by Sue Giustino
a conveniently located eatery specializing in Asian Dishes and Sushi
In March of ’23 Johnny Lin and his partner Fan found the perfect space to create an eatery for their Asian specialty dishes and the quality signature sushi they were known for at Seaside and Street Food. Now in their 2nd season, it’s become a ‘go-to’ destination for Lunch, Happy Hour, and Dinner. This year they added a Sushi Bar to the spacious dining room and bar. Along with the outdoor patio area, this provides many seating options for enjoying your meal.
Choices abundant, a ‘Foodies Paradise’! Diners will need time to peruse through the extensive menu of plates that taste as good as they sound, making it difficult to narrow it down a final selection. Starters include Raw Bar, Soups, Salads, Scallion Pancakes, and a full list of Appetizers including a large variety of steamed or pan-fried Dumplings. Next come the Entrees, Poke Bowls and Hibachi Style options. From there, you can go to the elaborate Sushi Bar Menu with its own Appetizers, Nori Rolls, Specialty Rolls, Sushi and Sashimi, and Sushi Entrees. And of course there are also Nightly Specials to consider. A wonderful array of choices neatly arranged on the menu by style and type of food to aid your decision.
Arriving on a busy Saturday night we were excited to realize that Mike Rusinsky of The Dog Watchers, was there to entertain us with live music. After being greeted and shown to our seats, our wonderful waiter George arrived to take our drink orders. From the unique list of specialty cocktails, we choose a Saki Tini which is a great combination of Cucumber Vodka and Saki, Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita, and a Dos Hombres Mezcal Pineapple Sour. All great choices for our upcoming meal.
For starters, we ordered a bit of a variety. First was the crispy Scallion Pancake, simply made with scallions, flour and water, which is great by itself, or you can add a topping of avocado, eel saucy and Spicy Mayo, Spicy Lobster, Spicy Tuna or Spicy Salmon. The Roast Duck Wrap is a light wrap with a sweet/tangy taste of the Hoison Roast Duck accented by the fresh flavors of scallions and cucumber. 
Of the many dumpling options, including veggie, shrimp, pork, roast duck, black truffle and other combinations, we chose the pan-fried Pork and Chive. Perfectly cooked and bursting with flavors of pork and chive, the stuffing is encased in a light dumpling and served with a garlic soy sauce, these were a table favorite. Another favorite was one of the specials, the Miso Glazed Eggplant. A halved sweet and tender eggplant was cooked with diced vegetables along with the sweet and savory flavor of the Miso glaze, adding a new dimension to the gentle eggplant flavor. Each dish was presented beautifully with garnish and sauces, and all were quite delicious.
As a special treat, the chef sent us two lovely trays of Tuna bundles and Yellow Tale Bites. The sliced Tuna was elegantly wrapped around julienne cucumber and adorned with a delicate sauce and fish eggs, while the thin sliced Yellow Tale was dressed with a light yuzu and greens. Spiral carrots and flower petals decorated each tray adding to the beauty of the fish creations. 
Off to a great beginning, we were excited about our meals yet to come.
Again, wanting to span the variety of offerings, we chose quite an array of entrees. From the specials, we had the Flamingo Roll – a delightful combination of spicy tuna, mango, and avocado inside with pepper tuna, honey wasabi and scallion outside. Additionally, from the Sushi Bar, we enjoyed the Sushi Deluxe consisting of Chef’s Choice Sushi and a Tuna Roll, all perched on a bamboo tray adorned with beautiful vegetable spray garnish, wasabi, ginger and a side of delicate squid salad. Each sushi dish that is delivered from the Sushi Bar is embellished with unique floral and vegetable garnish making them almost too pretty to eat.
A Hot Lobster Roll at an Asian restaurant is quite different than you might expect, really tasty, but different. The lobster meat is gently stir-fried with onion and celery and a special sauce with a kick, served on a butter toasted brioche bun, and a side of fries. Different and zesty, and also quite delicious. From the Hibachi Style options, we had the Hibachi with Local Sea Scallops, other choices include Chicken, Ribeye Steak, Shrimp, Salmon and Lobster Tail. A nice blend of mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, onions, carrots, celery and cabbage are stir-fried in a savory brown sauce and topped with a generous portion of pan seared scallops, all served with a side of white rice. Hands down top table favorite, was the tender and flavorful Whole Local Black Seabass which we ordered steamed [fried, with sweet & sour sauce is also an option]. 
Steamed perfectly, then place on a large dish sided with steamed broccoli, the Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce is spooned over the tender scored fish allowing the sweet and tangy flavors to compliment the fish without masking its natural goodness.
Dessert? Well, why not? George explained our choices, and since we were pretty full, we decided to share just a few. The Keylime Pie was, tart. Which is the way I love it; creamy, tart goodness with a graham cracker crust. Mochi Ice Cream, a bun-shaped Japanese dessert made from sweet glutinous rice flour with a vanilla ice cream center, is quite a treat. When you bite into the soft, chewy Mochi dough the ice cream inside oozes out, creating a creamy explosion in your mouth. I looked into the origins of Mochi Ice Cream and learned that it originated in Japanese tradition because of the traditional value of mochi. However, apparently, it’s actually a result of the crossroads of both American and Japanese food culture.
As we finished our meals we had a few additional tunes by guest performer Ray Red, who jumped on stage to play during Mike’s break. Thanks to both of you for providing great music which on enhanced our great evening. I would be amiss if I didn’t mention our table busser- Sam, he and George were very attentive and made a great team.
With so many tasty options and wonderfully attentive service, Street Food on the Green is absolutely a restaurant you should try. They are located at 99 The Plaza, and open Sunday, Monday 12-10, Tuesday 12-12 (Late-Night Menu 9-12) and Karaoke, Wednesday, Thursday 12-10, Friday, Saturday – 12-11- and Happy Hour M-F 2-5pm.
