One of the most prominent type of cuisines in Manhattan has to be sushi, and there are a zillion places you can get this delicacy throughout your day. Beyond Sushi, with three locations throughout the city, takes what you normally think about sushi and gives it a fabulous vegetarian and vegan twist that makes you think differently about how items like this are prepared. Last night, Beyond Sushi welcomed me and many other people from the press as they are opening their first Dine-In restaurant in the heart of Herald Square. I was cautiously excited, but after a while the word “cautiously” was removed from my vocabulary and I simply kept a smile on my face throughout.
Beyond Sushi likes to think of themselves as the pioneers of the “plant based” sushi movement that we are seeing more and more show up on our plates. They are all about unconventional pairings when it comes to the execution of each roll or dumpling, as they pair fruits and vegetables with an assortment of whole grain rice to really make your taste buds interested to devour more with each bite you take.
Their new location in Herald Square is spacious and is a perfect spot for one of the busiest parts of Manhattan. A sprawling bar with shades of green throughout greets you as you walk in the door, with the restaurant aspect hitting you towards the back as well as the sushi bar, where all the magic happens.
We were treated to an assortment of dumplings and rolls, each with its unique take on what sushi can really be. They gave us a piece sampler, which came with charred corn with harissa and cilantro, another with curried cauliflower with almond pesto, roasted tomato with tomato guajillo and finally seaweed salad with chili flakes & sesame seeds. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by each of these, as they provided such a flavor explosion in my mouth with what they were able to combine in each. You really don’t miss the fish aspect to this as they are able to come up with other options that make up for the non-existence of that. Very impressive.
They also had a starter of their Fun Guy Dumplings, which were very fun in their own way. It came with braised porcini, shiitake, portabella mushrooms, tofu and spinach topped with micro arugula and chili toasted panko. Also, it was served with a spicy bean sauce and shiitake truffle. Taking the micro greens out, as I hate when they are part of any dish, these dumplings were the bomb. The mushrooms in this case masked what I usually have with pork dumplings but tasted so much better than the basicness of the former. I’m also not really a spinach person, however they made me believe in this vegetable completely, and overall this was my favorite dish of the night.
They also had an assortment of rolls for us to try out, which as you can see are colorful as can be which makes the visual aspect that much more appealing. I tried their Spicy Mang Roll, which came with Black rice, avocado, mango and English cucumber, topped with spicy veggies and served with a toasted cayenne sauce. What brought me to order this over the other rolls is that I”m a sucker for a good cucumber and mango, and they combine the two very well to make this very fresh and tasty. The cayenne sauce added some amazing heat that was a sharp contrast to the former, and it was overall a delicious roll.
I’ll admit- I’m an official convert to vegetarian and vegan sushi! Beyond Sushi really did provide a great meal last night, and I wish them the best in this new endeavor. This location officially opens on Wednesday, May 10th, so be sure to get there and experience what I went through and more!
For more information on Beyond Sushi, check out their official site.