No reservations. No carry out orders. Period. You line up early (the restaurant opens at 5 PM), sign your name on the list, and can wait up to an hour and a half for a seat. Remember the Seinfeld skit with the Soup Nazi? This place is akin to the Sushi Nazi. You get to order only once, the service is quick and curt, and you usually rub elbows with your neighbors. So why go through all this trouble you ask? The sushi. Slices of fish the size of your head! Well, more like double the usual size...but you get the idea. The chefs are very generous with the portions, and you get a ton of food for your buck.
One excellent appetizer is the spicy maguro (tuna) salad--spicy wasabi ginger dressing atop salad greens and freshly sliced maguro. The Sabu roll is also a favorite, and is very similar to the traditional Rainbow roll. Make sure to ask for a doggy bag to take home leftovers! Oh, you can get carry out, it's just that you can't phone your order in--you wait in line like everybody else.