Oh me, oh Miya's

I had lunch yesterday at one of my favorite restaurants in New Haven, Miya's Sushi, on the corner of Howe and Chapel.  Anyone in Connecticut who knows sushi, knows this is the place to go.  But more specifically, for vegetarian sushi, this is really the only place to go, because once you've eaten it, nowhere else can compare.  Really.  It's that good.

It's all in the details:  the silkscreened message "Man cannot live on rice alone" printed on the front window, the menu, and t-shirts worn by employees and fans alike; the menu itself, which reads like the story of one man's evolving culinary adventure; and then the sushi, which is creative, artful, and delicious.

The biggest challenge is deciding what to order when every veggie roll I've tried has been an explosion of taste and texture.  Instead of using the traditional white rice, the rolls are made with a mix of whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, and barley.  Then there's the fillings... not the usual avocado peanut or tempura sweet potato (although those are there, too), but flavor sensations like curry cauliflower, apricot chutney, artichoke cumin, roasted garlic and black beans, coconut avocado papaya... ahhh.  One of my favorites is the Japafrican Queen Roll, a hearty nod to Ethiopian cuisine with a filling of eggplant, apricots, avocado, pickled radish, scallions & ethiopian berbere spice mix, wrapped in injera.

Yesterday, I decided to have 3 simple rolls:  the Spicy Eggplant (melt in your mouth), cumin artichoke (nice smoky pickled contrast), and Rikki Tikki (mushroom and cauliflower with roasted garlic, chinese black beans, scallions, hot pepper and pine nuts).  It was a heavenly feast nonetheless.  Thanks, Bun, for creating a welcoming place where vegans can delight in good sushi!  You have a wonderful team working with you.