Zen Japanese Cuisine: Livingston, NJ

“John at the bar is a friend of mine”

I do not know much about sushi; of this you can be sure. I do not know much about Japanese names but I will tell you that I was surprised when it turned out that the chef behind the sushi bar at Zen in Livingston was named John. I have been going here for lunch for the last few months and have enjoyed what I consider to be some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. I say some of the best because I once ate at Sushi Yasuda in Manhattan and I would put the quality of the fish I had there on a different level. For the money they charge it should be but good sushi, like any other ingredient driven cuisine, isn’t going to be cheap. You’ve got fish and some rice and occasionally something else but for the most part if the fish isn’t fresh you’re going to know it. If the fish isn’t fresh you should get up and walk away.

Now, none of this will be news to anyone who eats sushi regularly. You already know, or should know some of the basics to eating sushi: look for a restaurant that does a good business so that they sell the fish quickly, reject fish that smells “fishy”, and most importantly get to know your sushi chef and take his advice. I love to eat at the bar at most restaurants and with sushi you get to sit right in front of the chef making your food. Go a few times and you get to know him and he gets to know you. You can ask him what’s good on a given day and get to try things that you might never have known about otherwise. Leave him a nice tip, it will be money well spent.*

At Zen, I sit down and just tell the chef how much I want to spend and let him decide what I should have. We’ve been getting some yellow fin tuna, salmon, white tuna and some other fish both as sushi and sashimi along with some rolls, spicy tuna for instance, and a specialty roll or two. The chef at Zen likes to mix crunchy fish items like soft shell crab or shrimp tempura into the specialty rolls along with the uncooked fish and then add another flavor like mango or jalapeño, the idea is to give you a contrast in texture as well as taste. They haven’t had any Toro, the fatty tuna considered to be the best of the best, at Zen when I’ve been there but the other tuna has been fresh and delicious. I really like that white tuna which I’ve never heard of before and is probably a different kind of fish altogether. The portion size has been very generous and the bill has been about $25 per person including tax and tip.

There is waitress service at Zen as well and I’ve found it to be prompt and the waitresses to be very helpful. There are other menu items but I haven’t had anything other than the fish so I can’t comment. It looks to be the usual Japanese sushi menu. I’ve never gotten the feeling that there’s a special menu for Asian customers, something that makes me crazy, but I could be wrong about that. The restaurant is tucked into the corner of a strip mall anchored by a Pathmark and an Olive Garden. If you’re in the area go and sit at the sushi bar. Humming that Billy Joel tune is optional.

Zen Japanese Cuisine
277 Eisenhower Pkwy
Livingston, NJ 07039
(973)533-6828
No website

Sorry, no pictures.

*There is an excellent essay in Steven Shaw’s Turning The Tables about how to pick a sushi chef. “Stash” hits most of the highlights but his advice to start by ordering some Toro sashimi would have you headed for the door at Zen, something I’d think you’d end up regretting.