having lived in San Francisco for 19 years I was spoiled by the small restaurants with the freshest fish and Japanese chef who treated sushi as an art form to be enjoyed from many perspectives.
When I moved to Scottsdale/Phoenix in 2005 I was disappointed by the lack of any sushi restaurant that represented what I was used to in SF. They were all big, impersonal and I never had conversations about the food with the sushi chef as he was too busy cranking out standard California rolls. There was no art, no Japanese culture and basic fish.
I saw a review for Nori 5 weeks after it opened and it caught my eye. I was interested, but concerned it would be a repeat of the plain-Jane, boring sushi place that occupied the space previously.
So my wife (also tired of boring sushi factories) and I tried it one Sunday night.
BAM!! They had Japanese chefs, you could talk to and order from who looked to be creating edible art.
Our first bit of sushi and sashimi was served over a bed of ice with fresh wasabi and dicon. Really, fresh wasabi! The fish was cut in large tender pieces, as opposed to thin strips I see in other establishments. In another nice touch they have good Japanese beers on tap and their sauces (ponzu and the like) are made with fresh citrus juice and not bought from Sysco.
Nori impressed us a lot and reminded us of our really good places in SF.
We went a total of 4 times in 7 days for lunch or dinner our first week after discovering it.