Agami

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This new late-night sushi spot in Uptown is a psychedelic fun house of aquatic-themed design. Bulbous columns rise from the floor like giant sea anemones; a video wash turns one wall into a prismatic waterfall; a wide flat-screen monitor embedded in the wall-size wine rack separating the bar from the dining areas screens an endless loop of aquarium porn. The brainchild of designer Jay Paik and executive chef Soon Park, Agami, located in the south tail of the rehabbed Goldblatt’s building at Broadway and Lawrence, is clearly poised to tap into the neighborhood’s booming nightlife scene–the sushi bar serves until 1 or 2 on weekends, midnight during the week. It’s the kind of place that normally terrifies me, but the food is pretty amazing. Under Park, who trained with Seijero Matsumoto at Kamehachi and put in time at Sushi Wabi, the extensive menu includes novelty items like the “spicy tuna rice crispy”–tidy rectangles of crisp buttered rice topped with spicy tuna tartare and a thin slice of jalapeno. The ginger chicken roll appetizer, a hefty battered-and-fried cylinder of white chicken, asparagus, and bell peppers in a sweetly smoky ginger teriyaki sauce, was practically an entree in itself, but the starters are doomed to play second fiddle to the sushi bar. A plate of sashimi was beautifully presented, with thin, firm, shockingly fresh slices of tuna, salmon, shrimp, octopus, and–my pet among the fishier fishes–mackerel, all grouped around a delicate rosette of fluke dusted with red tobiko. That old standby, the rainbow roll, was superb: tuna, salmon, and buttery yellowtail wrapped around rice and a core of spicy tuna. The list of signature makis is a little overwhelming–Park’s concoctions seem as though they’d cram more tastes into one rice-rolled bite than one could possibly appreciate. But the Green Turtle maki we tried was a dense, sweet, rich construction of grilled eel, avocado, and tempura crunch topped with wasabi tobiko and shrimp. Arranged in a circle and outfitted with a smiling turtle’s head of wasabi paste–complete with octopus-tentacle eyes–and a tail of caramelized eel, it was also adorable. Agami can be pricey; at least it’s BYO for now. –Martha Bayne