| The daily flights from Vancouver and Seattle must be starting to smell a bit like seawater, given the amount of sushi-quality fish arriving in town for all the new sushi places popping up.
Sushi is very challenging for some people, and even I'm not the biggest sea urchin fan (it always reminds me of taupe, fish-flavoured yogurt), but there's obviously a burgeoning market for it. Differentiating among sushi places can be difficult, but meals at two different restaurants in the last couple of weeks (as part of a brutal high-protein, low-carb diet) resulted in very different experiences. I paid visits to Fuji Yama (5 Ave. S.W. just west of Centre St., phone 266-1068) and Sumo (Eau Claire Market, phone 290-1433), and was surprised at the differences in the atmosphere and the food.
FUJI YAMA
To my mind, this was the better of the two places I visited, even though it's only been open for about five minutes. Despite its location on a very busy portion of Fifth Avenue next to National Car Rental, the inside is serene and modern, even Scandinavian, with a scent of pine boards in the air and muted track lighting. It's a breath of calmness in the traffic, and you almost breathe a sigh of relief when you walk in.
The food is very good at Fuji Yama, and like other, newer Japanese restaurants around town, they serve more than just sushi. To start, we had three excellent appetizers: coconut shrimp, a modified tempura affair that was rich and sweet; some raw beef with green onion; and excellent gyoza (Japanese dumplings) with a bunch of hot peppers.
The sushi was of similar high quality, with firm, tender and totally divine hamachi (yellowtail), and interesting jumbo rolls that included a great tempura roll. On the down side, the sushi rice wasn’t quite as sticky as it should have been (some things fell apart) and the toro (tuna belly) lacked character. Nevertheless, the service was very good for a new restaurant, and there appears to be a commitment to quality.
My one major quibble is that Pachelbel's Canon appeared to be on a tape loop, quite loudly, and it became a running joke at our table that we wouldn't come back unless they got different music. You should expect to pay $25 per person for a significant feed at Fuji Yama.
SUMO
Sumo has the same sort of cruise ship ambience as the Sakana Grill a few blocks away – the staff are perky and chirpy, and there's a floating sushi bar where the food goes by like it's on a tramp steamer. The restaurant has a very narrow hallway that leads into the main open area – I'd make sure to sit in the centre, as it's very cramped in this corridor.
I confess to having experienced some of the most bizarre restaurant service I've ever had at Sumo. First, our waitress arrived and announced happily that the restaurant was trying to turn all its patrons into alcoholics, and that's why their drink prices at lunch were so inexpensive. Then, after we'd ordered, the chef arrived and also announced that the restaurant was trying to turn everyone into alcoholics, then asked me if I loved my dining companion and thought she was beautiful. It was a business lunch – oops.
The food at Sumo was good. The toro was melt-in-your-mouth, the spider roll (a jumbo roll made with soft-shell crab) was appropriately decadent, and the tempura was tender and crisp. I left feeling a little embarrassed, though, just as I have at the Sakana Grill after their tableside singing. You should expect to pay about $20 per person at Sumo. |
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