West 8th Street these days has an air of desolation, with a growing number of empty storefronts awaiting high-rent tenants who may or may not return. So the understated graciousness of Cho Cho San Japanese Restaurant fits in with the low-key nature of the thoroughfare if not with the economic tenor of the times.
It’s a quiet oasis of opulence: the fish is fresh, the lunchtime delivery is prompt, the tabs are hefty. Having opened a year ago this week, this restaurant has never not experienced tough times, but suffering begets art. Cho Cho San has developed a sense of humor, which makes this already-attractive sushi spot irresistible to your typical New York foodie.
The one recession special bound to please is the $10 all-you-can-drink sake. While taking advantage of similar deals around town on sushi is almost always a bad idea — you shouldn’t ever eat all the sushi you can eat — unlimited sake’s not a bad way to dull the day’s cares.
But the real charmers are the rolls. Sure, sushi chefs have been dreaming up new and sometimes tasty alternatives to tuna-wasabi-rice for years, but Cho Cho’s got a couple of topical rolls, both of which have the advantage of being surprisingly tasty.
By topical, I mean on the news. The first, from the realm of politics, is the Obama roll. The sushi chefs, friendly and usually eager to explain things to you, get a bit cagey when you ask them to tell you exactly what stands for what, but you can scope out most of it for yourself: inside the roll is black caviar, jalapeno and avocado; this is rolled in white rice, outside of which is black caviar, salmon and mango.
The first time my sushi buddy and I saw the Obama roll, we knew we wanted to try it, but we approached the mango concept with trepidation. Sweet just wasn’t a taste that seemed like it would go well with the other ingredients.
Our fears were unfounded. Cho Cho San uses fairly unripe mango, which is similar in taste and consistency to avocado. So it’s pretty delicious in that mix, although on a return visit, the mango was perceptibly sweeter than it had been the first time. Still, we’ve been dreaming Obama rolls.
At $15 for eight big slices, it was about half of our entree last week. The other half was the Wall Street roll. The main gimmick here is that the price fluctuates with the stock market, but they won’t tell you the formula used and “fluctuates” seems to mean “fluctuates not too far from $15.” (It was $14 a couple of weeks ago.) This is another inside-out roll: the interior is spicy tuna and warm white rice. The outside is avocado and white tuna, which, when laid side-by-side, looks like dollar bills. It’s topped with red caviar and then gold leaf, which reacts to every air current in the room, bristling as if it is alive.
I’m more of a sashimi than sushi fan, but you combine those two rolls, the beautiful room and the calm atmosphere, and several thimbles of sake, and you’ve got yourself a pleasant evening, good for solo soul searching, a business dinner, or a romantic interlude.
As this week is the first anniversary, they’ve got a few specials on offer Monday and Tuesday.
Cho Cho San is taken from the Italian name Cio Cio San, the protagonist of the opera Madame Butterfly, which takes place in Japan. Among the house specials to be showcased are Japanese-Italian meatballs.
If you’re feeling virtuous after a healthy Japanese meal — or the sake’s given you the munchies — consider ending your evening with a visit to Insomnia Cookies, down the block at 50 West 8th Street. It’s what it sounds like.
Cho Cho San Japanese Restaurant
15 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-473-3333
Cool review! Sounds tempting indeed, and cool name.