Shakai, Downtown

I had dinner at this Japanese restaurant on South Orange Saturday night. It's in the spot where another (I forget the name) Japanese restaurant had been for years. I won't get too involved in my description because I hear they are moving around the corner to a spot on Pine and things may change. The sushi was bad. The rice was starchy (unwashed) and overcooked (mushy). The fish was badly cut, used pieces that should have been tossed out, was penuriously portioned and alternately dry (on things that should be moist) and soggy (on things that should be dry). I had conch and surf clam sushi. Both were $6. These were the dry ones. They had little taste and were cut very thin. 6 bucks is a dollar or more than usual. It also had a yellowtail and a salmon roll. Both were $7. They were the soggy ones. The rolls were cigar width. You could barely taste fish. Once again a dollar or two above average and in this case even the rice portion was below average in size. They have a Philippino and Korean preparing the meals. Maybe that is the problem. The interior design may be the best I've seen in a while. It's wood on wood. They have beautiful ornamentation created out of entwined branches throughout the restaurant. The service was good. The place was a little dirty (scratched tables and shmegma on the soy sauce bottles). Go for a drink. So you can suck in the decor.