| You knew that postmodernism had to hit sushi eventually. While some sushi bars have had an amusement park sensibility for a while (witness the boats at Sumo, the train at Yuzuki and the singing staff at the Sakana Grill), the food has always remained relatively constant – nigiri sushi about the size of your thumb, along with some soy and a little wasabi to dunk it in.
At a typical sushi restaurant, you’ll find the Calgary special – the Stampeder roll, which is usually a version of jumbo rainbow maki with salmon around the outside and shrimp down the middle – small spicy tuna rolls and California rolls. We've all had this food a hundred times, and it's often difficult to differentiate among the numerous restaurants that have popped up in the city.
Now comes Towa Sushi (2116 - 4 St. S.W., phone 245-8585), in the old 4th St. Rose bar, and it's decidedly contemporary. Towa's management has decided on a distinctive, intense type of sushi that combines Japanese and Western ingredients. Diners should be ready for something they haven't tried before – those who prefer their sushi to be predictable and uniform may find Towa discomfiting. I admire the inventiveness, and while not everything is a raging success, there's a lot to like.
The first thing to notice about Towa – and this is part of the attempt to make the restaurant unique – is that the food is big. The rolls are jumbo outsider rolls, meaning they are generally five centimetres across, with rice on the outside and nori wrap on the inside. The staff is quick and helpful in advising about the size of the food, and you should be careful not to order too much. It would be nice if you could order half a roll, as one roll for two people is at least four pieces each – and by piece four, you may find it cloying. The nigiri sushi is apparently three times the size of sushi in other restaurants, so it drapes over the side of the thumb of rice. Again, some diners may find this much raw fish to be slightly grotesque, but for me, the more hamachi, the better.
Not only are the rolls big, but they also blend unusual and seemingly discordant tastes. The avalanche roll ($10), for example, blends salmon, bell pepper, clam, cucumber, green onion, cream cheese and parsley. Salmon, bell pepper and cream cheese? This sounds like a bagel, but the result is pretty successful, although it's quite a lot of the same thing for two people.
Similarly, the Hawaiian roll ($9), with spicy tuna and pineapple wrapped in cucumber, contrasts the heat of the tuna with the sweetness of the pineapple.
The firecracker roll ($9) has a tempura-battered jalapeno down the middle, with sour cream and smoked salmon to set it off – this is outright fusion cooking and it's very good. I'd definitely order it again.
Most conventional, although not in a Japanese restaurant, is the dynamite roll ($9), which looks like a stick of dynamite. This is a spring roll of sorts, filled with salmon and spicy tuna, and topped with sun-dried tomato and cilantro. This dish seemed very American to me, as though Hugh Carpenter, the Californian fusion chef, had a hand in it.
I liked Towa Sushi, but it's an acquired taste. Some diners will find the difference between it and other sushi restaurants jarring, but it certainly has challenged these restaurants to think laterally and to incorporate different textures and flavours into their rolls. More power to ’em. |
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