an add-on and don’t pay it much attention. But Shumi’s version was way more balanced than usual, had a nice smokey flavor and didn’t assault my tastebuds with salt. Damn fine start. Then the kind of typical green salad with that dressing. You know the stuff. Their’s was fresh and a little tangy. And then a couple shumai. Which I find can be a little divisive given their typically slightly under-cooked, gelatinous texture. The same way you might look at a kreplach askance, wondering if perhaps it was meant to be fried and not steamed. But these were totally mild and fine. And, like most shumai, just the other side of a little disturbing. Then I got basically two pieces of their signature shumi roll (which I believe Hipster Jr. Jr. ordered as one of her rolls), two pieces of a shrimp tempura roll and a two pieces of sushi chosen by the chef. I will say, their rolls and their sushi looked cared for. We get sushi relatively often, and there is little-to-no consistency with the stuff. The size and amount in the rolls. The size of the slice of fish on the sushi. I imagine it’s because the chefs are busy cranking out tons of orders, as the places we get take-out from are generally really busy. So, perhaps it’s because the chefs at Shumi had the time to make our stuff look perfect and pristine, but they really killed it with the presentation. The taste was on point as well. I very much enjoyed the rolls and the sushi — I believe one piece may have been fatty tuna and other eel — tasted fresh, and the fatty tuna pretty much dissolved in my mouth. A feeling I hadn’t had since way back in my first visit to Nobu exactly one million years ago. One comment from Hipster Jr. Jr. (who always has something left-field to say, usually about texture or smell) was that the sushi rice on her couple of sushi pieces wasn’t as sticky as she’s used to and kind of came apart when she bit into it. I chalked it up to having just been cooked and possibly still a little warm. And something about gluten not setting… I made it up.
As if that weren’t enough, the special finished off with a heaping bowl of teriyaki salmon over rice, accompanied by a bunch of stir fried veggies. It was a surprisingly large bowl of food given the build up. If I had any criticism, the fish might have been a touch overdone, but the teriyaki flavor was subtle — not the sticky mess some places serve up — and the vegetables and rice were prepared really well. All in all, a truly satisfying meal. In fact, probably a little too much for lunch given the fact I usually down a protein bar or eat whatever is left over in the fridge wrapped in a tortilla. Looking at their sushi menu, they do have a bunch of fish that I don’t see at our usual places. Which I suppose is why they seem to be all about the omakase here. It certainly ain’t cheap — though nothing much is these days. But it honestly feels a cut above most of the sushi joints we frequent, both in atmosphere, ingredients and presentation. And, based on my experience, taste. It’s just a question of if you’re willing to shell out the dough or care enough about how your food looks to pay up for the glow up.
70 E Ridgewood Ave. – Ridgewood
201/345-0808
shumiomakase.com
