Taste of Tokyo Shut Down by NYC Health Department

Photos

Taste of Tokyo Shut Down by NYC Health Department

see larger image

uploaded by meyers

• 

  uploaded by meyers | add comment

• 

  uploaded by meyers | add comment

• 

  uploaded by meyers | add comment

My favorite local sushi restaurant, well known for its great fresh sushi at fair prices and the best spicy tuna on the planet, was recently closed down by the New York City Department of Health.

This small restaurant with lots of charm, was the kind of gem you you only told close friends about for fear that its rise in popularity would mean longer waits for a table. TOT made the best spicy tuna (or yellowtail) rolls on the planet. Instead of the typical mayonnaise based sauce, with god-knows what quality of tuna, Taste made their rolls using sesame

oil, fresh spices, and solid chunks of fresh tuna or yellowtail cut up

on the spot. Why no one has replicated this masterpiece is beyond me.

One of the best things about

bringing someone to Taste for the first time (other then the great fish

and the fact that they treated me like a rockstar) was that inevitably

your guest would ask you where the bathroom was, and every time you'd

have to convince people to walk through the kitchen. It was a bit of an

adventure - first you'd go through the kitchen, then outside

across an open 'courtyard' between buildings, then down a few steps to

into a 'storage room' of sorts with ceilings barely 6 feet...

What I don't understand about the recent closure is that the Department of Health violation report cites,

"Toilet facility not provided for employees or for patrons when

required." But it is been this way for over 20 years (certainly for the

last 10 that I have been in the neighborhood) and NONE of the previous reports on file mention this particular violation. Why the sudden change of heart?

I've tried contacting the health Department twice now, with no luck. This is a huge loss to the community and I desperately await the reopening, though a large part of me fears it is lost forever...