Did you know sushi is Japanese for happy?

Beyond Sushi is Chef Guy Vaknin‘s elevated vegan eatery, with vegan and kosher sushi spear heading the menu. With a clean eating motto, the high end plating marries the artistic vibe soundly in all of the several locations mushrooming around New York, the second most vegan popular spot after Los Angeles, making it the Vogue of plant based dining. With a penchant for all things clean, vegan and particularly complimented with craft cocktails and more, I found Beyond Sushi to be a hearty addition to Manhattan’s culinary circuit. Particularly, as it’s 100% plant based.

The array of sushi was as tasty as it was colorful, with all natural vegetables forming every hue on the dishes. We had the tropical seeming one which had a sweet and ripe taste of mango: Spicy mango, with black rice, avocado, mango, cucumber, veggie slaw and toasted cayenne sauce, the latter giving it a spicy kick. The sunny side was reminiscent of California, with black rice, fennel, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, butternut squash and a green pumpkin seed pesto sauce, giving it a healthy, almost Venice-beach style finish that was hearty and light all at once. The smoky jack was my favorite owing to it’s smoky quotient with a salty taste coming from pickled cabbage and hickory smoked jackfruit, which was in sharp contrast to the sweetness of mint, mango, and supplemented with dehydrated olives, topped with tomato guajillo sauce.

With an homage to other American-Asian favorites, we had the fun guy dumplings, with a mushroom medley, tofu, spinach, watercress, chili panko, spicy bean and shiitake truffle sauce. Heavy on the heavenly mushroom aroma, it was a hearty bite with chilis and spices seemingly kiss-worthy delicious owing to a cold punch in the mouth! The nutty buddy wrap was one large boy, filled with arugula, soba noodles, jalapeño peanut butter, carrots, cashews, avocado, tofu, cilantro and ponzu sauce. The most inventive element here was the density of nuts, especially the creamy peanut blended with jalapeños.

For drinks, we had a large bottle of sake to help diminish the fact that we had a creamy truffle mushroom risotto, creamy and simmering like the memoires of Italy. With aromas of truffles and a cashew-cheese impeccable texture, it held it’s own pedestal for resident comfort food on a day that was getting gradually chilly.

Beyond Sushi also delivered sumptuous vegan treats to home, along with a bottle of sake, because dreams do come true… yesterday I was dreaming of luscious food, today I am eating it.