Though Bloor Street goes through many transformations as it crosses the city, no section blends a neighbourhood feel with a bustling atmosphere better than the Annex. Let’s crop it down to just one strip: Spadina to Bathurst. The bars, bookstores, music shops, and breakfast joints get their fair share of business. But they are not so noticeable as the factors that make the Annex seem like Little Japan.

In that one stretch eight sushi restaurants vie for business. Each tries to distinguish itself in some way. Mariko (551 Bloor Street West) has an all-you-can-eat option, with sushi of admirable quality. Big Sushi (388 Bloor Street West) often squirts a special sauce on top of maki sets. Japan Sushi (482 Bloor Street West) is the only one with a patio.

Yet what is no secret to those familiar with the area, there are two standouts: Sushi on Bloor (515 Bloor Street West) and New Generation Sushi (493 Bloor Street West). This has much to do with price and quality. They are consistently the only places with a lineup out the door during peak hours (and many times, off-peak). Still, between the two, there is a clear #1.

They were neck-and-neck for all the years I’ve lived in the Annex. The sushi was always comparable. Both had free appetizers (soup and/or salad) and free green tea, refilled without hesitation. While you got more for less at Sushi on Bloor, New Generation’s friendly sushi chefs made you feel at home. (And protected it like home: a chef once leaped over the sushi bar and assumed a karate position in front of a belligerent customer before dragging him out by the collar.)

New Generation suffered a fire just before Christmas 2005. It was closed for nearly five months. During that time, the lineups at Sushi on Bloor naturally got longer. Though the lineups returned to New Generation by the summer of ’06, it seemed as though something was missing. The new décor lost its homey vibe, the sushi rolls weren’t as firm, the edamame wasn’t like I remembered it, and some ingredients were conspicuously left out of some maki. Sure that last one is just a mistake, but I just had a different impression. Was the love still there?

Meanwhile I had switched sides and became a Sushi on Bloor lover. My impression is backed up by many out-of-town friends who start talking about Sushi on Bloor a month before coming to Toronto. There is something about the place: its big-time hustle and tight quarters (on the first floor) lend it a Manhattan vibe.

Sushi on Bloor may not win a taste contest if pitted against its neighbours. But for the most part, the entire sushi strip is relatively equal: some sushi excels beyond adequate, some lags, but it can be said that equality stretches along Bloor Street. A dragon roll is a dragon roll.

Sushi on Bloor is one that excels. It does so with the lowest prices on the street. Vegetarian rolls are $4.50 and many special maki are $5. And they aren’t packed with rice: there are good-sized chunks of fish and avocado in there. The menu’s prices are clearly the reason a lineup often extends onto the sidewalk. But it’s not only that – you get so much. They cut no corners, they give diners the benefit of the doubt, and hand over hefty amounts of food. Nothing illustrates the more-for-less idea better than a steaming bowl of edamame: it is deep and overflowing, questioning its title as “appetizer.” It is just $2.50.

The portion size doesn’t infringe on quality. The ingredients are fresh, taste fresh. And the environment is lively. There is an energy at Sushi on Bloor, created by patrons, by swift servers, and by constant trays of maki flowing through the restaurant. The whole place is moving. The electricity is the experience; in this way, Sushi on Bloor may have no equal in all of Toronto. Still, a bowl of miso soup and green tea is at your table before you take your jacket off.

As for the lineups, they are usually no more than seven people, meaning three tables, meaning they go fast. In rush hour, it can be longer. But here’s a thought: When a lineup is 20 diners deep, it means the lineup goes quickly, or it would never be 20 diners deep. That said, a reservation wouldn’t be the worst idea.