Mizu Sushi Bar- Downtown Saint Louis (May 7, 2014)

 May 7, 2014

Mizu Sushi Bar

1013 Washington Ave

St. Louis, MO 63101

http://www.mizu-stl.com/

Our next stop on the Saint Louis Sushi Roll tour took us to Mizu in downtown Saint Louis.  We arrived a few minutes after opening, and were seated immediately.  The staff was very friendly.  We immediately ordered and were promptly served hot green tea.    

We chose the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Edamame

-  Spider Roll—Softshell crab, Masago, Avocado, Crab Meat

-  Las Vegas Roll—Shrimp Tempura and Crab Meat topped with Eel and Avocado with Special Sauce

-  Rainbow Roll – California roll topped with tuna, salmon, whitefish and Avocado

The miso soup was good, containing a bit of tofu and spinach as well as a piece of fried wanton, which made for a nice touch.  It was served at the perfect temperature.

The edamame was tough—a bit hard to eat and very hot.

The spider roll was tasty, and probably the best roll we ordered.  The rainbow roll was disappointing.  The fish was bland—there were no distinctive flavors among the tuna, salmon or whitefish.   And there was very little eel in the Las Vegas roll, much less than one would expect on a roll that claims it as one of the key items in it.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Mizu a 6.5.  While the service was great, the taste of the rolls left much to be desired.

NPR Reveals why we like sushi so much!

Here's a fun article from NPR that discusses the reasons that sushi is so tasty and enjoyable:

RFT's Top 5 St. Louis sushi restaurants in 2012

I just came across Riverfront Times's Top 5 Sushi Restaurant ratings from Apr. 2012, and am glad to see that they rate Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton #1 (it also received our highest rating to date).

It looks like we will need to check out their four runners up in the coming months and judge for ourselves!

Cafe Mochi - Tower Grove Park

We visited Cafe Mochi in Tower Grove Park (3221 S. Grand Blvd.) on a beautiful spring day in late April.  The outdoor seating was pleasant and well-attended by the wait staff.

To start, we ordered a bowl of edamame, which was cooked to just the right level of softness and separation from the shell.  The miso soup that came next was nearly perfect, with small cut seaweed and tiny chunks of tofu, served pleasantly hot. 

We ordered several rolls, which were uniformly good.  The rainbow roll and eel roll came out together.   Both were visually appealing.  The rainbow roll, in particular, had a good variety of fish, all of which was deliciously fresh.  The eel was also nicely prepared, though a bit heavy on the cucumber.

The highlight of the afternoon was the volcano roll, which was not really a roll at all, but an ingenious combination of crab, avocado, scallops and roe arranged in a circular configuration with a tasty and not-too-spicy sauce.  The crab was especially notable, as there were plenty of large, succulent pieces, all warmed to a pleasing temperature.

Overall, the food at Cafe Mochi was excellent.  Our experience was somewhat marred, however, by service that was spotty.  Perhaps it was because we were seated in the patio area, but our soup order was forgotten (until we reminded the waitperson), and she did not come by during our meal.  The menu was also somewhat confusing, as the specials (including the volcano roll) were not listed on the separate such ordering sheet.  Of course, we managed to overcome all of these minor inconveniences and have a wonderful meal, but Cafe Mochi will be hard to beat once its service matches the quality of its foot.

Overall rating:  8.0