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| - There are so many things *right* with Hana that one can almost overlook the sordid quality and schmaltzy presentation of their sushi rolls.
Overriding every other concept of the restaurant is the fact that 95% of the hungry patrons at Hana are boozehounds like myself, and this place will cater to the unholy amounts of BYOB that each table will bring. What is truly exceptional is that 1) No corkage fee 2) They will chill your white for you in an ice bucket at the table 3) If you bring beer, they will keep it in their fridge for you and bring you another as you continue to dine 4) everyone here relishes in this policy.
Seriously, I witnessed a table of 5 with 5 bottles of wine and a sixer of some imported swill. You could eat a seaweed wrapped piece of Gypsy at this saturation point, and it would taste like toro.
So, my gf Melissa B and I get there around 6:30 on a Saturday loaded up with our Sav Blanc and six of Rogue Dead Guy Ale and with full intentions of waiting for a table due to the popularity of this restaurant and its 50 person max capacity. Surprisingly, they had 3 tables open, all of them 4-tops. The hostess informs us that the wait will be 20-25 mins and I'm thinking 'oh, cool, those tables must be reserved. No worries. Oh, and hey look! There is a two top paying out'. Well, after that couple leaves, they scoot over the two top to make it a six top and seat the aforementioned boozer-quintuplets who were rightfully there before us still waiting. Okay. No biggie, there are still open tables.
A party of three come in. "Hi! There is no waiting".
They get a seat
Another party of three stroll in. Yep. "Hi! There is no waiting".
There goes our last chance of a seat for a while, and we're 25 mins into our wait. Thank God I brought the beer.
As I understand it, they will only seat parties of two at their two tops [of which they had few, and one was being used as an impromptu wine rack for the wino-Salingers] or at the sushi bar. I really have absolutely no problem with this policy, but I could see how it would piss some people off -- maybe from an older generation who feel slighted by shit like this, which is why I'm even discussing it. But anyway, we eventually we got our perfect little two top and preceded to order edamame and miso. These are two staple appetizers for any Japanese restaurant. The edamame came out cold, which was okay, as it is typically served cooled .. but I actually prefer my edamame heated and the server never asked for a preference ... hell, they even ask you at throw-away joints like Ra. Since we are a culture of benevolent Americans who are intent on skewing EVERY foreign dish, I always assume that the edamame will be served warm. Either way, I was too timid to ask since these servers seem to be flying around the small restaurant with nary a second to spare at the microwave. The miso soup was excellent ... but if I'm looking for shit to complain about, they served it with that damn goofy, oversized spoon.
When we got our boat of fish my gf and I commented that we would have liked a little extra prep time. I mean come on, there needs to be distinct transitional times between courses. We were only mildly impressed with the presentation. The rolls were prepped very sloppily. The yellowtail was absolutely lost in the rice. The tempura shrimp was sliced so thin that it was destroyed by the chopstick. The caterpillar roll had almost no essence of eel within. The spicy tuna was good, but nothing to rave about as seems to be the trend when discussing Hana. We also ordered the processed daikon off of their specials-board [which our server never went over BTW], and I would highly recommend staying away from this unless you curiously want to know what Little Lisa's Slurry from the Simpson's episode "The Old Man and The Lisa" might have tasted like. Blech. I'm sure it was downhome authentic, but Christ, THAT was vile. Anyway, that was MY fault, not Hana's.
I will say that the first time that I came to Hana [with Graham C and Yelp's famous Jerry], it was absolutely phenomenal. I think something has been lost in translation. Back then, their rolls were much better prepared and the toro was otherworldly. Perhaps it is the hulking Melrose virulence seeping into their foundation.
I will conclude with a statement about how I am aware that Hana is going for authenticity; which makes the curt service, lack of formalities like "hi! how is everyone today" [I doubt they do that shit at sushi joints in Japan], and loud, bustling atmosphere work to a degree. I can HOWEVER, see that being such a turn-off to those unwilling or unaware to put up with it, or worse yet, interpret it as rudeness. I personally like the fact that places like Hana exist as an antithesis to garbage like Ra. But every polarization needs an equilibrium, and for my money, time, and need for experience, nothing beats Sakana.
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