Sushi Brothers
1612 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
Uptown 1: Garden District & Environs
Backstory
This old storefront on St. Charles Avenue has been a Japanese restaurant long enough that three notable sushi bars have come through. The first--a franchise of Little Tokyo operated by the people who now run Horinoya--set a high standard that has managed to live on. The Sushi Brothers--which really is operated by a pair of siblings--keeps that ball rolling.
Dining Room
Each new owner did a bit of renovation to the restaurant, but it's still not what you'd call glitzy. After entering by way of a brick ramp, you find a bright, spare dining room. Most of the action takes place at the sushi bar.
Why It's Essential
The Sushi Brothers is a bit more adventuresome in its menu than most local sushi bars. The inventiveness of the chef takes in a few New Orleans flavors. Here, for example, were the first rolls with names like the FEMA roll and Bye-Bye Katrina roll. Most such things are novelties, but everything here is made with skill and pristine ingredients.
Why It's Good
Japanese cuisine food has been resistant to Creole hybridization, but it's happening here. The miso gumbo--standard miso soup with shrimp, fish, half a small soft-shell crab, and okra--tastes only a little like gumbo, but it's good. So is the Cajun soup, a thick potage with as much a Vietnamese flavor as a Cajun one, with crawfish, shrimp, cabbage, and cilantro.
Most Interesting Dishes
»Shu mai (steamed shrimp dumplings). »Miso gumbo. »Cajun soup. »Spicy sour seafood soup. Squid salad. »Beef tataki. »Sushi. »Chirashi sushi (seafood on a bed of sushi rice). Sashimi. Rainbow roll. »Rice paper roll. Calamari crunch roll. »Mackerel and ginger roll Una don (teriyaki eel on rice). »Dinner boxes.
Deficiencies
The bathrooms need to be rebuilt.
For Best Results
Sit at the sushi bar and engage the chef in conversation about what he might recommend.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
1
Hipness
1
Local Color
1
Value