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| - I find it odd that a place with wasabi in its name served the BF and I multiple plates of sushi with nary a speck of wasabi in sight. Maybe they ran out of the maligned blue food coloring the night we went in, but it was weird for the wasabi to go missing at a sushi restaurant.
Blue Wasabi's web site really dances around it, but the original location in DC Ranch has been shuttered. They now have two outposts and a thing for "villages" (e.g., strip malls). There is this location in Hilton Village and another in San Tan Village.
Unfortunately, Blue Wasabi was better at the original location. The main advantage to the new digs is the increased size. The original in DC Ranch was the size of the postage stamp and the upholstered back room was like something you would find in a condemned asylum. The new space is much larger and a very efficient space planner managed to squeeze out every possible place to put a seat. We were there on a fairly quiet Sunday night and it was fine, but with the communal table running down the center of the restaurant, this place is probably jam-packed on a busy night. The wall of light that changes colors behind the sushi bar is cool. The owners spent at least a few hundred grand on the interior build out.
The menu has been dumbed down in the new location. It now offers a number of options clearly designed for folks who won't eat raw fish. The bar food items include the Buddha Burgers, Macadamia Chicken Strips, and Filet Mignon Medallions. Blue Wasabi needs to decide if it's going to be a sushi restaurant or a bar that serves food.
You've got to be open to modern sushi if you're going to enjoy Blue Wasabi. If you're a sushi purist, this is definitely not the place for you. The signature rolls are still irreverently named, but they don't have the outstanding flavors that were found at the original location. I suspect the original sushi chef didn't make the move to Hilton Village. It now feels like a second string chef is merely replicating what was once innovative.
The BF always enjoys the Eating Nemo Roll of krab (Blue Wasabi has fallen into the fake crab trap) and cucumbers topped with fresh salmon, thinly sliced lemons and ponzu sauce. The Kiss My Bass Roll of shrimp tempura, cucumber and avocado topped with striped bass sashimi and ponzu dressing is also good. In another riff on colors, the Marilyn Monroll is tuna, yellowtail, salmon, spicy tuna, krab (again!), avocado and cucumbers wrapped in pink soy paper. Another different roll is the P.I.T.A. (Pain In The Ass) with tuna, krab, and avocado inside a cucumber wrap with a garlic ponzu dressing. The Where's The Beef Tempura Roll is seared beef tenderloin, asparagus, avocado and shrimp that is then tempura'd and topped with a sweet soy glaze. It was okay. If you like sweet sushi, the Killer Bee Roll is a California roll topped with freshwater eel, sliced mango and a sweet soy glaze.
The Signature Martinis are also fun. The BF usually goes for the Wango Mango (Stoli Peach vodka, mango nectar with an orange cranberry splash). I always order the Mello Jell-O (Skyy Berry vodka, cranberry flavored sweet and sour and cran-raspberry juice infused with dark cherry Jell-O). It's like a Jell-O shot martini and that's a tasty treat.
Anyone who dines out on sushi in the Valley will not be shocked that Blue Wasabi is expensive. The BF and I never get out of this place for under $100 for the two of us. There are a couple of promotions they run to help out the thrifty diner. The first is Blue Sundays. If anyone in your party wears blue on a Sunday, Blue Wasabi will give you 50% off alcoholic beverages. Their drinks are spendy, so the discount is nice. Somehow the BF and I end up ordering twice as many drinks on Blue Sundays, but we still feel like we're getting a deal. The real deal is Frequent Diner Mondays. The trick is to stop by Blue Wasabi and have a drink during the week or weekend and then return the following Monday with your validated receipt for 50% off all food. Depending upon how much sushi you order, that's one good deal, honey.
The new Blue Wasabi is hip, fun and irreverent. It's not as innovative as the original in DC Ranch and I'm not sure that the food and drinks are still worth what they cost. It's best to try to catch this place on a promotional deal.
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