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

Tani Sushi Bistro (March 28, 2014)

March 28, 2014

Tani Sushi Bistro

16 S Bemiston Ave, St Louis, MO 63105

http://www.tanisushi.com/

Tani, located in Clayton, has a wonderful atmosphere.   We arrived a few minutes before opening, but were seated anyway by a very pleasant hostess.

  As usual, Jorge and I both asked for tea, and were promptly green tea in a large mug, with a lemon slice on the edge (which we found a little unusual).  The tea was hot and nice. 

We ordered the following items: 
- Miso soup 
- Rainbow Roll – California roll, 5 kinds of fish (chef’s choice), shrimp and avocado 
- Crazy Roll – tuna, eel, tamago, green onion, crab, and masago, tempura shavings, and eel sauce  
- Sex and the City – one of Tani’s specialty rolls, consisting of scallop, crab, and masago, tempura shavings, avocado sauce, and a “hot sexy sauce.”

 The bowl of miso soup was flavorful, a bit of tofu and spinach, and served at the perfect temperature.  It was by far the best miso soup we had tasted to date.

The Rainbow Roll was very good and the fish was very fresh.  The overall flavor is best described as “serene.”  It was simple—not too much cucumber, and the crab inside the roll was chopped to a nice texture.

The Crazy Roll was cut into big slices and contained large pieces of fish.  We found the taste to be quite succulent.  Delicious!

The Sex and the City Roll was very disappointing—the “hot sexy sauce” was just standard red sauce, overwhelming the rest of the roll and just too hot.  The core of the roll was chewy, as if the tempura scallop and crab were overcooked.  Our waitress was very kind in removing the dish from both our table and the bill, and we ordered a replacement item: the Samba Roll, which normally came with Tuna, Yellowtail, green onion, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, orange tobiko, sesame seeds, and special sesame chili sauce; however we ordered it without the jalapenos.  It was delicious, with a subtle amount of cilantro that was not overwhelming at all.

 Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Tani an 8.5.  So far, it is our top choice.

Sushi Ai - Downtown Lunch Buffet

On Feb. 28 we visited Sushi Ai's downtown location (910 Olive St.)  The street setting and interior were both a little run down, but service was friendly and we were seated right away.  Sushi Ai's distinguishing feature is its all-you-can-eat lunch buffet.  For $12.99, you can order an unlimited amount of soup, appetizers, sushi and rolls.  In addition, there are hot and cold buffet tables with self-serve hot and cold appetizers and salads.  

The served appetizers were nicely done.  The miso soup was hot and flavorful with pureed tofu and small cubes, the vegetable tempura were crispy and hot, and an order of shrimp shumai were tasty, though quite small.

We ordered several rolls (Spicy Crab, Christmas, Eel and St. Louis).  Probably because of the all-you-can-eat special, the rolls were modest in size, without a lot of meat.  The St. Louis roll was heavy on the cream cheese, light on the salmon.  The eel roll came with a flavorful sauce, but too much cucumber. 

The offerings at the self-serve buffet tables were relatively standard pan-Asian fare (spring rolls, crab rangoon and the like at the hot table, and a mix of salads at the cold table).  Not bad, but unremarkable.

Overall, the food at Sushi Ai was undistinguished, but for $12.99 a great value for downtown.

Rating:  6.5

Sub Zero- Central West End (2/15/2014)

February 15, 2014

Sub Zero

308 N Euclid Ave, , St Louis, MO 63108 (CWE)

Sub Zero, located in the Central West End, specializes in both sushi and burgers, which makes it a good choice for sushi lovers who have significant others who don’t care for the stuff.   We sat in the large dining room, and because we arrived for an early lunch on a Saturday, were the only customers during our visit.  We received friendly and prompt service. 

To start, Jorge and I both asked for tea, and were brought hot water and a choice of several teas, in the form of Bigalow tea bags.  We both chose the green tea. 

We ordered the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Spider roll (soft shell crab)

-  Holiday roll—one of Sub Zero’s specialty rolls, consisting of tempura shrimp wrapped in a bonito, topped with salmon, tuna, spicy unagi sauce and spicy Japanese mayonnaise

-  Unagi nigiri (sea eel)

The large bowl of miso soup was flavorful, with plenty of tofu and spinach.  The soup was tepidly warm, not hot, though this may have been due to the early hour of our lunch.

The spider roll was yummy but cut thin, so it fell apart easily when we picked up the roll segments.

The chef covered the holiday roll with an abundance of the spicy mayo (way too much), which hid the flavor of the underlying fish and unagi sauce.  I scraped off most of it before eating each piece. 

The unagi was delicious—large pieces, with excellent flavor.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Sub Zero a 7.5.  The service was excellent, but the Holiday roll could use less generous portions of mayonnaise, and both rolls should be more thickly sliced.

Wasabi - Clayton (1/31/14)

Jan. 31, 2014

Wasabi Sushi Bar (16 South Central Ave. Clayton, MO 63105 | ph: 314.721.9970)

Wasabi is a small but airy sushi bar in downtown Clayton.  We arrived for an early lunch on a Friday, and got prompt seating and service.

The green tea came in large, plastic “bottom pouring” pots.  These were fun, and allow you to see how steeped the tea is before pouring.  Of course, the plastic is not well-insulated and the tea cools off more quickly that it would in ceramic or cast iron.

Wasabi’s miso soup included chopped mushrooms, which was an interesting touch.  However the seaweed and tofu were relatively scant, and the soup was not overly flavorful.  We ordered two pieces of tokibo (roe).  While the roe itself was fine, the seaweed was chewy and overall not great.

Our experience improved dramatically with the arrive of our sushi.  The server recommended “Mr. Kim’s Roll”, a California roll with seared spicy tuna sprinkled with “crunch”.  While the crunch wasn’t quite as crunchy as we anticipated, the tuna was well-prepared and ample.  The real treat were the shellfish rolls.  We ordered a Spider Roll (soft-shelled crab), and were pleased by the large amount of crab.  Even better, the crab meat was nicely warmed rather than cold.  It was excellent, as was the shrimp tempura roll, in which it was clear that the shrimp had just been cooked.   Another nice feature of the sushi was the rice, which was sticky and flavorful – a far cry from the bleached white rice that one often encounters.

While Wasabi could use work on some of its side dishes, the main sushi rolls were very good and we’d come back!