Hot Spots: Asian On The Avenue
I’ll admit, I was really sad to see the closure a few months ago of the Corner restaurant and its cozy back room The Other Corner charcuterie bar. I spent many an evening with friends in that back bar enjoying some great meals and drinks, and— in theback,back room— playing darts and foosball.
But after a long, successful run, the Corner’s jovial Belgian owner, Bernard, put the place up for sale, and it’s now Nori…
…a sushi bar with an extended menu of Asian dishes. The new owners formerly operated Ruby 8 sushi bar in Locust Point’s McHenry Row.
The space retains its former layout: a casual dining room up front with the sushi bar set up at the rear, and the back room with a traditional bar and some additional table seating. Suspended above the bar are some suspiciously familiar glowing red drum-style lamps. If you recognize them from the former Pazo downtown (now Bar Vasquez), you’d be correct. The distinctive glass finials are a dead giveaway.
I confess, I’m not the world’s biggest sushi fan, but I did sample some and it was fresh and delicious.
Other friends who love sushi give it the stamp of approval. We tried several set-ups, from a simple sampler…
…to an elaborate and beautiful wooden “bridge” with a cascading display of a variety of sushi.
I also had a yummy sliced avocado salad.
I highly recommend the house specialty cocktail—the Asian Mist. The server says it was easily their top-seller at Ruby 8. It’s a bright-green concoction that combines coconut rum, melon liqueur, pineapple juice, and a splash of Sprite. It’s not my usual type of cocktail choice, but one sip and I was sold. And when in Rome (or Asia)…why not?
{ Nori, 850 W. 36th Street, Hampden }
