Sushi Murasaki

6/27/2010

2/5 stars

Yellowfin nigiri on rice (yeah, yeah, but that's how I like it). Picked it up, and the rice crumbled.

*blink*

Um. Ok… The yellowfin itself was fine, but if yellowfin ever doesn't taste at least fine, call the health department and prepare for food poisoning. But not packing the rice firmly? What? This place had passed the who-is-eating-here test. Maybe it's the only option nearby.

The shrimp and vegetable tempura, however, had *no* flavor. None. Well, ok, the one piece of broccoli is what convinced me my mouth wasn't broken. The shrimp, sweet potato, and even the onion were utterly devoid of flavor. I could feel something in my mouth. It went crunch. But nothing more. Even with the sauce. Nada. The batter clearly is straight from the box, and the sauce likewise and also watered down.

Now the kicker. The layout places the sushi prep area against the back wall. There's no seating against it, and you walk past it to reach the restrooms. Heading back there makes it clear why there's no seating: the smell. That fishy smell sushi should *NOT* have greets you, says hi, and talks you out of having any more. Wow.

Why two stars and not one? The folks working there were great. I didn't feel at all ignored as a lone diner, and they were nice and quick with everything but without pressure. And the atmosphere is ok. It's a kind of sports bar / sushi place that's more common on the West coast.

The sushi chefs looked rather dour. I suspect they know what's going on (except the rice… seriously?). Whoever is buying the ingredients and setting temperatures needs to think hard about what they're trying to accomplish. The prices are far too high for the quality, or the quality is absurd for the price. Pick one, and fix it. It'd be a shame to keep wasting the great location and good people (definitely giving the benefit of the doubt about the rice: utterly amateur mistake).

Yelp tags: Sushi Bars