Edo My Sushi!

Restaurant Review: Edo Sushi, New Brunswick, NJ

New Brunswick is a living oxymoron. It's a restaurant city, a college town, and yet driving and parking for the myriad of services offered by these two labels never ceases to be a nightmare. I think that's because road construction never ceases, but that's a whole other post.

A dear friend and I were able to make last minute lunch plans when, lo and behold, our work schedules meshed. The joys of maintaining a social life in this industry... After the holidays, both of us needed a little indulgence, but nothing extravagant. Edo Sushi was the perfect fit.

Edo is a quaint restaurant with enough options to please both sushi lovers and land lubbers. Like all good sushi places, Edo was spotlessly clean. If you ever enter a restaurant, especially one that focuses on serving highly perishable raw product that even hints at being unsanitary, leave immediately.

The menu at Edo is extensive and my friend and I needed some time to decide. Our green tea arrived moments after we ordered it, yet our friendly waitress gladly gave us extra time make our sushi choices. Sadly, the day for our lunch was a cold, rainy day, hardly raw fish weather. Luckily for us, Edo offers traditional udon and ramen noodle bowls. Hot broth and slurp-worthy noodles were made for rainy days!

In fitting with Edo's business lunch crowd focus, diners can choose from a variety of combo specials. A huge bowl of ramen in homemade broth with a spicy tuna roll for $12.95? I'm there!

Unlike other spicy tuna rolls I've had in the past, Edo keeps the tuna in solid pieces rather than mincing it fine before mixing it into the spicy sauce. Not only does this make for a nicer presentation, but the integrity of the fish is maintained. Mincing the fish means that the sushi chef can use scraps from cleaning the tuna, including the less savory bloodline, before mixing into chili mayo. Edo's way demonstrated their commitment to quality sushi.

Both of our soups were served piping hot. The broths were incredibly savory, rich with soy, scallions, and vegetable flavors, yet light.

Glancing around the dining room, my friend and I noticed we were the only people there. Yet Edo does a brisk take out and delivery lunch business. Considering the weather, I can't blame people for not wanting to leave their offices or dorms!

Our meal ended with green tea and red bean ice creams. Yes, it was cold outside. Yes, we started our lunch clutching the cups of green tea, but ice cream is always appropriate. Green tea ice cream is one of my favorite flavors, but the smooth, creamy red bean might be my new flavor of choice. Reminiscent of watermelon freshness and vanilla complexness, the ice cream was a perfect way to end a warming lunch.

After paying our ridiculously economical check, we realized that lunch for two had cost less than half of dinner for one at the nearby The Frog and the Peach. Amazingly, our experience at Edo was just as refreshing as an extravagant dinner.