I really tried to like this place, and I wanted to be more excited when writing this review, but I guess I am just the type of guy who is hard to please especially when it comes down to sushi. Raw fish in the form of sashimi is my guilty pleasure, and I crave raw fish morsels day and night. I know, I shall be careful with my mercury levels. Enough about me, let's focus on the place. I came here with a friend for lunch. The place offers sushi a la carte and 3 choices of omakase. Based on my friend's recommendation, I went with the Nozawa, which comes with a Toro hand roll. Fatty tuna is my favorite. While I am writing this, I still remember the fatty tuna morsels that I ate once in Asakusa at a place called Hinatomari. What a delight. It is not easy to find nice sushi join in NYC. The freshness of the fish is questionable, and it is hardly believable that the fish is fresh. The small dishes started coming to the table, and my first disappointment was to see that the Tuna was swimming in soy sauce. This, to me, is a sign that the chef in the kitchen might have come from somewhere mainland... Don't get me wrong, some places are run and operated by non-Japanese personnel, and they are great, but please don't dunk the tuna in the sauce. The rest of the sushi morsels were fine. But the Toro hand roll did not deliver to my expectations. Anyway, this quasi-sushi culture in NYC could leave a very mediocre impression on those who have high expectations. The one restaurant that was close to the type of quality of sushi that you would find in Japan was Jewel Bako, which got permanently closed. For those who don't want to break the bank but still want to have something close to Japanese sushi's culinary authenticity, you can try Sushi on Jones ( which is funny because the guys in the kitchen are from Fuzhou) and Chelsea Fishmarket.