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| - I have found my new favorite sushi spot.
I wish it was closer to Tempe, but it's worth the drive.
You can tell by their menu that Hana strives to be an authentic Japanese restaurant, as opposed to the sake bomber joint that only has food so they can call themselves a restaurant. You know the kind; the Phoenix area is plagued with them. Hana is BYOB, and there are only a few ridiculous fusion rolls on their sushi menu: most of it is authentic, real sushi.
On my first visit I started with my usual appetizers, and was immediately struck by how unusually fresh and tasty they were. The seaweed salad had just the right amount of sesame oil, giving it incredible flavor. The veggie gyoza were indescribably delicious. They made me realize I'd never had a fresh gyoza before; every one I'd eaten previously in my life was a pale imitation of these little bits of Heaven.
The sushi came out fast, even though it was fairly busy this particular Thursday. The first thing I noticed, naturally, was that someone put a burning sugar cube on the tray. "Hey, fire!" I thought. It was a nice touch.
Then I saw, nestled between the flaming sugar and the wad of wasabe, a small pile of what looked like pickle relish. I guessed what it was, and our waitress confirmed it: it was FRESH wasabe.
Real, fresh-grated wasabe is something most people never experience. Most people don't even know the pasty green stuff that's standard in every sushi restaurant is just normal horseradish dyed green. The real stuff is just too expensive, and too difficult to keep on hand. But there it was, no extra charge. It adds a little spice and a wonderful, fruity complexity to the sushi.
The sushi was great. They also have a large menu with all the other Japanese dishes you'd expect, but I didn't try any of them. Next time.
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