"John W, our server, was absolutely phenomenal. Since the menu was slightly intimidating, John took his time to walk us through the menu, hinting at what we may or may not enjoy according to our unique palates. \n\nWe started the night with a decadent cucumber mint martini which was refreshing after just milling about South Park Mall. The Martini was followed up by the crispy calamari. This calamari was paired with a chipotle mayo sauce and a grilled lemon. The kick of lemons acidic juices added an extra layer of flavor atop the delicately fried, perfectly seasoned, squid pieces. I cannot rave enough about the calamari served here. I find that calamari, if not quality squid, is chewy and rubbery. However, at Baku this was not the case-- the calamari was buttery and smooth, it melted in my mouth. \n\n\nNext up: the seasonal tempura vegetables. Unlike most tempura, the chefs only fried a thin crust around the various veggies, which complemented the vegetables flavors instead of overpowering them. This dish, akin to the calamari was served with a grilled lemon but instead of a mayo based sauce, it was a miso-soy-herb medley. Absolutely stunning. \n\nWe continued onto one of the salads, the roasted eggplant and tomato to be exact. This dish was another piece of art. The dish was a mountain of Japanese eggplant cut into small ovals and roasted to perfection. The seedy consistency of the eggplant was paired with crisp heirloom tomatoes that waited at the bottom of the eggplant mountain, acting as sort of a foundation for the plate. I decided to cross-contaminate here and dipped the eggplants into the miso-herb sauce that came with the vegetable tempura. \n\nLastly was our sushi-- and boy was it worth the wait. We had an order of Gokujo Tuna and Forbidden. Both were presented beautifully. Forbidden was wrapped with black rice, a nice change of pace from the normal sticky sushi rice. The black rice added an extra crunch to the roll. The gokujo tuna roll had a wonderful underlying heat that amped the flavors up a bit. This heat is reminiscent of a wasabi type heat-- one that comes through your nose and mouth then tapers off slowly. Paired with this heat was the yuzu sauce, a citrusy sauce that truly pulls the plate together. \n\nOverall, Baku was phenomenal. I look forward to coming back."^^ . "0"^^ . . . "5"^^ . "0"^^ . "0"^^ . "2015-07-12T00:00:00"^^ . .