This post originally appeared on Zagat Buzz
It seems Sushi Uo’s troubles with the ASPCA may not be over. If you haven’t been following things, a few months back, the restaurant received a visit from two ASPCA agents claiming that if owner Frannie Marchese did not put a stop to her “live sushi nights,” the animal-rights organization would press charges. Then, in May, the restaurateur says she received a letter from the group with an “implied threat” of two years’ jail time. That prompted her to hire a lawyer, who fired back with a missive of Marchese’s own. Since then, there’s been silence, and Marchese’s legal counsel plans to send a second letter asking that the ASPCA either state their case or drop the matter.
Despite the drama, Marchese dismisses the animal-rights group’s assertion that Uo is “torturing animals.” She says the main claim against the restaurant is for the live octopus, which is shipped in tentacle form from Japan. “’Live’ refers to the nerve endings,” she elaborates. “We’ve never had an entire octopus here in the restaurant.”
Meanwhile, Marchese brings the happier news that Uo has hired a new kitchen chef, Chris Burke (the former one, Christian Aguilar, went to Blue Hill), who’s cooking “mind-blowing” new dishes like uni carbonara with housemade pasta, pork fritters, and tofu with soy-milk caramel. And if you’re still set on live seafood, make note that Sik Gaek, the Flushing-based Korean restaurant that hosted squirming-octopus-eaters David Chang and Anthony Bourdain for an episode of No Reservations, doesn’t seem beset by the same troubles as Uo. The outfit opened a second branch in Sunnyside several weeks back. Guess they never had this guy as a customer.
Read the original story on Zagat Buzz.
Photo courtesy Sushi Uo.
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010, 3:00 pm | 
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