Review #1: Sushi Kawa

Sushi Kawa advertises itself as "Full Bar Asian Fusion" - they serve all manner of Japanese and Chinese foods, with a few Thai dishes thrown in. It's also right down the street from our current residence, but we felt like staying in. Luckily they offer delivery, although it must be a minimum of $28, and only for the immediate Groton area.

This time, I couldn't help but go with my traditional favorite, the chirashi-don! My visiting mother picked out Seafood TomYum soup, and my husband ordered some chicken lo mein. My mother and I also sampled some blue crab avocado dumplings from the sushi appetizer list.

The small delivery box for my sushi was similar to how you might pick up supermarket sushi - attractively displayed, bento-box style. It was delivered to us - quite quickly, too - in a separate bag from the hot foods. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting anything very fancy with delivery, but I was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful arrangement!

I sampled some of the dumpling my mother & I had ordered first - there was a tad bit of spice and
breading to the crab at the center of the avocado, so it was rather like a cool avocado crabcake. Very delicious, and a worthy appetizer, since one dumpling  was enough to fill the palm of my hand!

Mom's soup was very flavorful, and full of so many seafood goodies! Mom was nursing a cold at the time, so hot soup was her saving grace. I stole a bit of scallop from her for good measure.

The sushi in my chirashi-don was cool and refreshing and flavorful - just the way I like it! At first I was surprised that they also included octopus, but then I remembered just how close we are to the coast. Interestingly, the octopus sushi was sandwiched between thin slices of lemon, and upon trying it, I found the lemon had enhanced the flavor greatly! It was fresh enough that the texture wasn't overly chewy, too - it was the first time in a long time that I'd enjoyed octopus so much! The restaurant also included tamago sashimi - it was a tasty and welcome addition to the other sashimi available.

I was so sad when I took the last bite of my meal - it was one of those dinners that you wanted to go on savoring, no matter how full you got. My mouth still waters thinking about it, even though it was less than a week ago. I'm very interested to go and visit the restaurant itself now - and I'll be sure to review something new and tasty then, as well!

Sushi Kawa
507 Gold Star Highway (Rout 184)
Groton, CT 06340
(860) 448-0465

Review #1: Ju-Sushi

Just before Thanksgiving, we decided to have a sushi day - myself, my husband, my mother, and my daughter. We were excited to discover Ju-Sushi about 20 minutes away in Mystic. They also have a pickup only location in Groton! (That's where I'll do my next review on this place.)

Small building, simple decor, only a few seats, sushi selection is EXCELLENT! Offers $1 Nigiri pieces, as well as udon and ramen. Also offers catering!

I ordered the Cherry Blossom Roll and a Calpico. My mother ordered a Million Dollar Special Roll and my husband ordered Seafood Ramen. ( I almost ordered my Chirashi-don standby to test, but I wanted something new.)

For such a small place, it stays hoppin'. It must be doing something right! We had a long wait, since a lot of orders came before ours. Paul's seafood ramen came first - whole baby octopus and mussels on top of other tasty bits! The broth I tasted was wonderful. I didn't try my mom's roll but it did look yummy. But mine looked prettiest of all: 

The Cherry Blossom roll is listed as a California roll with asparagus, tuna, tobiko, flowers and a special 'cherry' sauce. The flavor is so creamy and yet so light, and the sauce is tangy, fruity, and spicy ( there had to be wasabi in there)!  Because the chef was handling so many orders, I was a little afraid the dish would be a little warm, but no! Everything was still cool and refreshing - just the way I like it!

And what a surprise! The owner, after our long wait (they were terribly busy today), brought us complimentary green tea mochi ice cream after our meal! My daughter Marlena got to try some too: 

This isn't a place to come for intense atmosphere - it's made for quick order and pick ups, with only a few seats inside and out. Even with most of the plating happening in styrofoam, the presentation is still attractive and eye catching. If you're absolutely jonesing for fresh sushi in the New London area of Connecticut, Ju-Sushi is a great place to go!

Ju-Sushi

27 Broadway Ave.
Mystic, CT 06355

Review #1 - Sake House Sushi and Steak

This Japanese steakhouse is set near Tanger Outlets in North Charleston, in a corner near a large variety of shopping centers. It looks a little like a studio building on the outside - a very good disguise.

Inside was a completely different matter. My visit occured on an unusually warm winter day, and the interior of the restaurant was dark and cool, colored in dim blues and browns. It was very easy to forget it was midday and believe instead that it was closer to nightfall. The music system was suitably soft, and played some modern Japanese songs - it was all reminiscent of a club without the loud volume. Seating was available at tables, booths, the sushi bar, and the typical Japanese teppanyaki tables. I took my seat at the last of these.

During that particular time of day between lunchtime and coming home from the office, it was rather empty. The waitress made sure we had everything we needed quite easily, but toward the end, it was easy to tell she was preparing to leave her shift. There was some confusion with the check at first - I can only assume she handed her remaining tables over to the gentleman that finished service with us - but to her credit, she made sure to stay on top of things with us even as she finished her cleanup work.

The variety of sushi offered a full spread, including tamago (sweet egg). Maki and nigiri-zushi were both available, as well as handrolls and chirashi-don (scattered-rice bowl). They offered traditional rolls such as the California, but there were also house rolls available - I ordered the house Cherry Blossom Roll. It came to me in a pretty flower pattern that I almost didn't want to eat!

My first taste was both wonderful and awful. While the flavor combination of salmon, tuna, and avocado was delicious, and I could tell the fish was still nice and fresh, the dish was unpleasantly warm - an unwelcome reminder that it had just been in the chef's hands. I'm not sure if the chef didn't work quickly enough or if their hands were just that warm, but the temperature of the sushi left something to be desired. In proper fashion, the plate also offered a small dollop of wasabi and several shreds of gari.

(I also finished off my meal with some mochi ice cream - green tea flavor is my favorite, and the strawberry is nice and sweet too.)

The price put on the menu for sushi and everything else is a little higher than one might pay elsewhere, but in return, Sake House offers a cool and relaxing escape from the day's shopping trip, as well as an undeniably tasty and varied menu. I plan to go again for another review, possibly during a busier time for a different perspective.


Sake House Sushi and Steak
4952 Centre Pointe Drive, Suite 112
North Charleston, SC 29418
View Website Here

Embarking on a New Journey: Grading Scale

Here's how I break down my evaluations for each visit:

• Presentation - will be a combination rating of the following:
• Plate Arrangement - key in sushi presentation. Is the display simple? Elaborate? Arranged in a specific way? How much of each type of sushi is available, and how is this used in the presentation?
• Additional Palatables - Are there condiments and palate cleansers aside from ginger and wasabi? How are they presented on the plate?
• Sushi Variety - is it basic like tuna and salmon, or varied as far as octopus and eel?
• Ambience - will be a combination rating of the following:
• Music - Am I hearing ethnic music? Current hits? Is it highspeed or relaxing?
• Atmosphere - Am I in a club? An executive party spot? Or somewhere more quiet? What colors do I see? What about paintings and other art displays like fountains?
• Service - specified by the following:
• Attentiveness in proportion to current customer volume - Is the eatery attending to a many customers at the moment, or only a few? Are they understaffed? Is it easy to get their attention if you need something?
• Price - The menu pricing, and whether I feel it is in proportion to what was offered.
• Location - The map address, and whether it is an out-of-the-way spot or in a busy hub.

I hope that these guidelines will help you in deciding which restaurant is more worth your time and money.

Embarking on a New Journey: Mission, Vision, Values

Mission

• To sample sushi of various sorts in various locations, with each location to be sampled at least twice.
• To 'grade' each eatery on a self-created scale based on personal experience and opinion.
• To offer up these opinions to the general populace for digestion and discussion.

Vision

I am eager to develop and establish the understanding and appreciation of sushi in the various locales in which it is served, as well as to encourage others' public opinions through expressing my own.

Values

• Food (and specifically for this blog's purposes, sushi) in itself is almost never unworthy of consumption, but both the preparation and presentation invariably affects just how enjoyable the results can be. Proper and/or masterful preparation/presentation results in an ideal dish, delicious in sight, smell, taste, and texture, whereas improper or novice preparation or presentation results in a poorly received dish.
• Sushi, by definition, can consist of just about anything edible in addition to the vinegar-rice portion. New and creative additions are seen as a testament of the chef's ability, which extends to reflect on the eatery being evaluated.
• First impressions, while important, are not everything - a second sampling is always just as valuable. No eatery offering sushi should be judged solely on its first impression.