| "Oh yeah, we’re definitely having the Alberta roll," I remarked to my girlfriend as we scoured the menu the night we visited Misato sushi and grill. How could we resist? It’s not often you see a maki sushi roll listing teriyaki beef as the prime ingredient. Oh Calgary!
Located in the city’s southwest in West Market Square, Misato is a casual spot that offers tasty and creative sushi at reasonable prices. One particular standout on their menu is the California tomato roll ($4.95) that offers a mix of avocado, sun dried tomatoes, cucumber and Japanese plum sauce. It wasn’t my favorite out of our selections, but it was definitely unique and a refreshing change from the everyday.
For its delicious salmon splendour, we really enjoyed the pinky roll ($6.95). Wrapped in smoked salmon, this roll had it all correct – green onion, more salmon and avocado. The green onion really gives this roll a lovely zip. Even my friend who hates onions loved it. For those of you who are tuna lovers, try the rocky roll ($6.95). It’s a tasty alternative to the pinky roll that substitutes the salmon for tuna. My only fault with Misato’s rolls would be that they are a little on the big side – coming in at six pieces, they could stretch out to eight pieces and offer smaller bite-sized pieces.
Misato also features many daily specials. We started our meal with the special, seafood tempura ($12.95) made of lightly battered scallops, snapper, squid, prawns and salmon. The generous dish was fresh and nicely prepared.
From the Nigiri portion of the menu, we sampled an array of different pieces. If you visit Misato you should definitely try its smoked tuna ($2.95) – it’s tender, tasty and funnily enough – interesting to look at. Neither of us had tried smoked tuna before and marvelled at how it resembled prosciutto. The spicy salmon piece ($1.90) is also yummy. The ingredients are quite simple, but the spicy sauce topping gives it a nice jumpstart. My friend also sampled the salmon scud nigiri ($2.50). Not the most desirable name, but she enjoyed the mixture of spicy salmon, tempura and masago (egg).
Offering a full Japanese menu featuring donburi, sashimi, noodle and teriyaki dishes, Misato has an interesting take on their dinner special. Like a deluxe bento box, the dinner box serves up sashimi and sushi, assorted tempura and beef or chicken teriyaki with miso, ebi sunomono, rice and ice cream for $19.95. That’s a lot of food for 20 bones!
Misato isn’t much in the looks department – the space features Japanese posters, rattan chairs and cloth tapestries, but it really doesn’t need to be anything more. The casual environment suits the establishment. The only thing I truly care about when eating sushi is fresh, quality fish. And fresh it was, with a nice touch of invention and great service. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful throughout our entire experience.
So what of this Alberta roll? Well, let’s just say it was a different kind of sushi experience. It tasted more like a tidbit from Korean barbeque, comprised of teriyaki beef wrapped in lettuce and rice. Was it representative of Alberta? You bet.
Misato is located at 420-1851 Sirocco Drive S.W.; phone, 217-3000. |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.