Not long ago, we went out to eat at Black Pearl in Logan. It's a Chinese restaurant, and they do good, recommendable Chinese food. But Black Pearl fed us the worst restaurant sushi I have had. It was like they saw someone make sushi once on TV and thought "How hard can it be?" We ordered 4 or 5 maki sushi, and I ordered quite a few nigiri sushi. It didn't go well.
When we asked for recommendations, they claimed the salmon and tuna were very fresh. Eh... not so much. That could be luck of the draw, but I hope they would recommend the best if someone knew to ask.
Another warning sign was when we noticed they were using long-grain white rice instead of actual sushi rice. The rice wasn't prepared and seasoned properly. It was falling apart. They doused everything with soya sauce. I wondered if they grabbed the wrong bottle? Five times?
I ought to share some positive recommendation to balance out the negativity.
For decent sushi in Cache Valley, try Takara Sushi on 1000 N. (I think there used to be a place called "Tanpopo" there. I'm not as excited about it as I was before Bong left, but Mr. Lee does a good job. At least they do the rice right. If you can make it to the Ogden area, the choices expand considerably.
Near 36th & Washington in Ogden, there's a little hole-in-the-wall, family-run place called Hanamaru that serves some of the most authentic and tasty Japanese cuisine around. Their sushi menu is limited and seasonal, but it is always very well done. They also do small cooking classes, for those who may be interested in learning how to prepare traditional Japanese cuisine.
There's also Kobe in South Ogden. Less traditional (Chinese-run), but decent selection done well. They used to have an amazingly good itamaesan, one of the best I've ever met, but he left for higher pay out of state. The only time I've not been totally satisfied at Kobe is when the regular chef (Scott) is out, and the owner (Spencer) fills in for him.
Tona, on 25th street in Ogden, is usually good too, preferable to ShinSei, also on 25th, which is not on our list of favorites.
2 comments:
Do you know of any good places in Utah County?
I've been told that Sushi Ya is the best. I went there and ordered their Las Vegas roll, which I loved. But then I figured that if I loved that, I probably don't know what real sushi tastes like, since the Las Vegas roll is the most Americanized sushi possible (it's got cream cheese in it, it's deep fried in tempura batter, etc.).
Sorry Katie,
We have yet to venture that far south in search for sushi. One of my more favorite rolls is the Las Vegas, but I love cream cheese. If we hear of anywhere worth trying we will be sure to let you know.
Post a Comment