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| - Vegas has so many world renowned chefs with outposts on the Strip that surprisingly, the best sushi in the city might be found off it. Pretty hard for me to believe myself.
As my friends were spending their money on $35 drinks at a pool/day club on a Saturday afternoon after paying $40 for their ticket to see Alesso, I opted to find a good place to eat by myself. I polled friends on Facebook and got great recommendations like Raku, Sweets Raku, Piero's, L'Atelier by Robuchon, Taste of Siam (I had already been there before), but some of them weren't open for lunch. I found Soho Restaurant on Yelp, then found that it was also listed as #3 in Yelp blog's top 100 places in the US for 2015.
I took a seat at the sushi bar. A server and one of the sushi chefs asked what I liked eating. I started with a couple of sashimi plates, added a roll, then finished with live sweet shrimp.
This nerd was really enjoying watching them at work then I spotted that they had uni. The chef asked if I liked sea urchin and explained that they always tried to carry two varieties. I'm savoring my sashimi and a couple of minutes later, the chef places a small plate before me. "Since you like uni, here's some uni with snapper for you to try!"
As I was finishing up my sashimi plates and about to start on my roll, the chef places another small plate in front of me.
Chef: Do you like beef? Do you eat meat?
Me: Yes, of course, I love beef!
Chef: Ok, good! This is just a little bit of our Wagyu.
I didn't realize what I was eating until I bit in. WAGYU A5! Who gives away Wagyu A5? It was so tender, so fat, so juicy with just a magic dust sprinkle of sea salt. He had just finished prepping some beef dishes and there was an ounce or two left over so I benefited.
Eventually I finished my roll. I was about full, but was able to squeeze in live sweet shrimp for my last dish, a perfect way to finish it off.
Yellowtail Yuzu Soy (w/ Tempura Serrano, Micro Cilantro, Garlic Oil, Ponzu, Garlic Dust) - You can't go wrong with any of their sashimi dishes here, but the Yellowtail Yuzu made my mouth feel like a kid at Disneyland. Happy, alive, and full of wonderment. Fresh fish with a citrusy, yuzu ponzu, topped with a deep fried serrano pepper slice. Very tender, crisp, and clean. The tempura serrano made this next level. This was my favorite of the dishes I tried.
Golden Ocean Trout (w/ Freeze Dried Miso, Chives, Lemon Ponzu, Pop Rocks) - Barely a half-step behind the Yellowtail Yuzu is the Ocean Trout. A bright orange trout (almost looks like salmon), it was an evenly marbled cut that made it slightly buttery. The lemon ponzu and sweet crackling pop rocks was a contrast that complimented everything well. Based on personal preference, you might like this better than the yellowtail. Both are phenomenal.
Santa Barbara Uni with Snapper - My sample plate of this was the same as the regular sashimi dish. The snapper is subtle with allows the fresh, rich uni to shine.
Twin Dragon Dragon Roll (Alaskan King Crab, Spicy Tuna, Avocado, Tempura Shrimp) - Yes, real Alaskan King Crab. Avocado chunks. All of this good stuff, topped with roe and drizzled with sauce. Loved it.
Wagyu A5 - Best way to describe this dish is to say... Wagyu A5. If you don't know what that means, well, that means baby soft well marbled beef that just melts in your mouth. The way they cooked it was perfect... A simple preparation, medium rare with just a touch of sea salt, allowing nothing to distract me from a gorgeous piece of meat.
Live Sweet Shrimp (Amaebi) - For my shrimp they used a large, live shrimp, so I'm not sure that it's true amaebi. Smaller amebi that I've had in the past have been sweeter. The single shrimp was prepped three ways for me. They removed the head shell, then cut the head from the body, and then plated the body and while the head was split, half deep fried while the other half was cooked in a miso soup. There is something very pure and primitive about eating something raw minutes after it was alive. Yes, we are a sick peoples, but it's so good.
Have you ever been to a restaurant for the first time and they give you uni and Wagyu on the house? I'm still in awe. Thanks to John, the sushi chef who helped point me in the right direction and created phenomenal dishes. He was the one that noticed that I was really enjoying my food and gave me more just for the heck of it. I didn't know he was the owner! If you see a guy behind the sushi bar cutting jokes with his staff while making sure the fish aren't alive, that's John.
Only $48 (before tax and tip) for all of this? If I didn't order the last shrimp, it would have only been $38. This same meal would easily cost you double on the Strip. And they have Happy Hour deals too. Only ten minutes/five miles from the Strip, Soho Restaurant is worth the small detour to have some of the best sushi in the city!
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