| rev:text
| - Island Sushi and Hawaiian Grill in the Plaza had become a surefire bet for me over the last few months, especially when I found myself downtown, hungry because I waited too long to get something to eat, and turning into a veritable raging monster, wandering around moody and lightheaded, and just as aimless and indecisive as to what my next meal should be.
I would pop in here for lunch, sit at the sushi bar, and could pick from almost any of their specialty rolls to achieve serenity and balance. And even more so if those picks included the Candy Cane (spicy soft shell crab with tuna hamachi) or the Lava Lover (spicy tuna, Cajun tuna and chili paste, served with a spicy garlic ponzu sauce).
And if I happened to amble in a bit later, I could satisfy the raging hunger monster inside me with some Spam Musubi: a grilled portion of spam wrapped in sushi rice and nori, and seasoned with Furikake (a Japanese condiment made with dried and ground fish and sesame); I never imagined I would ever love love love something made with Spam, but Island Sushi had made me a convert.
And then tragedy struck.
Sometime between my last two visits, the restaurant had decided to give diners the options of eating a la carte, or paying a fixed price for lunch and $dinner, and ordering off their all-you-can-eat menu.
On the upside, the menu lets you sample not only their many sushi rolls, but smaller side dishes like their garlic chicken, chicken katsu, and garlic soy edamame that are served tapas style. I was pleased to discover these items on this new menu and really appreciated the crispiness of the katsu chicken. It was the best thing I had that day.
On the downside the sushi that came off of this menu was unappetizing and the chicken katsu was the best thing I had that day.
While the Island Special (soft shell crab, spicy tuna, eel sauce and a spicy aioli) was just fine, and the Crunch Roll was okay but not as good as I remembered it, the seafood "filling" in Pauhana roll we sampled had the mouth feel of glutinous mashed potatoes and was quickly ejected into our napkins as it could not be swallowed. There was also a spam-based roll we sampled (that I was originally looking forward to given my newfound respect for that mysterious spiced ham) but this disgusting, inedible curio barely made it past our lips; I wish I could remember this specific roll's name, but I have skillfully managed to block it from my memory and only years of unmitigated regression therapy can now set it free.
What happened? Did I just visit on an off day or did the all-you-can eat menu change the way these previously delicious dishes were prepared? Is quality being compromised so the restaurant can afford to offer an all you can-eat menu?
Or am I only imagining that the quality has gone down in some way and I am blind to a potential bargain that's being offered? Has the new all-you-can-eat menu jaded me in some way? I would have gladly paid $35 to $40 per person for an a la carte lunch here in the past, but the value for the money this time, even with an all-you-can-eat structure, was just not there.
All questions and doubt aside, our experience with the sushi on the all-you-can eat menu was a disappointing one. So much so that I do not think I'll be returning. Instead of turning me on to something novel and amazing with their new menu, and taking a convert on new journey of sushi enlightenment, they have ruined the memory of some of my old favorites, so I'm getting off this island.
The new menu also added to my displeasure. It's filled with rules and restrictions, such as when certain items can be ordered, and if you don't eat all the sushi you order or eat every grain of rice that comes with it, there will be hell to pay and you that you will be fined a surcharge. While I get the need for this, as some people do go overboard and order too much, and this puts a toll on the sushi chefs, it also cheapens the dining experience a bit and makes things feel somewhat contemptible right from the get go. When I'm hungry and moody I do not want to sit through a stern, five-minute lecture of rules that feels like the opening scene from Gremlins.
Meanwhile, every other table was promoting an avaricious eating contest that also seemed to be a new, disconcerting addition since my last visit here. The Loco Moco Challenge! Stuff a three-pound beef patty, six scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, 12 ounces of gravy and a malassada in your gullet in 45 minutes and it's free! Or pay $39.95 and wear some shame along with a free neon pink t-shirt that tells everyone you're "a loser" for failing to do so. Do they have to eat every grain of rice, too? Classy.
I now have no favorite place to go to when I am downtown and hungry, and I am clearly not a fan of the many changes that have occurred here since my last visit, which make me angry. And you wouldn't like me when I'm hungry and angry.
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