Around The World With Ichiz
By The Foodies./ foodie@longislandernews.com

Calling on a career’s worth of experience dating back to 1972, Tokyo-born Ichiro Yamagishi and his team took six months to design the interior space at Ichiz, and they knocked it out of the park.

Pairing a black-and-white interior with deep brown floors, soft lighting and signature interior touches – check out the brushed stone and copper carving as a particularly cool touch – they transformed the former home of Musashino, a traditional Japanese eatery, into a space that exudes metropolitan, worldly sophistication.

As a sake bar, Ichiz is a new concept for Huntington village. They offer 16 varieties of sake by the glass, carafe and bottle, from standouts like Jumai Dai-Ginjyo, Junmai Ginjyo, Tokubetsu Junmai, Junmai and Hakushira Sake. Unfiltered Nigori sake is also available, along with plum wine, five varieties of Shochu and Sapporo draft and Koedo bottled beers, along with a selection of domestic and imported brews. Along with that, there’s an extensive wine of reds, whites and sparkling by the glass or bottle and a selection of 17 inventive martinis and cocktails ($12).

Once you’ve handled the libation front, explore and savor the eclectic small plates on a menu that just starts at sushi and goes wild with imagination from there. Ichiro said his goal is to make his cuisine stand out.

“Something unique,” he said. “Today, everybody makes sushi rolls. I want to make something different to give to the people.”

His Godzilla Roll ($10) blends spicy tuna, crab and asparagus in a bursting roll, which is then deep-fried and served with wasabi sauce. A master sushi chef who owned East Setauket’s Sushi-Ichi for more than a decade, his signature roll is a spicy treat that blends textures beautifully and should delight any tuna lover. So too will Spicy Tuna served on a toasted tortilla ($12).

Jalapeno poppers ($8) come alive anew with Japanese flair. The best way to describe them is as a jalapeno tempura, filled carefully with cream cheese, cheddar cheese and spicy tuna to create a lighter, crisper and more delicate spin on the Tex-Mex favorite. Herb-marinated salmon, topped in decadent champagne cream cheese ($12) is sweet and sophisticated. We’ve heard a lot about the Filet Mignon Sliders with Wasabi Mayo ($13) and have them on our list next time we visit.

And then there are the oysters. Oh, the oysters. Ying is the master of the oysters, and presents them fresh and raw ($6 for shooters, $9 for a deluxe shooter with uni and quail egg, $12 for a half-dozen) or sautéed in an outrageous garlic and butter sauce ($13) that demands being drunk right out of the shell. Oyster lovers should be very comfortable indeed at Ichiz in the near future, as should any lover of Japanese cuisine, an expertly mixed drink and a sophisticated night on the town.