Best Japanese/sushi restaurant
Boston's awash in pricey sushi bars - so bless your stars for Blue Fin, where you can get a whole heap of yellowtail for your greenbacks. The Porter Square eatery doesn't do décor - unless you count the vaguely disturbing blowfish mobile in the far corner. It doesn't do service beyond the merely adequate (no pieces of flair here). What it does do, however, is decent sushi for a decent sum - nigiri holds steady at less than $2, maki rarely breaks the $4 mark - as well as some standout street-festival-style fare, like takoyaki and curried potato croquettes. Leave the $20 uni spoons to the bluebloods - your red-blooded appetite belongs to Blue Fin.

By comparison, Fugakyu, whose name means "house of elegance," doesn't just do décor - it's practically a Japanese theme park. It doesn't just do service - high-spirited sushi chefs and lovely yet slightly hostile hostesses meet our every expectation for the genre. And so does the jumbo-cut, fat-rolled, often wildly creative sushi (foie gras, lobster, and caviar are sometime ingredients) - for which Brookliners with a maki-munching yen are always willing to pay a pretty penny.

Blue Fin, 1815 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 497-8022; Fugakyu, 1280 Beacon Street, Brookline, (617) 734-1268.