SushiSamba

Went to SushiSamba for the first of what was to be a weekly restaurant date with some girlfriends. Somehow, we fell off that bandwagon...
There are 2 SS locations and I ate rooftop at the one in the West Village, a definite must. Downstairs is a huge clusterjam of busboys and impatient diners and bar rats and those just stuck eating there. Upstairs is the place to be, and make sure you call ahead of time to request it. The rooftop seating is rain-friendly with an elegant white tarp to protect you from inclement weather. Walking into SushiSamba you are immediately drawn into its energy: it's massive island of flowers reaching up to the ceiling makes you feel as if you've just stepped off a plane into a Brazilian jungle; busboys and waiters are diving in and out of the crowds with their impressive mile-high sushi platters (make sure to ask what they're carrying each time and take notes); music is loud and puts you in a samba (and drinking) mood. The bar was way too cramped and seemed to be in the middle of the highest traffic area (servers and busboys coming up and down the stairs with food and empty dishes). And dining downstairs just seemed totally unappealing. I caught a few gazes from diners who seemed to be looking at me with imploring eyes saying "Get me out of here" and "Wanna switch reservations?"
After a couple caipirinhas we were good to go to our table, and were led upstairs guarding our sugar-rimmed old-fashioned glasses with our lives.
When we sat down at the 6-top close to the railing we were happy..even happier when we ordered the magnum bottle of sake that was half off in price.
Menu Memorables :
*wasabi leaf tempura (didn't even know wasabi was a leaf), tasted like the Japanase (or is it Brazilian) version of eggplant, the 2 share the same texture
*seaweed salad, I think we each got a chopstick-ful of this sweet and tangy salad, a cold refreshing bite, almost like a palette cleanser
*grilled beef maki, tender beef morsels in a light dark sauce with heart of palm, grilled pineapple, and scallion, I forced myself to get everything in the chopstick, creating a sweet and salty, soft and crispy combo
*chicharron de calamari, cornmeal-crusted calamari with tamarind sauce, tomato salsa and plantain. I melt for "corn" on menus, in any of its forms, and thought this would be an interesting diversion to it's Italian counterpart. I was thrilled with the result... of our appetizers this was my favorite, and could pass on the others. The dipping sauce was thick and chunky, and you could scoop up plenty of it with the firmness of the calamari.
*neo tokyo roll, yellowfin tuna, tempura flake and aji panca. Yellowfin is not my favorite of sushi, I find it very bland, and Sushisamba did not change my opinion on this....
*rainbow dragon roll, eel, red bell pepper,cucumber, mango and avocado. I really liked this version of the dragon roll. The red pepper and mango added a nice twist to this sushi staple, though the mango was a little overpowering. I had to eat the eel separately to appreciate it.
*el topo roll, salmon, jalapeno, shiso leaf, fresh melted mozzarella and crispy onion. I just could not warm up to the sushi with melted cheese on it...
*pacific roll, king crab, avocado, asian pear, soy paper and wasabi-avocado crema. I have had some pretty amazing crab rolls in my lifetime, but these blew the others out of the water. The crab was sticking out of not 2 of the rolls (per usual), but each one, so we didn't have to fight over who got what. And I loved the crunchiness matched with the avocado.
The rolls overall were tight, fresh and crisp. I hate when I order sushi and as soon as I grab one with my chopstick it crumbles if the seaweed isn't bound tightly enough around its rice/fish interior. Each roll had a distinct flavor, another bonus, minus el topo's mozzarella cheese. I prefer keeping mozzarella on my pizza margarite, not on fish.
As for the service, our waitress was so-so friendly. But what irked me so much, enough that I would hesitate to go back, is that our entrees came out two minutes after our appetizers. Being a former waitress myself, timing is key when you're serving tables. And you never "fire up" (tell the chef to start the entrees) until the table is a bite away, if not completely finished, with their appetizer. Lack of timing skills is a total petpeeve of mine...and when we got the entrees I commented to our waitress we hadn't even touched the appetizers. Instead of an apology, she pulled major attitude with me and said they were just busy. Don't pull my leg, busy was not the problem. They were more concerned with turning tables over (getting you to pay the tab and seat the next group) as fast as possible rather than let their current guests enjoy their time at the table...
SS has a fun party atmosphere-it's definitely a place to see and be seen. But unless you're up for a wild and crazy zip-in zip-out dinner, think aboug heading somewhere else. I'm also not entirely sold on Latin-Asian fusion, unless we're talking people or alcohol...

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87 Seventh Ave. S., at Barrow St. (West Village)
212-691-7885

245 Park Ave. S., at 20th St. (Flatiron/Gramercy/Union Square)
212-475-9377