Brooklyn’s Finest Sushi Counter Is Hidden in Plain Sight

My new favorite spot for sushi isn’t new at all. It’s a little counter in the back of an OK Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn that opened about six years ago and fell under the radar almost immediately afterwards. Why didn’t I know about its wonders sooner? I wondered, right after a bite of amberjack belly and a gulp of cold champagne.

Here's why: 1 or 8 has a name that is half conjunction, half numbers, along with a pretentious tagline that reads “atelier of food.” The sprawling dining room on a quiet street in Williamsburg is in various shades of sad, surgical white, from the walls to the booths, even the bare dead trees that serve as decor are painted white. This is meant to look sleek and minimal, but the effect is weirdly clubby, like the cafeteria at a very exclusive rehab center.