Richardson, TX — Sushi Sake

Sushi Sake 2150 N Collins Blvd Richardson, TX

972.470.0722 website map

Spending the week in Garland Texas, I asked my colleagues to recommend a sushi restaurant. Several of them recommended Sushi Sake. All of them suggested that while Sushi Sake is the best sushi restaurant in the area, they also said that it is expensive.

Sushi Sake is a smart-looking Japanese restaurant in its own building behind a strip mall. I followed the directions in my GPS and for a while, I thought that I was lost. I drove behind the strip mall, and it looked like I was entering a residential district. The building was not well lit from the outside, but the parking lot was pretty full for a Thursday night.

The interior of Sushi Sake i sdark and very modern lookuing with a Japanese theme. I sat at the sushi bar, but the place had plenty of table seating. The tables were reminiscent of tatami-stle mats.

As I was seated, a waitress brought me a hot towel —nice touch. I ordered a sashimi combo, Miso soup and gyoza. The combos were reasonably priced but the a la carte menu was pretty pricy.

Sushi Sake, had several specials — a very good sign. When the waitress brought my soup, she also brought a small dish, as sort of Japanese amuse-bouche. It turned out to be a small sunomono salad with cucumber and seaweed in vinegar. It was awesome.

There were seceral sushi chefs working the bar tonight. The guy making my sashimi had (to use the vernacular) mad knife skills. I love the way he sliced the cucumber garnish for the sashimi. The presentation was very good.

The steamed gyoza was very tasty. I wish that it had been served before the sashimi.

The sashimi was a nice combination of tuna, salmon, surf clam and yellowtail. At $14, the combo price seemed reasonable. All of the fish was fresh and tasty. I thought the yellowtail and salmon were especially good.

The service at Sushi Sake was excellent. Empty plates were removed swiftly and efficiently. My glass was kept filled and the sushi chef even noticed when I needed a drink refill.

When the chef asked if I wanted anything else, I asked about Giant Clam. He pulled out a large piece and asked me how much I would like. I asked for two pieces of sashimi. once again, he did his wizardry with the knife and arranged the sashimi in a fancy bowl. The giant clam was absolutely perfect. I haven't had it in a while since many places do not carry it. To top off the meal, the chef sliced up an orange and served it as a desert.

I could not find a single thing wrong with Sushi Sake — I will be back.

Sushi Sake 5 rice bowls

Madison, WI — Sushi Muramoto

Sushi Muramoto 546 N Midvale Blvd Madison, WI

608.441.1080 website map

I have been to Madison many times. My parents are UW alums and I have spent many summers here. Strangely, I have never had sushi in Wisconson. A colleague recommended Muramoto. So I braved temperatures around zero degrees Farenheit to drive across town to Muramoto.

Muramoto is a trendy looking sushi restaurant in an upscale mall off of Madison's Midvale Blvd. The restaurant has a large expanse of glass windows and bold reds splashed behind a modest sushi bar. When I sat down and browsed the menu, it was tempting to forgo the sushi all together and try the Pan Seared Duck Breast. I may be the SushiPilgrim, but I am a sucker for duck.

As I looked over the menu, I saw one of my favorite sushi items and that clinched the deal. They had Horse Mackeral (Aji). Most sushi restaurants server a different kind of Mackeral, Saba. Saba is cured in salt and marinated in vinegar. But Aji is served fresh. It is one of the most sublime of sushi flavors. If you ever see it on a menu, you must try it.

So, I ordered Aji, a salmon skin roll and a philly roll. The Aji was every bit as good as I had hoped. The salmon skin roll was crispy and tasty, not overpowered by too spicy a sauce. The philly roll was average, smoked salmon and cream cheese. It could have used some avocado or something mildly cruchy.

Perfect Aji and an excellent salmon skin roll make Sushi Muramoto an excellent choice.

Sushi Muramoto 4 rice bowls

Portland, OR — Yuki Japanese Restaurant

Yuki Japanese Restaurant 1337 NE Broadway Portland, OR

503.281.6804 map

Portland. The town has a reputation for coffee shops, indie culture and seafood. It seemed to me like a good place for sushi.

I found Yuki Sushi when my GPS failed to find another sushi restaurant. I was in a neighborhood with several restaurants, so it was not long before I found Yuki on a busy corner. I had to circle the block a few times but I eventually found a place to park.

The service at Yuki was a bit slow but I ordered a couple of sushi rolls. I misplaced my notes so I do not remember exactly which rolls I ordered. I do remember that they were both innovative and tasty. The fish was fresh and the rolls were nicely made.

Yuki is the kind of restaurant I visit on a regular basis.

Yuki Japanese Restaurant 3 rice bowls

Vancouver, WA — Marinepolis Sushi Land

Marinepolis Sushi Land 1401 SE 164th Ave Vancouver, WA

360.883.3881 website map

I have not been to Oregon or Washington since I was a child. So, when I had the opportunity to visit the Portland area, I looked forward to some awesome sushi. I decided to have a light sushi appetizer on the Washington side of the river and then finish dinner in Portland.

I had some time to kill before I had to catch a plane. I used my GPS to find a Borders so I could have some coffee and use their WIFI. On the way to Borders, I had seen a sign that said 'Sushi.'

I drove down the street to Marinepolis Sushi Land. After parking and walking in, I discovered that it is one of those conveyor belt places. That is, you sit at a counter or table and different kinds of sushi on plates rotate around the room. They are on colored plates and the prices differ based on plate color.

Of course the first problem with this scenario is that the sushi has been traveling around and around at room temperature. Since it would have been rude to act appalled and walk right out, I decided to sit down and have a few items.

The seaweed roll was actually pretty good. I love giant clam but it was a bit on the slimy side so I only ate one bite. The tuna roll was no better. I did try two of the authentic Japanese eclairs. They were actually quite good.

SushiPilgrim has been to all kinds of sushi places all over the US and Canada — Marinepolis Sushi is among the worst.

Marinepolis Sushi Land 1 rice bowl

Cherry Hill, NJ — Mikado

Mikado 2230 Marlton Pike Cherry Hill, NJ

856.665.4411 website map

When I asked my colleagues in New Jersey, where to go sushi, they all said Philadelphia. After pressing them for local recommendations, someone suggested Mikado. I did a web search and found that Mikado is a small chain of sushi/hibachi restaurants. I looked for the one closest to the office and found the Cherry Hill location.As a bonus, the Cherry Hill restaurant did not have a hibachi section so the focus was certain to be on the sushi.

Mikado is a large restaurant, nicely decorated inside. I decided to sit at a table so I would have room to spread out and read my book. I asked for hot tea and sat down with the extensive menu. In addition to the regular menu there were specials and two pages printed front and back of special rolls!

When my tea arrived, the waitress brought me a dish with some pickled daikon (I think). It took me a while to decide. Unfortunately, all of the special rolls that looked interesting to me had spicy tuna on them. After much debate, I settled on a deluxe sashimi combo and a Philadelphia roll. The combo came with a choice of Miso soup or salad and I chose the salad.

The Philadelphia roll was quite good, Mikado is in the Philly suburbs after all! ALl of the sashimi was fresh and tasty.

Everything at Mikado was good — I'll be back.

Mikado 4 rice bowls

Horn Lake, MS — Sekisui South

Sekisui South 1255 Goodman Rd Horn Lake, MS

662.536.4404 website map

I had never been to Mississippi before so I had never had sushi there. Mississippi may be known for many things but sushi is not one of them. I asked around and a colleague recommended Sekisui.

Sukisui is part of a chain of Japanese restaurants and Sekisui South is located in Horn Lake Mississippi. I decided to give it a try. Sekisui is a large modern restaurant with both Teppanaki and sushi. Inside, Sekisui resembles a club more than a restaurant. It has concrete floors, a large bar and blue lightiing all over.

While Sekisui's owner is Japanese, the sushi chefs were definitely not Japanese. I spent quite a bit of time looking over Sekisui's menu. When my waitress arrived, I stalled by ordering gyoza and a diet coke.

I eventually decided on a sashimi combo. The menu said that the combo came with Miso soup and a salad. My waitress brought the gyoza and my sashimi arrived almost immediately. I was almost finished with my meal before she realized that she had forgotten the salad and soup. I said that I no longer wanted them, I would have felt better had she discounted my meal — oh, well.

The gyoza was tasty but strangely garnished with lettuce and lemon. I guess the presentation was americanized.

The sashimi was good quality, all of the fish was fresh and tasty. The sashimi consisted of three pieces each of, tuna, salmon, white tuna, octopus and snapper. The sashimi was garnished with daikon and an artistically carved lemon wedge.

The problem with the sashimi was the portion size. The portions were not too samll, rather they were much too large. The 15 pieces of sashimi must have weighed collectively more than a pound. The pieces were large and thickly sliced almost like little steaks. The pieces were so large that it was hard to put a whole one in my mouth. .

Sashimi should be subtle, nothing about Sekisui was subtle

Sekisui 3 rice bowls

Memphis, TN — Edo Japanese Restaurant

Edo Japanese Restaurant 4792 Summer Ave Memphis, TN

901.767.7096 map

Memphis is a barbecue town. Just down the street from Central Barbeque is a Edo Japanese Restaurant. Edo is sandwiched between a Jewish deli and a meat market. Since the restaurant is set back from the road I drove by twice before I found it.

I didn't choose Edo on the basis of recommendations or reviews, it happened to be the closest Japanese restaurant in my GPS. Edo is a medium size restaurant with booths and tables in dark woods. There are blue curtains and hangings and strangely no sushi bar.

With no sushi bar, a quick perusal of the menu made me wonder whether the place even served sushi. I ordered a soda and some gyoza as I looked over the menu. Finally, I found the sushi on the back page. I ordered a crab sunomono salad and Miso soup. I also chose a Philadelphia roll and a Rainbow roll.

The qyoza was tasty and the wrapper had a nice texture. The sunomono was likewise good. The fish in the rolls was tasty and firm.

Everything at Edo was good but nothing was exceptional.

Edo Japanese Restaurant 3 rice bowls

Jonesboro, AR — Fuji Steak House & Sushi

Fuji Steak House & Sushi 2810 E Highland Dr. Jonesboro, AR

870.872.5585 map

Jonesboro Arkansas is not really a sushi hotspot. An internet search for sushi revealed two Japanese steak houses and a Chinese buffet. Fuji seemed to get the best reviews so I decided to give it a try.

Fuji is a large Teppanaki restaurant with a sushi bar. It sits in a strip mall opposite a Ryan's. When I walked in the door something happened that I have never experienced before. The hostess asked me if I had a membership. She explained that they were a dry county. I told her that I do not drink and I did not plan to order alcohol. She said I still had to be a member.

Once I got past the preliminaries, I sat at the sushi bar. After perusing the menu, I ordered some gyoza, a sashimi combo and a Philly roll. Unfortunately, the Philly roll came out even before the soup and salad that came with the combo. When the soup came, it was not the normal Miso it was a clear soup with mushrooms. The soup was pretty good but the salad was another story.

The salad came in a large bowl but there was nothing in it except lettuce. The lettuce was nice and crisp but there was way too much dressing. The dressing almost looked like a soup sitting on top of the lettuce.

The gyoza was also a dissappointment. One side of each piece looked like it was burned. It had a burnt or carbon taste to it.

After all of these issues, I was bracing myself for the fish. I don't particularly enjoy California rolls. Often I will not order a combo becauseit comes with a California roll, it is usually a deal breaker for me. This time, I chose a combo that come with a California roll. I was pleasancly surprised. Instead of a stick of imitation crab, the roll had crab salad with mayonaise. It also had only a little bit of tobiko or roe. I would have to say that it is the best California roll I have ever had.

The Philly roll wasn't too bad but it was not very consistent. Some pieces had almost no cream cheese in them while others were almost all cheese.

Surprisingly the sashimi was very good. The combo came with three pieces each of tuna, seared tuna, white tuna, red snapper and salmon. The seared tuna was served with a tiny bit of spicy sauce and the white tuna was served with a verty tasty mayonaise.

The fish was very good but evrything else was only so-so.

Fuji 3 rice bowls

Reston, VA — Obi Sushi

Obi Sushi 1771 Library Street (Reston Town Center) Reston, VA

703.766.SUSHI website map

Reston Town Center is an upscale shopping center located amidst several office buildings. There are several restaurants in the complex and they do a brisk lunch business. I was working nearby and I found Obi Sushi on the Internet.

I drove over to Reston Town Center and parked in one of the free parking ramps. Obi Sushi is across the street so I walked on over. Obi is a modern looking restaurant with a buffet at lunch time. The buffet includes sushi and a variety of Japanese items.

I decided to try the buffet. I normally don't like Tempura but I gave it a try along with a noodle dish and some gyoza. All of them were good but since this is a sushi site, I should probably comment on the sushi.

The buffet contained the normal assortment of maki. California rolls, spicy tuna rolls and some nigiri. The sushi was good but not outstanding. Overall I was pleased.

This is one of only a few sushi buffets that I can honestly recommend.

Obi Sushi 3 rice bowls

Reston, VA — Ariake Japanese Restaurant

Ariake Japanese Restaurant 12184 Glade Drive Reston, VA

703.391.9006 map

I often find myself working in the technology corridor around Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C. This week I was in Reston, Virginia and in between watching the Olympics, I snuck out to enjoy some sushi.

I looked at some online reviews and Ariake seemed to be consistently good. I punched the address into the GPS and drove to the restaurant. Ariake doesn't look like a sushi restaurant at all. It is located at the end of a mall in a stand alone building.

The restaurant has huge windows on three sides, it looks like the walls themselves are glass. Buit the most uniqe feature of Ariake is an outdoor stone patio. The patio is set apart from the parkling lot and has seating for about twenty people. I think there was some water, maybe a small fountain at one end.

The interior was a bit unusual for a sushi restaurant. There was none of the common blond wood and Japanese inspired accents. Instead there are beautifully polished deep brown wood floors and tables and chairs to match.

The menus were nicely presented and there was a good variety of items. I decided to order the deluxe sashimi combo. The salad was unremarkable but the miso was good. When my sashimi arrived I knew it would be good.

The sashimi was nicely arranged on a bed of Japanese radish and wafer thin cucumber slices. My combo included tuna, white tuna, salmon, yellowtail, red snapper and surf clam. There was a white fish in the middle served with tobiko and tiny slivers of scallions. I coul dnot identify the type bit it was good.

I like a good presentation but in the end you have to eat it. I was not dissapointed. I love white tuna, I started there and it was perfect, it sort of melts in your mouth. The tuna was very good and the salmon had just enough taste without being overpowering. All of the fish was good.

I could not find anything wrong with Ariake, I really enjoyed it.

Ariake 4 rice bowls