Sushi hotspots are popping up in unusual places in the Big Apple, with tasting rooms tucked away in train stations, hotel suites and public spaces – and one even featuring a menu curated by actress Blake Lively. This month, Emil Stefkov’s The Group Hospitality opened Omakase Room by Shin, nestled in the 61⁄2 Avenue passageway, at 145 W. 53rd St.
, across from the company’s La Grande Boucherie. “We look for landmarked buildings like old bank buildings, theaters or fire stations and turn them into restaurants, like the beautiful arcade and pedestrian gallery between 53rd and 54th Street,” Stefkov told Side Dish. “It’s the only covered passage, in the style of Paris.
” Meanwhile, Lively, the former “Gossip Girl” star and wife of “Deadpool” superhero Ryan Reynolds, has brought her love of sushi to Daniel Boulud’s Michelin-starred Jōji Box, located in a nook beneath Grand Central Terminal that bears no name, no door and no sign . The curated omakase tasting menu, launched last week, includes 10-pieces of sushi for $55 — complete with her signature cocktail from her Betty Booze brand, a sparkling tequila with lime shiso. “There’s nothing like fresh, high-quality sushi,” Lively told Side Dish, adding that she sampled the menu “in the back of the car on the way to the airport the week before launch.
” Another unique sushi spot has sprouted at Hotel 32|32 in Nomad, where veteran restaurateur and nightlife impresario Richie Romero’s Simple Venue.
