Sushi Blues

%C2%A0

 

Food Offerings: You guessed it – this is a sushi restaurant.

Hours: According to their website, Sushi Blues’ hours “fluctuate with the ebb and flow of the Colgate University schedule,” so call to make sure they are open. However, their normal lunch hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

Delivery: No, but takeout is available

Location: 18 Broad Street

Phone Number: 315-825-0225

Price Range: Moderate to expensive.

Website: www.sushibluesny.com

Quality of Food: It took me two years at Colgate before I could gather up the chutzpa to eat sushi in central New York. I was pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the roll I ordered, and discovered soon after that Sushi Blues gets weekly orders of fish from New York City. There is a price to pay, though, for visiting the only sushi restaurant in Hamilton that actually has fresh fish. The prices at Sushi Blues border on the astronomical – edamame, the classic Japanese appetizer of simple steamed soybeans with salt – is $7. Their sake miso soup is $3.50. And their basic six-piece raw fish rolls start at $8. Essentially, the basics are about twice the price of sushi from a metropolitan area – say New York City – at Sushi Blues. The “invent-a-rolls” and gigantic crunchy rolls are also expensive (starting at $12 for a vegetarian roll) but are more along the pricing of the specialty rolls at other sushi restaurants. These rolls are truly innovative and very delicious, and it is easier to justify the high price tag. The spider roll – tempura fried jumbo soft shell crab with greens, caviar, soy sauce, and sesame seeds – can rival the best. The gigantic crunchy rolls are also something worth trying, simply because they are so unusual and truly decadent: the Godzilla roll is one of my favorites, with crispy salmon skin, spicy white tuna, BBQ eel, masago caviar, scallion and avocado, all tempura fried to crispy deliciousness. Bottom line: Sushi Blues serves high quality sushi, but you pay for it.

Décor: The best way to describe the style of Sushi Blues is eclectic. They have miraculously managed to stay away from kitschy Japanese decorations, and the restaurant instead reflects the musical interests of the owners. The open sushi counter is the only thing that belies Sushi Blues’ true culinary direction. Purple booths, blue walls, and a colorful tiled floor are accented by string lights and draping curtains that hide the kitchen. A mural of a woman dancing takes up one wall, with everyone else covered in framed album covers (including the Beatles) as well as various other drawings. Animal statues are displayed in the front windows – part of the reason why I originally thought Sushi Blues was some sort of toy store when I first got to Colgate. All of this contributes to the restaurant’s intimate atmosphere, and diners have no shortage of things to look at when conversation gets dull.

Service: Diners sometimes have to wait close to an hour for their food when the restaurant gets crowded, but that is because each roll is made especially to order and there is usually only one sushi chef at the counter. Takeout orders can also have a bit of a waiting time, but they make it better by calling you when your food is ready.