Wasabi in Sleepy Hollow: New Management, New Menu

When Wasabi in Sleepy Hollow was owned by the talkative Mr. Yang, it was a place where you could go to for a good laugh with your food. The proprietor was known locally as "the Don Rickles of sushi." 

A customer wearing a suit was likely to be greeted by remarks in jest such as, "You are overdressed; this is not a five-star establishment."

"Sorry, we're full," he would say even if most of the tables were empty or, if you stayed away too long, "Where have you been? I was worried."

New Wasabi co-owner Tina Wang said, "We will just serve good food. No jokes."

Tina and her husband Johnny are from Fujian, a province on the southeast coast of China. Both of their fathers worked at Japanese restaurants and they too were employed at Japanese establishments, mostly on Long Island and in Yonkers, before buying Wasabi. This is their first ownership of a restaurant.

The Wasabi menu offers 44 different sushi rolls including cucumber ($3.50), California ($4.50), Boston ($5), Florida with caviar ($6) and the following creative specialities:

• Diamond roll. Shrimp banana tempura, loster salad, avocado, wrapped in soy bean paper ($12)
• Dynamite roll. Spicy kani, shrimp, avocado inside, yellowtail, jalapeno, red tobiko on top ($12)

Tina said the most popular sushi rolls at Wasabi are the two mentioned above plus the following:

• Tarry roll. Spicy tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado, cucumber crunch inside, eel and white tuna, seaweed salad and tobiko on top ($12)
• Sleepy Hollow roll. Eel, avocado, spicy kani, crunch and tobiko on top ($12)
• Twin Tuna roll. Spicy tuna, avocado inside, top-blackened tuna with spicy sauce ($12.50)

In addition to the regular menu, a blackboard lists the current sushi bar and kitchen-prepared specials. Sushi specials are changed every two months and kitchen-cooked specials are replaced every three months but most former specials can still be ordered even if they no longer appear on the board. 

Current board specials include spicy seafood soup ($6), duck roll ($8.50), garlic oyster ($8.50), tuna dumpling ($11), shrimp tempura roll with apple inside and mango on top ($11) and Fuji–salmon, tuna, avocado and lettuce wrapped in seaweed with special sauce ($11). 

Beer, saké and wine are available. Takeout party platters, beginning at $50 per tray, can be ordered.

The Wang's live in Queens with their son Ricky, age 7, and daughter Micky, age 4.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant seats 34 plus eight at the sushi bar. It is located at 279 N. Broadway, NY. 332-7788. The restaurant opens on Monday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and at 4:30 p.m. for dinner. It is open on Saturday from 1:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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