Yasuda vs Gari

So now I've been to both... It's time to weigh-in on the pros and cons. And crown my Fave.

What could be more opposite than these two Masters of Fish.
One is a pure Edo-style Sushi Chef who has honed his craft to preserving and exercising the traditional origins of sushi.
The other is a master of layers and manipulator of taste. His dishes are unique and extremely dynamic in flavor.
I'm pitting these two against one another for the shear sake of naming a #1 in the city. Hey, we're Americans... We like that kind of stuff...
I understand there's Kuruma Zushi, Hatsuhana, Sushi-Den, Sushi Seki, Masa, Ichimura, and maybe even Ushiwakamaru to consider... But for the time being, let's keep it between these two dynamically opposite chefs.

Every army has it's General and Lieutenant. #1 and #2 respectively.

Battle 1
#1 Yasuda (Mr. Yasuda) vs #1 Gari (Mr. Gari)
Technique : Tie (5 - 5)
Presentation : Tie (5 - 5)
Personality : Tie (5 - 5)
Showmanship : Tie (5 - 5)
These guys are perfect.

Battle 2
#2 Yasuda (Mr. Okuno) vs #2 Gari (Mr. Tomono)
Technique : Okuno (4.5 - 4)
Presentation : Tie (4 - 4)
Personality : Okuno (4 - 2)
Showmanship : Okuno (4 - 3)
Okuno san wins.

The winner in over all points go to Sushi Yasuda.
As far as Sushi goes, tradition, purity and simplicity is what captures my heart. One can easily see and experience Yasuda's honest approach to sushi and I genuinely appreciate his uncompromising will to preserve authenticity.
Gari's sushi is after all, a play on the ingredient and manipulation of tastes and textures.
It is very good in it's own right, but the essence of a sushi restaurant must lie with the naked ingredient, and therefore Yasuda is my ultimate Sushi Restaurant here in New York.

for now...