Gulf Coast Sushi: Ninja

My friend Jeff and I went to dinner on Friday, only to discover that our intended destination (Jacquimo's) was under renovation. Nearby was a sushi restaurant of which Jeff had heard, but the assassin-fearing side of me couldn't help but resist: Ninja. I was surprised to find some of the best sushi I've experienced on the Gulf Coast.

My cell phone camera did not do justice to the picture below (I need to upgrade, or learn to carry my point and shoot with me to dinner), but Jeff and I stared in awe at the beautiful presentations that passed us by (I highly recommend sitting at the sushi bar to experience this).

The website for Ninja says "Best Sushi in New Orleans," and they might be right. Entering into a lower floor that was a nearly empty bar, but doubled as waiting room, I was surprised when our seats opened up to be directed upstairs enter a bustling second floor room, alive with energy. Austere in decoration, it's only the food that's being displayed at Ninja.

Check out the menu, and don't be shocked by the prices: what Jeff and I came to realize quickly, is that the secret to Ninja is that you get more than your money's worth. I ordered vegetables tempura, two relatively inexpensive rolls (~$7-8), and one mackerel sashimi, and left overstuffed and with nearly an entire roll left over.

Our meal started with the common and complementary bowl of miso soup, followed by a house salad. Unlike the bland iceberg lettuce with oily ginger dressing that follows the soup in most sushi joints, at Ninja they serve a wonderfully creamy cucumber salad, that provides a nice transition from soup to appetizers. And as a guy that makes authentic miso, from scratch, the soup was good, too.

The tempura, how I measure the talent of the fryer, was outstandingly light and delicate. My rolls were the "Angel Roll" (with BBQ eel - it comes with your choice of fish inclusion), which was arguably the best roll I've ever eaten. What makes the rolls at Ninja unique is a thin belt of seaweed. Instead of being left with a mouthful of chewy plant matter, this balanced approach allows the rolls to shine. My second roll was BBQ yellowtail, which meant the fish was cooked. I had expected raw fish with BBQ sauce, and while the roll was good, I was disappointed to see yellowtail ruined by cooking. But I suppose that's another plus of Ninja: the cooked options provide a good entry point for the sushi averse - another sneaky tactic of the Ninja.

Jeff's choice of the night was the cucumber roll, and unlike a good photographer I did not give a good scale for the rolls pictured here: each piece was about 3" across - if Jeff had a complaint, it was that it was impossible to eat without demolishing the presentation. While I didn't try it, I judged from his contentment that the thinly sliced cucumber wrapped log was a success.