Kelly the Culinarian: Food find: Sushi does not require water

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Food find: Sushi does not require water

I'm not a big fan of fish -- I think it's the smell of it cooking that I dislike. I am, however, I big fan of sushi -- the sign of a good sushi joint is that the place should not smell like fish. Otherwise, you should just turn around a leave. I was a bit skeptical about a sushi joint in the middle of the desert nowhere near where the fish is caught, but when a craving strikes, you have to feed it.

Sachiko Sushi was recommended to me by my boss, who said it was one of the better sushi places in Tucson. It's also located across the street from our office on Valencia. It was so close that I should have walked.

When I got there, the lunch rush was in full swing. The tiny shop is a combination of regular tables and bar seating along the sushi chef's work station. This place offers cooked dishes in addition to nigri and sashimi sushi. I personally can only bring myself to eat the rolls. Because it was so busy, I opted to just get a spicy tuna roll to go. I know it's boring, but I was skeptical and wanted to stick with something that I know how it should taste.

Other patrons at the place were getting ornate tablets with mutliple rolls or little boats filled with noodles, nigri and chopped chicken. The special of the day, which I believe was $12.95, was a huge bento-box style tray with different types of sushi, rice and noodles. It looked quite appetizing and cute too. But this place is not cheap -- my tuna roll was $4.50 and I saw people with $40 tabs.

But, my tuna roll was a success. It was spicy, but not overpowering. The rice was cohesive and moist and the sesame seeds were toasted nicely. It also had crunchy cucumber in the rolls and I dipped it all in a combination of soy sauce and wasabi.
I read a sign by the cash register that said the restaurant's secret is that they have used the same California fish monger for years and has a good relationship with them. Also, they're located right by the airport, so they have a good transport system in place for bringing in fresh fish.

Whatever the case, I was surprised by the quality of the sushi and I plan to return to try something a little more exotic now that I know they have the basics down pat.

2 comments:

Oh for the love of food! said...

Hi Kelly, I love Japanese Food too, but won't touch the raw stuff. I'm not that adventurous!

WokandSpoon said...

The sushi looks good! Too bad it's so expensive over here!