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Tsuki occupies a rare category of New York sushi bar. Without being ostentatious or charging stratospheric prices, its chef and owner Kazutoshi Maeda manages to serve sushi the equal of many places that do. From behind the six-seat bar, in a room that resembles countless other neighborhood sushi spots, Maeda sets luxuriantly fatty yellowtail or rich sea eel brushed with not-too-sweet sauce above fingers of commendable vinegared rice. Along with familiar fish, he also stocks seasonal rarities, like baby eels, king salmon, and horse mackerel. Nowadays sushi chefs seem fond of augmenting traditional sushi with strange sauces that often clash with and obscure the flavors of fish. But here scallop comes adorned with seaweed sauce that echoes its brininess; the chef sears sea urchin and tops the warm custard-like result with a whisper of lemon and salt. The menu contains many rolls, creative and (thankfully) not, and non-sushi items, such as pork dumplings, salmon skin salad, and sushi pizza, tuna on a crust made of broiled sushi rice. — JJ Goode

Homemade tofu, $4.50; Japanese fresh eel, $4.40/piece