Ian McNulty Discovers a New Sushi Spot

Keith Dusko with Chiba co-owner, Tiffany King

If you're in the market for a new sushi spot, Ian McNulty would like to introduce you to Chiba, which opened in March on Oak Street under restaurateur novitiate Keith Dusko. New Orleans' latest sushi spot impressed McNulty with its ability "to make Japanese food seem exotic and revelatory again." He notes that Dusko seems to have infused his (pricey) restaurant with elements of the New York Japanese restaurant scene he spent so much time toiling in:

Fruit is used like sweet fish in some rolls, like the satsuma-strawberry roll, a showstopper. And while I'd rarely recommend steak at a Japanese restaurant. A New York strip here is a welcome exception. It is sliced as thin as sashimi and proved nearly as tender — its scarlet depths streaked with a mirin marinade with the warm spices of tasso underneath it.

Not everything works, of course?in Chiba's relentless push to innovate, McNulty notes some overdeveloped dishes that are strictly for chopstick pros. Overall, though, Chiba seems to be bringing something new to the little sushiverse in New Orleans.

· Review: Chiba [Gambit]

Foursquare

Chiba

8312 Oak Street, , LA 70118 (504) 826-9119 Visit Website

Chiba

8312 Oak St. New Orleans, LA 70118