Sushi Cafe

I am happy to announce that my great friends Tommy and Elizabeth made the prestigious cut this weekend as we ate a meal together worthy of blog-ittude. The three of us enjoyed a dinner at Sushi Café.

For me one of the main attractions is always their house salad. Crisp lettuces, diced tomato, cucumber, and a ginger soy dressing make this salad fantastic. First course arrived and we made some wise choices. The requisite edamame steamed and served with plenty of sea salt to flavor. E ordered chicken yakitori, tender breast meat marinated in soy and garlic then grilled on a hibachi. The chicken was moist tender and really well seasoned. Lastly ordered steamed gyoza dumplings. These were not as tasty as I remembered them being on previous visits but they were passable. The filling was a little on the bland side.

Entrée time, we ordered a variety of different sushi and sashimi. I was really happy with the selection and the presentation of the sushi. One of the interesting things about Japanese cuisine is that the presentation is very effected by the serving pieces. In traditional French/Western cooking the majority of eye appeal comes from the ability to coax color and shape out of whatever food product you happen to be working with. In Eastern cuisine, Japanese in particular, a large amount of care is paid to the dishes food is served on. The Japanese realize that the serving ware must be utilitarian but also that it can be a thing of beauty. To this end Sushi Café does not disappoint. The food was artfully displayed and laid out. Which adds to the overall enjoyment of the meal.

I ordered toro sashimi, fatty tuna belly, and a “Japanese Bagel Roll” which contains salmon and cream cheese. Both were well prepared and very tasty. T and E ordered an assortment of other rolls including the crispy shrimp roll, spicy tuna, and spicy California rolls pictured above. The sushi arrived in a timely manner and we were all pleased with the taste.

The service at Sushi Café is always a little uneven. Our server seemed preoccupied with her other tables. Servers tend to get flustered when they get sat multiple tables at once and then can’t keep up. One table always gets neglected. On Friday it was our table. I don’t want to give the impression that the service was bad it was just not great. Overall a good meal and I always have a good time with Tommy and Elizabeth, 8 out of 10.