Wayne Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 48

Home of the Sopranos Roll You don’t have to be famous to enjoy Nori’s sushi WRITTEN BY ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIELLE PARHIZKARAN S ometimes you just want OK. You want food that’s good enough, service that’s friendly enough, and a bill that’s reason- able enough for you to pay it, more or less, with the cash in your pocket. Sometimes you don’t need to be wowed. You just need to be fed well, with no fuss, no wait, no pretense. Low-key Japanese restaurant Nori Sushi is such a place. Since 2003, this comfortable spot housed in a little strip mall has been serving raw and cooked fish to Japanese food lovers in the same 55-seat dining room. Its somewhat hokey fishing decor — replete with nets, anchors Wayne NORI SUSHI 87 BERDAN AVE., 973-709-1190 NORISUSHIWAYNE.COM and fish — has never changed. Neither have the dim lights or black tablecloths that give Nori a rather dark, near-clandestine ambiance. That atmosphere may be the reason Tony Soprano and company swarmed into Nori one day in 2005. “I think the Mafia likes a dark, black place,” quips owner Steve Chong in his attempts to explain why “The Sopranos” filmed an episode KRAZY BIG ROLL 46 SPRING 2019 WAYNE MAGAZINE for season six at the restaurant. A slew of photos of that event are in fact the very first thing you see when you walk through the door. Open the menu and there’s even a Sopranos special roll ($16). But that shouldn’t be the spot’s only claim to fame. Come here for fresh fish and sushi that’s quite good. Consider starting your meal with Agedashi tofu ($5.50), a hot appe- tizer, served with the dashi on the side. The tofu was crispy on the outside and silken on the inside,