| rev:text
| - I'm here in Charlotte on business and happened to just find this Japanese restaurant by accident and thought I would drop in to satisfy a hankerin' for sushi and sashimi created by my wife sending me awesome sushi pics from a restaurant in Austin today. Heh heh
I haven't been compelled to write a review in a VERY long time....so either this is good or bad....unless you spaced and didn't notice the actual reading, I won't spoil it for ya. Also, I don't feel it is really needed to caveat this, but just to put this review in perspective - I am half Japanese, born and raised in Japan....so I kinda know a little bit of what to expect...just a little. ;)
I popped in on a Tuesday night, around 7:00 pm, nice decor, seemed to be busy for a mid week night with friendly service folks. I elected to sit at the sushi bar and found myself to be the only customer at the bar. As I walked up to he bar, I looked at the fish in the cooler and immediately wanted to leave. The color of the various fish was off(as in obviously NOT fresh) but alas, blame the wife...I was determined to find some decent home country fare. I immediately noticed how unfriendly the sushi "chef" was. No real greeting and I sat in silence until a waitress arrived several minutes later. Ordered a Sapporo draft beer and started looking at my "wish list" of sashimi and sushi. I checked off the seven piece sushi dinner that also comes with a California roll($18) and also added a four piece sashimi of yellowtail(for $10) and a four piece sashimi of white tuna/escolar(for $8) and handed my sheet to the "chef".
As I contemplated what hashtags to use when I undoubtedly take a pic of my dinner for Instagram and sipped my beer, my dinner was presented forth to me several minutes later (which I initially appreciated the quick turnaround) and I was again IMMEDIATELY disappointed and realized there would be no Instagramming after all. :(
The dinner came on two plates, sushi on one and sashimi on the other. What struck me so quickly was how THIN the sashimi was cut! When I mean thin, I mean thin enough to see THROUGH the slice! Seriously, wtf??? I was OFFENDED. This "chef" is blatantly trying to rip people off. The whole point of sashimi is to enjoy the flavor of the fish without rice...how in the hell can I taste any fish when it is like 3mm thick??? Not to mention, the slices were sitting in little pools of water, which means these "cuts" of fish had been frozen for too long. Seriously. What. The. Frick. smh
The sushi platter was no better. Sloppy California roll(I freaking hate it when they include the ends of the roll!!) in some weird, rounded triangle shape that barely held together. The sushi themselves had thicker cuts of fish and was presented better, but again, I was struck by the color of the fish. It came with a tuna, shrimp, salmon, eel, squid(I think...it was weirdly soft and not "crisp" as fresh squid would be and I couldn't tell by the taste either), seabass and one more I can't even remember. The tuna had a dull, magenta color(indicates it is old) and had no taste. Neither did the salmon or any of the other pieces have any taste, for that matter. The shrimp was very dry and the other pieces lacked any.....texture. If you have enough experience with sushi and sashimi, you will know what I mean by "texture". Horrible, irresponsible old cuts of fish. None of the fish had any taste and these cuts, when fresh, have a VERY distinct differentiating flavor between them, but not tonight. Not here. The four cucumber pieces had the most flavor out of the entire meal....at least they were "fresh".
Some of you may find this review overly harsh, but I write this specifically to share what to look for for those that do not know any better. It PISSES me off to NO END when individuals run a "Japanese" restaurant that is wholly not representative of my culture or the quality expected. I am a proud half-Japanese man and I take offense to those that misappropriate my country's culinary culture to just rip people off who are unsuspecting or those that do not have the experience to know any better. As for any other food offered at this establishment, I cannot comment on. However, if you are contemplating sushi and/or sashimi, take your hard earned money to an establishment that strives to do better for you and offer you a genuine Japanese culinary experience.....neither of which this restaurant is succeeding at.
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