In NYC’s East Village, a couple of restaurateurs are going for a new dining concept that is seeking to change how we look at seafood. Sushi restaurant, Mayanoki, headed by TJ Provenzano and David Torchiano focuses on serving locally and sustainably sourced seafood. Concepts of organic farming to farm to table dining have long made its way into the public mainstream but seeking out sustainable options when it comes to sushi have not yet come to light.
“When it comes to other cuisines, they always promote that they use local beef or chicken, except when you go to high-end omakase it’s always, ‘We flew this in from Japan’ and that’s acceptable and I don’t know why,” Torchiano in discussing the concept for Mayanoki. “Delivery chains and distribution are not up to the same standard as they are in Japan, so I think that’s what turns off a lot of the chefs here. We just feel it’s a challenge we need to take on. While we want to respect the tradition of sushi, sushi has always been about food preservation and by its nature it was sustainable.”
In addition, Mayanoki only carries local beers and wines from New York State and the only thing they still import from Japan is the sake. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has recognized them as the only sushi restaurant working towards sustainability.
Although it sometimes is tough for them to procure certain types of fish depending on the season and remain sustainable, their hopes of educating the public into this new type of sushi will help drive business in order take on the other major sushi restaurants in the Manhattan dining scene.
For their full write up in Eater, click here
Photo by food blogger @restaurantgroupie
