little tokyo, reviewed

I'm not sure how many more times I can mention Little Tokyo (like here and here) without getting an, "ENOUGH!" from any of you, but since I'm still managing to get away with it, I will continue my rant.

I'm often faced with the question, "What's the best restaurant you've ever been to?" And to be honest, I don't think it's that fair of an inquiry. I always, always follow up the question with, "Give me a genre or area," because I need to hone down my options. Or at least attempt to. This city almost has too many dining out options. So much hype. So many critics. It's tough to come across a hidden gem at this point. Nearly everything has already been exposed.
And that's where my all time, favorite restaurant comes into play: Little Tokyo. Located in the most unassuming of shopping center strips in Norwalk, CT, lives one of my favorite places on Earth. Swanky? No. Elegant? Well, no. Trendy? Depends who you're talking to. Good? Not a thesaurus in this world could come up with enough synonyms to describe the goodness, no, greatness, going on at this celestial place.

Henry, the charming and charismatic main man of Little Tokyo, travels bright and early to Queens every morning to hand select his seafood. His selection is unrivaled. Pristine. Nothing shy of orgasmic.

There's no ordering that goes on. Just take a seat, have a ridiculously generous glass of white wine be set in front of you (I'm talking your mouth has to meet the glass while sitting on the table because any attempt to lift the glass would result in a spill. My kinda pour.) and get ready to have your mind blown by food unlike anything you've ever experienced.

A typical night at Little Tokyo starts off with a plate of a spicy crab salad with pieces of yellowtail sashimi that dance around the edge of the plate, delicately splashed with ponzu and a sprinkling of shaved scallions. The Pavlovian response I have to this dish alone is nearly obscene. I'm sitting here, salivating just at the thought.

If I'm at the table, Henry knows I can't leave without an oyster or two. Kumamotos, practically gorgeously swollen, dressed with ponzo, scallion, and a speck of sriracha. Coming from a girl who typically just goes with a squeeze of fresh lemon, it's almost hard for me to have them any other way than Henry's way. The pairing is sublime.

Next comes an assortment of sushi and sashimi. Whatever Henry deems the best of the night. Row after row of jem-like tuna, glistening salmon, opal-esque yellowtail, gargantuan chunks of shelled king crab. A love roll, my personal favorite, filled with spicy tuna and avocado and topped with a spicy crab salad. The variety and quality is unparalleled. I fear when the plates are nearing empty status. A slight wave of panic comes over me. Until, that is, I realized what is to come next.Henry's Lobster. Whole lobsters chopped into chunks and thrown quickly into a fiery wok with sticks of ginger, slivered scallions, and a few other ingredients that are all part of his secret recipe. Everyone at the table nearly pulls a Daryl Hannah in Splash and attempts to eat the shell. The sauce. The freaking sauce that coats this lobster has the potential to bring tears to your eyes. Beyond simple, as it should be, but overwhelmingly interesting and divine.There's a number of other factors that make Little Tokyo my all time favorite restaurant that might end up on someone else's list as negatives. The ambiance may not be for all (hello, restaurant snobs) but to us, it's like an extension of our home. We're comfortable there. Taken care of. At ease. Nancy, our main girl and waitress, greets us with hugs, lights up when we're all in town. It's a beyond warm feeling that will outshine ambiance any day. You can have your low lit, trendy sushi bar with mediocre food. I don't want it.

I've found all I'll ever need at Little Tokyo.

SERVICE: 25

FOOD: 25

LOOK: 19

VIBE: 24

FINAL GRADE: 93

little tokyo

Let me preface this by saying, I love sushi. Like really, really, really love sushi. As in I wake up craving sushi and could eat it every day for lunch and/or dinner for a week straight and not bat an eye. As in Jeremy Piven and I may soon share more in common than I'd like to think. That said, Little Tokyo in Norwalk, CT, is, in every way, my heaven.

Henry, the Manager and THE MAN, the myth, the legend, stops at nothing to ensure everyone who walks into his quaint Japanese haven, has the most memorable of meals and is treated with service you'd expect at the finest of restaurants. And he smiles, smiles, smiles, all the way through. Henry, I believe, has found the key to happiness.

And that key, is the freshest most sublime fish I've ever encountered.

Now every Friday night, my mom and her closest friends can be found at Little Tokyo. And as a commuter, before I made the move into the city, you could find me there too. It literally pains me to be so far away from it now, but it is understood that whenever Kiira is home, at least (at LEAST) one night is spent at Little Tokyo so that I can have my temporary fix. I believe they call this addiction.

After we're seated, we don't even have to order anymore. Henry knows exactly what each of us likes and then throws in a few surprises that based upon our likes, he knows we will love.

Plate after plate of delectable raw treats are ushered to our table. This Friday it started with a spicy seafood salad: shredded crab tossed with matchsticks of cucumber and dressed with a spicy mayo dressing and garnished with tobiko. Thin slices of fluke danced along the edge of the plate, dressed with a sweet but light soy-based sauce and shaved pieces of scallion. Perfectly balanced, beautifully presented, it was gone before I could snap a picture. Next came fresh tuna, covered in a spicy (TOO SPICY) rub and quickly seared on all sides before sliced, drizzled with a spicy mayo, and set down at our table. While the initial bite was soft and melt-in-your-mouth, it quickly became an emergency heat situation. My mother and my wimpy palettes couldn't really stand the heat. But delicious, nonetheless. The showstopping platter of sushi came next.

Oh. My. God.

Salmon, tuna, and white tuna nigiri sushi, two raw oysters topped with a spicy soy sauce, scallions, and tobiko. The most unbelievably tender pieces of Alaskan King Crab that I have ever encountered in all my 23 (almost 24) years. You didn't even need to chew. It just melted away into a briny, oceanic flavor that was superior to any lobster I've ever had. And of course, a Love Roll. Which my dear Henry knows (without me even having to say) that I cannot leave without having. Spicy white tuna with avocado inside, with a spicy crab salad with crunchies on top.

I couldn't stop.

And then there was more.

Henry's prized specialty: Lobster Cantonese Style. A whole lobster, chopped into pieces, shell on, is quickly cooked in a ridiculously hot wok with slivers of ginger, and a whole bunch of scallions, some sort of sweet sauce that I can't quite decipher but I don't even care. This thing is border line obscene. And I worry even mentioning this in a public arena as he only makes a couple a night and God forbid the next time I go in and he's sold out of them.

There will be trouble.

The point is, this place puts out incredible food and I have yet to find a place in the city that can live up to it. Honestly. And yes, it's Henry, it's Nancy (our adorable waitress), it's the sushi guys, it's friends, it's family but really? It's the food.

It's the freaking food.

Little Tokyo

120 New Canaan Ave.

Norwalk, CT, 06850

203-849-8686