A great sushi restaurant is hard to find, especially in a city that’s home to over 20 high-quality sushi restaurants within a 5-mile-radius. For the unemployed starving college student, a great sushi restaurant at happy hour prices is even harder to find.
And so begins the search for the “holy grail” of Sacramento
Nishiki Sushi, located on the corner of 16th and P Street, hosts a daily afternoon happy hour, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., consisting of discounted rolls, hand rolls and starter appetizers.
The overall atmosphere of Nishiki Sushi is fun, laid back and welcoming. A young smiling hostess greets every guest at the door and the big Italian bartender loudly shouts hello across the bar in a bad, jokingly fake Japanese accent.
When eating alone, I find that it’s always easier to sit at the bar; or as in this case the hostess leads me to an empty seat at the sushi bar, directly in front of a three-tier water fall fish tank.
The tank is full with live, rubber-banded Dungeness crabs, lobsters, prawns and one of the largest lobsters ever seen. Seriously, according to the chef, the lobster weighed over 20 pounds. The smaller lobsters are amusing as they attempt to climb the divider and into the crab tank. Persistence finally pays off for one of the lobsters and he settles into his new crab domain.
An energetic sushi chef delivers an overflowing plate of free chilled edamame as soon as I sit down. Free edamame! For those who are sushi novices, edamame is a soybean steamed in the pod and served hot or cold with a dusting of salt or other spices. Normally a serving of edamame will cost patrons $4.
The service is quick and friendly, quite possibly because I am one of only five guests in the entire restaurant.
The $6 bacon wrapped scallops appetizer, on the other hand, takes a little more time and actually comes out after the sushi rolls have arrived. The four pieces of scallops wrapped in sizzling bacon have to be set aside to cool, are slightly overcooked and have an after taste of burned bacon grease. Fine if I was eating breakfast, however not so pleasant for a sushi feast.
The Marti Roll consists of shrimp tempura and snow crab rolled tightly in rice seaweed wrap, topped with avocado, steamed shrimp, masago (little orange fish eggs), a spicy cream sauce and a sweet unagi sauce for only $6.
At first bite the roll has a strange slightly fishy after taste, so I peel the cooked shrimp off the top of the remaining pieces. The rest of the roll tastes great with the unagi sauce and only takes a few minutes to quickly disappear and be washed down with a pint of Kirin for only $3.
While I’m waiting for the bill, as a pleasant surprise Tony, the big Italian bartender, brings over a round of sake bombs for me and the sushi chef to take. Some times it pays to be the only patron in a restaurant.
With a bill of only $17, a full belly and an estimated savings of $18, I will definitely be back to Nishiki Sushi to try more happy hour rolls and appetizers.
$3 dollar pint of import beer....I'm sold. Good review, definitely will check this out next time I'm wanting sushi.
ReplyDeleteThe writer's first specialty column - a review - displays quick wit and writing skill. Future columns should delve beyond, "I went, I ate, I wrote" and get into food background stories, more about what goes on behind the scenes, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteFor example, how does one become a sushi chef? (If that's the correct term.)
The column is a fast read, and that's because the author writes directly and quickly, without tortured prose.
I was puzzled by the beginning:
"A good sushi restaurant is hard to find, especially in a city that’s home to over 20 sushi restaurants within a 5-mile-radius. "
That seems counterintuitive. With 20 restaurants, wouldn't it be 'easier' to find a good one?
One other detail:
"While I’m waiting for the bill, as a pleasant surprise Tony the big Italian bartender brings over a round of sake bombs for me and the sushi chef to take"
An 'Italian bartender' is a nice touch. But what is Tony Soprano doing in a sushi place?
Badabing...