I had almost eaten at the Japanese restaurant at Newport on the Levee several years ago. This time, in advance of seeing Star Trek for the 2nd time, I actually did.
The atmosphere, decor, ambiance is really wonderful. Simple clean lines in everything, dim lighting, peaceful after the busy-ness of the valet / courtyard area. We started, of course, with edamame. Soy beans cooked in their pods, which you squish into your waiting mouth. So good we ordered another bowl.
Mary ordered lots of sushi, most of which we shared. I ordered the avocado and ginger salad, and the stewed vegetables (none of which mama used to make), which were the side dish with a meat entree. It was all excellent. The hit of the evening was the plum-basil sushi roll. Beautiful color, and exquisite just-sweet flavor. The rest of the sushi sorted itself out by who liked which the most. The plum-basil required care to make sure we each got the same amount.
Definitely a treat. So after a frazzled day – do yourself a favor and head over to Aoi!