Category Archives: Japanese

Oishi Japanese Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

Based upon the tourist location and other reviews I wasn’t expecting much, but I really liked this place.

The room is great, almost a tiki bar decor, with nicely partitioned booths and stylish tables.

The extensive menu offers a huge selection of sushi rolls, plus a page of noodle dishes and two pages of teppan steak offerings. We sat at a table and had sushi for lunch.

A lot of the rolls feature cooked eel or tempura ingredients, making them slightly sweet, so those new to sushi will find it very accessible. There are also very reasonably priced combinations and sashimi samplers.

Of everything we tried my favorite  was the orange blossom roll, which involved no orange, but did look orange. A creamy salmon concoction with crispy fried bits of roe, it nicely incorporated salty and sweet flavors with a crispy yet chewy texture.

Service was extremely attentive and friendly, and pricing, especially for a tourist area restaurant, was extremely reasonable.

Oishi Japanese Restaurant
11025 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 465-0088
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oishi-japanese-restaurant-orlando

RA Sushi

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Chili Ponzu Yellowtail Hand Roll

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RA Chips and Salsa

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Zonie Roll

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Shishito Peppers

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Salmon Carpaccio

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Sashimi Lunch Combo

**** (4 stars)

RA Sushi is a good choice for sushi in the International Drive area. Located downstairs off the valet parking turnout of Pointe Orlando, it is a large, stylish restaurant with a variety of seating options, a bar across the front, a sushi bar in the rear, and some patio seating as well.

The sashimi lunch plate is a particularly good choice. It’s available every day at lunch time, even on weekends, and offers 12 generous pieces of sashimi (tuna, salmon and white fish) plus soup and salad for a reasonable price.

I also really like the summer menu’s special hand rolls, which were light and refreshing, almost like summer rolls in a Vietnamese restaurant.

But it’s worth noting that RA Sushi isn’t exactly an authentic sushi bar. I tried ordering a salmon skin roll and was told that since all ingredients are already prepped, they can’t make items not on the menu. What that says is that the sushi chefs are more assemblers than true sushi chefs who can make anything they like. That’s not too surprising, since the chain is owned by Benihana.

Still, the fish was good quality and the price was reasonable, and I’ll certainly return.

RA Sushi
9101 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 454-5600
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ra-sushi-orlando

Katsu

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***** (5 stars)

This is the best sashimi I’ve found in Chicago. Interestingly, sashimi is not available by the piece, but only in various collections, such as the chef’s omakase, which is available in three sizes. The quality and presentation is superb.

This isn’t really a place to go if you’re looking for sushi rolls. The selection is limited, and they weren’t the highlight of our meal. Also, the tempura was just so so. However the eel custard was great.

Indeed, this is a sashimi place, so plan on having that when you go, and plan on spending a fair amount for it, as the quality means it is expensive.

There is a thoughtful if short wine list, and the Champagne on it goes great with the sashimi.

Katsu
2651 W Peterson Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 784-3383
http://www.yelp.com/biz/katsu-chicago

Dozika Restaurant

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*** (3 stars)

While the logo may suggest this is a noodle shop, I would describe it more as a sushi restaurant that also serves pan-Asian food.

There are a number of interesting bento boxes available for lunch, and I like the fact that you can essentially pick your own sushi, sashimi and roll as part of one of them. The sushi was perfectly acceptable, better than a market but not gourmet. Certainly for the price it was good. The miso soup was excellent.

Service is friendly and the atmosphere is casual but nice enough.

Dozika Restaurant
601 Dempster St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 869-9740
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dozika-restaurant-evanston

Sea Ranch

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**** (4 stars)

Sea Ranch is a weird combination of sushi restaurant and mico Asian market. They carry a few hard to find Asian ingredients such as various noodles, seaweed, rice crackers, candies, drinks and condiments.

There aren’t a lot of places in Evanston to buy good seafood. I’ve been disappointed with the various markets and even Whole Foods. Sea Ranch has a very limited offering of fish–the day I was in it was basically tuna and salmon–but it is of very high quality, and they sell the sushi cuts separate from fish better suited to cooking.

As far as a restaurant, the ambiance is a non-started for me. It’s basically like eating in the aisle of a small store, because that’s exactly what it is.

Sea Ranch
518 Dempster St
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 492-8340
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sea-ranch-evanston

Usagi Ya

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**** (4 stars)

This stylish sushi bar offers so excellent cooked and raw items.  The Tuna Tower and Hamachi Jalapeno were our favorites. Service (by presumably the owner) was friendly and attentive. You can sit in a cozy booth in the front windows, or have a more private space in the rear.

Usagi Ya
1178 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(773) 292-5885
http://www.yelp.com/biz/usagi-ya-chicago

Crazy Cafe

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***** (5 stars)

Very nice sushi place in a light, airy corner spot in a mall. How nice to be able to enjoy sushi at the two outside tables. Well prepared rolls, and the lunch sashimi special was an excellent deal, offering tuna, salmon, escolar and hamachi. The selection of rolls is extensive.

Friendly service.

Crazy Cafe
3883 US Hwy 301 S
Riverview, FL 33578
(813) 898-2839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/crazy-cafe-riverview

The Izaka-ya By Katsu-ya

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***** (5 stars)

This was a great lunch find in Manhattan Beach. Bustling at lunch time on a Sunday. There are some very creative rolls here, including a cajun one that was our favorite. The team-tag approach to service worked well, keeping our drinks and tea replenished. The lunch specials are a pretty good deal, although we went ala carte, and the price was still reasonable for the exotic feast we assembled.

The Izaka-ya By Katsu-ya
1133 Highland Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 796-1888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-izaka-ya-by-katsu-ya-manhattan-beach

Yuki Hana

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***** (5 stars)

Another amazing sushi fusion place on the east side of Orlando! We sampled a large portion of the menu at a decadent Saturday lunch, and everything was excellent. Some of the fish is flown in from Japan, and it shows. I particularly liked the lightness of the Vietnamese roll, which contained three types of fish, lettuce, wrapped in rice paper and topped with crushed peanuts. Very creative, fresh and delicious sushi and sashimi.

Yuki Hana
3635 Aloma Avenue
Oviedo, FL 32765
(407) 695-8808
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yuki-hana-oviedo