Junko Sushi

Only 2 weeks old and despite a few issues, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Junko, as did my company.  The location is great, right on the corner with big windows from floor to ceiling letting you watch the busy Broadway street.  I enjoy the view but there are also less busy tables towards the back.  Immediately upon entering we were showered with greeting from the staff and sushi chefs, nice enthusiasm, friendly, accommodating service.  Nice large menu, many sushi options as well as a wide variety of cooked dishes, i look forward to returning to try the yellowtail collar.  We started with a large portion of edemame, which was perfectly seasoned and delicious.  Complements of the kitchen we were given an order of fried whitefish.  Whitefish is so simple and bland, and the texture is not that appealing either, so their fried preparation was perfect.  Very crispy but not oily, surrounded by a few sauces including spicy mayo.  Very tasty appetizer, i would love to see them do this with salmon or another fatty fish. 

The sushi rolls were on the whole very good.  The fish itself was good, not the best I've had, not do I believe its the best in Astoria (that distinction still goes to JJ's).  The rolls that were not covered in sauce or fried were just alright, both the Salmon roll and the White Tuna and Avocado were not particularly memorable, but still enjoyable.  All fresh fish, nothing we did not enjoy  The presentation was excellent but at times a bit strange, one plate came with Strawberries on the side, although it was not clear what it was meant to be eaten with, if anything at all.  Also the Banana Leaf over the sushi was a nice decoration but strange to have inedible food sandwiched between edible food.  The sauces, presentation, size of the rolls and value was all very good; I was also happy with the depth of the sushi menu, so overall the food was very good.  I'd stick with the elaborate multi fish rolls, they one covered in eel was excellent.

I like the fact that it is a big place and I don't feel like i'm rushed during my meal.  A few of the places I like in Astoria are too small to, so this is a welcomes addition to the neighborhood.  The servers went over and above to ensure we were having a good meal and were very friendly.  They filled up our water every few minutes.  I'd drop the top 40's music, but that's just me.  Recommended for sure.

JJ's

This is the best Sushi place in Astoria, nobody else comes close.  You know what to expect at 95% of the sushi places in NYC; Miso soup, spicy tuna, green tea ice cream, etc.  This place does all the usual stuff with class and has introduced me to a few amazing, not often served cuts of fish.

I particularly enjoy the Salmon belly they serve often in the Sushi B combo.  A few years ago they started serving White Tuna, before I saw it featured in other places, I really like the texture and taste of this, much more than the usual tuna.  They also serve an excellent well seasoned Makeral which is not as fishy as Makeral often is.  The Miso as mentioned is above the usual grade, its very rich and delicious.  The spicy tuna, while not everyone taste, I find just perfect.  They seem to season it lightly with sesame oil, which adds that nutty almost smokey essence and gently coats the tuna.  Love this! The crunchy rolls have tempura flakes that are prepared with green food coloring, at least that's what I assume, because they do nothing for the flavor but the fun is kicked up a notch, and they are perfectly crunchy.  Love this also.  Memorable food.

Aside from the Sushi, the other items I've enjoyed are their famous Edemame dumplings.  The soft creamy inside is a bit strange inside a dumpling, although they are tasty and everyone I know who has tried them loves them.  Also the Miso Eggplant is fantastic.  Is is rich, salty and delicious, they do not skimp on the Miso.  My favorite thing to order is the Sushi B combo, it is a great mix of all pieces of sushi and a tuna roll, with soup or salad.  Perfect mix of hot and cold food, perfect size, great selection of whatever is fresh, although usually its the same types of fish.  I don't eat here very often anymore because they are quite busy and frankly their delivery is fast and courteous, so I order from here whenever I've craving sushi.  Highly recommended!

Gowasabi Astoria

Not great, but not terrible.  Went on Mothers day, and my mom loved it,although she is easy to please when it comes to food...  Personally I'd say almost everything was a decent to not so good.

Our waitress had no idea what she was doing, and was not listening at all.  I had to repeat a few things, and she ended up standing over me looking over my shoulder while i pointed to the menu... Even then she got a few things wrong.. Really bad service.

The miso soup was bland and it tasted fishy.  Strange miso, not so good.  The Shumia was the same standard stuff you buy in the freezer section.  This was ok but not hot enough.  We had asked for all the sushi together, which being in a sushi restaurant i expected to be served in some kitch boat or something, instead they put 3 rolls on 1 huge plate, and 1 big roll on another large plate.... So we each had to reach over a plate to grab the rest of our meal, terrible presentation...

The rolls themselves were not put together well at all, maybe that is what they are going for? Or maybe the sushi chefs are amateurs..  The spicy salmon tasted alright, the best roll of the 4 we had, but they cut it into 8 thin slices instead of 6 and the salmon was falling out... the spicy tuna was good, same problem thu.   The smoked salmon roll was mostly cucumber, but what salmon was there was not fresh even for a smoked fish.  We ordered some big role with about an entire eel on it... Sounded good, but by the time it arrived the eel was nearly room temperature.  Still a good roll, but unless its cut in small pieces and served hot from a toaster I shouldn't order Eel.  We ordered 2 pieces of White Tuna sushi to finish off the meal.  Of course what we got was 4 pieces of sashimi... This i enjoyed a lot, but it was cut way to large.

We waited forever for the bill but when it finally came we were informed that they have a special where you save 5% if you pay cash, which is nice.  So i paid cash and it was surprisingly inexpensive, it came to about $40.  The food and service was pretty bad, but its inexpensive.. So maybe if you went for some avocado or shitake rolls it might be worth it?  Not recommended.