Osaka

"On the weekend, customers fight for the hibachi seating," says Mark Chen, a chef at Osaka. What with a Japanese-French fusion menu that offers French sauces instead of a too-oft repeated theme of soy sauce, and a cache of more than 50 kinds of saki, warm and cold, Osaka is a hot spot on Northampton's Old South Street; says Chen, "The economy doesn't affect us."
The competition for Best Sushi is lively in Northampton, but Osaka has beaten out popular rivals Zen and Moshi Moshi for our readers' vote in this category. If you're a sushi lover, try the Sushi Ya Roll with fried oyster, onion, cucumber and tobiko topped with shrimp. If nothing is too rich for your blood, choose the Osaka Roll, with shrimp tempura and cucumber inside and whole eel and caviar on top.