Attention to Detail: A Knack for Nori at MakiMaki

MakiMaki Sushi just a few blocks from Grand Central, is part of a chain specializing in sushi cut up into rolls or stuffed into crisp nori cones. Snack spotter friend Lydie alerted me to the allure of their $5 - $7 handrolls, so I took myself there last Friday. A sleek sliver of a restaurant, MakiMaki has a scattering of high top tables and the air of a place that probably would’ve swarmed with lunching office workers back in the pre-pandemic day. I liked its minimalist decor with a black and white fish print as backdrop to all the slicing and rolling and stuffing and seasoning.

I ordered two handrolls, eel avocado ($7.25) and shrimp tempura ($6.50) that came in the kind of stands they put ice cream cones in at my local Haagen Daz. I was excited to take a bite, but when I picked up one of the rolls, I saw that the dried seaweed was layered between a thin sheet of plastic on the inside and the paper cone on the outside. There were instructions, “Peel & Pull Up” across the top and “Pinch & Pull” along the bottom. True to form, I panicked and started pulling the wrong way until it seemed my lovely chunks of eel might be dislodged! I went with my maki to the counter, and a helpful staff member deftly showed me how it’s done.

One bite, and I was grateful for the seemingly intricate but ingenious packaging! The nori is crisp, dry and toasty and a perfect foil for the sweetness of the eel sauce. However I do wish I’d ordered my go-to of salmon and avocado instead of the shrimp tempura with cucumbers and celery— not shrimpy tasting enough. Why did I do that? I was trying not to be a creature of habit.

See, about once a week I treat myself to a plastic tray of sushi almon/avocado roll for lunch, either from Cafe East in Columbia’s Alfred Lerner Hall ($8.95/8 pieces) or from West Side Market ($9.95/10 pieces). Raw salmon and ripe avocado have a luxurious taste and texture. I like to extend the pleasure by biting each piece in half instead of popping a whole one in my mouth. Yet, every time I move a morsel from chopsticks to mouth I find that I can’t snap the stretchy, rubbery nori in two. If these supermarket sushi rolls came with instructions, like MakiMaki’s do, they would say: “Bite & Pull—hard” Sometimes the nori will be so unyielding that the salmon and avocado chunks pop right out mid bite. Such is the reality of pre-made maki! Next time at MakiMaki, I’m going to see if the cutup salmon/avocado roll ($10.95 for 8 pieces) makes for a superior sushi experience!

Over the Moon for these Onigiri

And while I’m waxing on about sushi’s seaweed packaging, I' just want to give a shout out to the onigiri sold in Japanese market chain, Ten Ichi Mart. Onigiri (also called omusubi) are small rice balls wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with all sorts of sushi combos. Onigiri offers a wide selection of these cheap and cheerful flavor bombs ($3.29/ea), like salmon and tuna each with spicy mayo, unagi and the very popular roast duck. Like my maki at MakiMaki these onigiri also come with instructions for removing the nori from two layers of wrapping (see photo; onagiri are triangular but the Chef and I cut one in half to share). Again, this was a revelation—the dry papery seaweed against sticky rice and salmon/mayo mixture. Ten Ichi Mart has three Brooklyn spots, Park Slope, Williamsburg (where we bought these babies) and Cobble Hill. Even if you don’t go for onigiri, it’s a pleasure to walk the aisles of these small but jam packed Japanese mini grocery stores Everything is tempting: the wide array of pristine prepared foods, wagyu beef cut for shabu shabu, matcha flavored KitKats, rows of neon snack packets and even lovely little ceramic soy fish dishes and chopstick holders.

MakiMaki Sushi (Grand Central location)
360 Lexington Ave (btw E. 40th and 41st Sts)
212-557-5723

Ten Ichi Mart (Williamsburg location)
188 Berry St (Near No. 4th St.)
347-889-7722