This is Eaters' Journal, in which we muse on recent meals. We collectively eat out upwards of 20 times a week in these parts, so we might as well discuss.
Sumile Sushi: Josh DeChellis, a genuine talent, but without the pretense of some of his peers, opened a small restaurant on a residential block of the West Village a few years back. He's kinda sorta a quiet guy and he likes to have his food do the talking—and at Sumile for the better part of three years, it did. But the Japanese restaurant has been opened since September 2003 and, though the food set still hold it in high regard, the buzz has definitely worn off. In a move to reinvigorate the masses, DeChellis turned Sumile into Sumile Sushi, which is, basically, Sumile with a sushi bar upfront (opened as such in December of 2006). The good news is that the food is still excellent and now there's a full sushi menu. At a recent meal (comped), the raw fish that was billed as the freshest was a delight; dishes from the kitchen, such as a King crab with yuzu gelee and caviar, were lights-out.
The less good news, for JD, is that the house still isn't packed (indeed, the Deathwatch Committee is watching). But as this relates to your schedule, at this moment it is the best restaurant in the West Village to which one can can walk-in at almost anytime and get a table. Indeed, while it lasts, it's in your pocket for when any other restaurant in the area worth the price of admission is quoting a 45 minute wait on a Wednesday.
