Welcome to Em & M: the first-ever meal critics of The Echo. Sparked by a love of chocolate and a play on words, we, Emily Dayton and Malini Jathavedam, are excited to take you along for our 3-year-long tour of the finest restaurants, cafes, and eateries near Tenafly, New Jersey. We call ourselves “meal critics” rather than “food critics” for one very particular reason: we review more than just food. We will be exploring other factors such as service, price, ambiance, vibes—everthing it takes to create the perfect dining experience. As food connoisseurs, we sample foods from both vegetarian and meat-eating perspectives since we aim to share the best meals for all to try.
This week, Emily and Malini, along with a special guest, Chloe Holzmann (’28) took a visit to Okinami Sushi Bar, located in the heart of Northvale. We arrived around 7:00 p.m., and not a single table was empty. Since they do not take reservations, we were faced with an unfortunate wait outside in the pouring rain, as staying inside the crowded restaurant was not an option. Sitting under the scaffolding, shivering from the cold, we were eager to get inside. Therefore, one critique we would give Okinami is to notify customers of a more accurate wait time to prevent them from unexpectedly having to wait outside. We were invited to our table in the restaurant’s warm atmosphere and were pleased with the immediate service. When we sat down, our server, Louis, recommended a few starters for the table. We chose to order the Kaiso Salad, a Japanese-style salad consisting of five varieties of seaweed and topped with a ponzu and ginger sauce. We enjoyed the uniqueness of the textures combined with the refreshing sauce, but were not fond of the types of seaweed used.
Malini, as a vegetarian, was very excited by the variety of options for her. Rather than the typical avocado-cucumber roll, Okinami offered a plethora of meatless options that are prepared fresh daily and allow vegetarian diners to still enjoy adventurous dishes. For our vegetarian rolls, we chose the kanpyo roll: a traditional Japanese roll featuring slightly sweet soy sauce and simmered calabash (gourd) strips. It was certainly a new experience, and we enjoyed trying it out, but we most likely will not gravitate toward it in the future. Our second vegetarian dish was more enjoyable: the umeshiso cucumber roll. One of Malini’s absolute favorite foods is cucumber salad, so naturally, she gravitated toward a roll that included it as a key ingredient. The other ingredient, umeshisho, is a Japanese pickled plum with salty and tart flavors. It had what we would describe as a “floral” aftertaste and acted as a nice palate cleanser between rolls. Weirdly enough, it reminded Malini of her grandmother’s scented hand soaps.
Unfortunately, our cheapest roll (consisting of six pieces of sushi) was $9 and the most expensive was $12. A usual meal consists of at least two rolls, a shared appetizer, and possibly a dessert. Although Okinami is seemingly expensive, do not fear—we found a hack to save you a couple of bucks. Okinami offers the option to purchase a “Dinner Set” which includes a complimentary miso soup and house salad. Emily and Malini chose to get the “Roll Set,” three rolls for the price of $35. We ordered another roll on the side, ending up with two rolls each. While still not cheap, we saved a few dollars and enjoyed beginning our meal with some nice soup and salad.
Emily was ready to get her usual shrimp tempura roll until Malini convinced her to expand her palate and try a different roll. Reluctantly, she ordered a blue crab California along with her shrimp tempura roll. The shrimp tempura, as always, tasted fresh, and the crispy breading on the outside paired well with the tender meat on the inside. Although it is one of the more bland rolls on the menu, its simplicity is what makes it so delicious. The focus is on the shrimp rather than the toppings, allowing for the quality of the shrimp itself to shine. Although she thoroughly enjoyed her shrimp tempura roll, Emily was still very skeptical about the blue crab choice. She was pleasantly surprised when she bit into her roll to find it was fresh crab rather than the imitation crab used in traditional California rolls. Emily, expecting to hate this roll, was proven wrong and had no critiques.
Chloe, similarly, is a seasoned Okinami customer and was looking forward to the yellowtail scallion roll, her typical order at all sushi restaurants. The one served at Okinami, however, exceeds her expectations with the addition of fish eggs (roe) and a homemade sauce that adds a significant amount of flavor. Additionally, Chloe decided to ordered her favorite roll on the menu, the hamachi kizami wasabi roll (with yellowtail and yuzu mayo). Although simple, it never fails to please her sushi cravings.
When we made small talk with the waiter, we mentioned how we are sophomores at Tenafly High School. Our server asked us if we knew Mr. Whitehead—the advisor of The Echo—who had been at the restaurant earlier in the day and had mentioned to Louis how he teaches at Tenafly! This definitely added some excitement to our meal.
Overall, we enjoyed the food at Okimami and look forward to coming back to the cozy restaurant in the future—hopefully on a day with better weather or less of a wait. We loved the freshness of the seafood at Okinami, a feature unmatched by most of the other sushi restaurants in the area. The food was definitely on the pricier side, but what sushi isn’t?
