Sushi, Jersey-Style
Craig LaBan made the trip to New Jersey to try the sushi at Haddonfield's Fuji. We learned two things:
"I had worried that the big move had stolen Fuji's magic, the shabu-shabu banished my fears. It wasn't simply those precious slices of velvety Japanese Kobe beef (not that cheaper, more common American strain), which gently simmered in a bowl of pristine kelp broth alongside perfect bundles of tender veggies. It was the bowl itself - a piece of white paper folded origami-style into a vessel - that sat atop the heat of a licking flame unperturbed and unsinged. Of course, this was wonder number seven in a parade of nine impressive courses that made up chef Masaharu "Matt" Ito's signature kaiseki tasting. And I was pretty certain earlier on, somewhere between the caviar-crowned tuna tartare in smoked dashi broth and the seared scallop with foie gras and duck posed over a sunburst of kabocha pumpkin puree, that Fuji's mojo was intact. But I worry about such things, like whether a restaurant's spirit can be damaged when its unlikely-but-lucky home of 27 years - a little brick hut on seedy Route 130 surrounded by hourly rate motels - got bulldozed to make way for a housing development.
Did its move spoil Fuji? Not a bit [Inquirer]
[Photo via Inquirer]
