***Please arrive at Beyond Sushi (62 West 56 St.) (off 6th Ave., between 5th & 6th Aves.) to pick-up or place your take-out order. It is highly recommended to [pre-order online](https://beyondsushi.square.site/) so as to eliminate wait time and minimize impacting their Friday night rush hour. To handle the anticipated large turn-out, we will be taking our meal to a nearby urban park (Fisher Park, 125 West 55th Street, bet. 6th & 7th Aves.) which can accommodate our large group.***

For those of you who have never heard of Beyond Sushi, **Chef Guy Vaknin** came up with the idea for his vegan Sushi twist while he was the Executive Chef at his father’s kosher catering company, Esprit Events. Focusing on creative ways to operate the catering company’s Sushi station, in a kosher world where you can’t mix fish and meat, Chef Guy came up with the idea of incorporating healthy fruit, vegetable, and whole grain based ingredients. Over a period of several years and after seeing a demand for healthy vegan food in the New York Market, the idea grew from there and the foundation for Beyond Sushi (The Green Roll) was born. Esprit Events is also where Guy met his wife, Tali, who together own the Beyond Sushi brand and where Tali Vaknin, with extensive experience in public relations and event planning, initiated their catering division.

Chef Vaknin was not a vegetarian or vegan prior to opening the restaurant, but according to a Q&A on his website **“I was ignorant about this ‘vegan’ industry. I sat down and learned. What am I doing? I like to watch documentaries. That’s one of my hobbies. And I’ve seen all the documentaries about veganism – Forks Over Knives, Earthlings, etc. I felt like it was something I should try. It felt great. It changed my life completely. It became part of my lifestyle. Now I am fully vegan”.**

Behind the counter looks like a salad bar, but instead of a collection of lettuce and tomatoes, you see yellow pickles, fresh green avocados and forbidden black rice or their 6 grain rice medley. In the name of nutrition, flavor and aesthetics, **Chef Vaknin employs black Chinese forbidden rice and a six grain rice made from rye berries, two types of barley, black rice, brown rice and red rice. There is no white rice. Beyond Sushi’s core menu is built off those grains. Why those grains? According to their website, they each contain health benefits way more potent than plain white rice.** Purple barley is higher in protein and fiber, and also contains the same antioxidants as blueberries. Black rice is believed to help reduce blood pressure, and is a good source of fiber and iron. Brown rice has fiber, protein, plus vitamin B, while rye berries are also high in fiber and protein, in addition to phosphorus, iron and potassium. Finally, red rice increases blood circulation and contains monacolins, compounds which help to lower LDL or bad cholesterol.

With vegan Sushi this good, who needs the fish!

**At Beyond Sushi you can find a variety of delicious and creative sushi rolls, and sushi pieces and they make all of their own custom sauces such as Toasted Cayenne, Smoked Pepper, Shiitake Truffle, and more, using grapeseed oil, tofu, and veggie purée**, all in an effort to cut down on the sodium, which is inherent in classic sushi via the soy sauce, another plus at Beyond Sushi.

**Those looking to go beyond a roll will find satisfaction in their protein packed Nutty Buddy Wrap, Dumplings and Bowls.**

**The house-made desserts should not be forgotten**, including the **Matcha Affogato and the Ube Cashew Cheesecake.**

Food this healthy and delicious usually comes with a heavy price tag, but Chef Vaknin has a different philosophy, “If you can afford a burrito across the street, you can come here.”

**Check out their [menu](https://beyondsushi.com/#menu).**

According to the website, **TheVeganWoman.com**, “Beyond Sushi offers a dazzling experience that enchants your senses from the moment you enter the premises. From the beautiful, unique and mouthwatering presentation, to surprising and delicious flavors that simply explode in your mouth – this is one sushi experience that you are bound to remember . . . Beyond Sushi promotes all-natural, locally grown, fresh ingredients that are sustainable and cruelty-free. Their ecological awareness is carried through to other parts of their business too, including the use of reclaimed and recycled materials and energy efficient lighting in the design of their restaurants.”

So as not to overwhelm Beyond Sushi with our many orders and impact their regular patrons, especially between the hours of 5:30-7:30, **we are highly recommending that you [pre-order your meal online using their app](https://beyondsushi.square.site/)**.

To handle the anticipated large turn-out, we will be taking our meal to a nearby outdoor seating area which can accommodate our group. For those of you who arrive late, our meetup will last well beyond sunset.

**Picnic Location (where we will be enjoying our food after pick-up at Beyond Sushi)**: 125 West 55th Street (bet. 6th & 7th Aves.) Just a short 3 minute walk from Beyond Sushi.

So come and enjoy the outdoors. What better way then to have a picnic on a warm spring night.

In the event of inclement weather, this meetup will be re-scheduled.

**Subway Directions to Beyond Sushi:**
• N, Q or R to 57th St (7th Ave)
• F line to 57th St (6th Ave)

***Please arrive at Beyond Sushi (62 West 56 St.) (off 6th Ave., between 5th & 6th Aves.) to pick-up or place your take-out order. It is highly recommended to [pre-order online](https://beyondsushi.square.site/) so as to eliminate wait time and minimize impacting their Friday night rush hour. To handle the anticipated large turn-out, we will be taking our meal to a nearby urban park (Fisher Park, 125 West 55th Street, bet. 6th & 7th Aves.) which can accommodate our large group, see featured photo.***

* Stefan