Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Still using their noodles
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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It had been nearly a dozen years since I first visited Sake House in Lakeside Plaza. Those many years ago I had little or no experience with Japanese foods because Sake House was one of the first to offer that cuisine to this area.
Since then, we’ve had several other fine Japanese restaurants and steak houses open. But Sake House remains a quality restaurant. On a recent trip there they were quite busy. Some of the regulars took their seats at the sushi bar where they loudly chatted it up with the sushi chef.
The dining room was full, except for those silly little booths where you put your feet down into holes to get the “feel” of eating on the floor, the traditional Japanese manner. One time an old friend of mine and I allowed ourselves to be seated in this manner, and at the end of the meal he couldn’t get out. I thought we were going to have to call Hawkins & Cox Cranes to get him up and out of there. So I sat at a regular table, wishing to avoid the embarrassing memory.
The miso soup is delicious. Other soups are equally fresh and refreshing: Niku soup, fish soup and seafood soup (for two). Salads are authentic for the most part, so you can get tuna salad, salmon skin salad, shrimp salad, seaweed salad or baby tako salad to name a few.
Appetizers include Tofu, Yakitori, mushroom teriyaki (a particular favorite of mine), Gyoza, Kushiyaki (beef), shrimp or chicken tempura (deep fried), spicy tuna sashimi, sunomono, sushi, mis yaki (fish), soft shell crab, sushi tempura, shrimp kushiyaki, scallop Kushiage or sashimi. Prices vary widely, depending upon the complexity of the dish.
My trips to Sake House found few around me who did not seem to know what they were ordering. This place has its fans, no doubt from the regulars you see there. But for those of us who are not as adept at our Japanese foods, the wait staff is helpful and ready to explain the dishes in great detail. Experimenting is fun, as you’re liable to discover flavors never before tasted.
Sushi ala carte must boast the best sushi variety of fish in town: squid, octopus, fluke, tuna, clams, eel, snapper, yellow tail, salmon, conch, and scallops — even sea urchins (check availability; fortunately they were out the day I was there). There are entrees from the sushi bar that include soup and salad. The house soups and salads are all perfect for these Japanese entrees.
I found the tempura entrees of particular interest: vegetable, chicken, Udon, fish, shrimp, chicken and so forth. I love these entrees and can hardly resist each time I go there.
There’s a whole list of teriyaki entrees, too. Just about anything you can do up in tempura style can also be done in teriyaki: chicken, beef, salmon, seafood and so forth. I love the teriyaki style of cooking and Sake does a great job on this.
Noodles are another favorite of mine. I could live on these noodle dishes and nothing more. They come steaming hot on the plate with a delicious aftertaste. The most expensive items on the menu are entrees of Sake, Miso Taki (tuna), Kobe beef, Sakura or Shiosake.
The lunch menu is a considerably lesser version of the dinner one, and all entrees are modestly priced in the $5.50-$8.50 range. You may order sushi favorites, teriyaki dishes, tempura of chicken and fish, Udon (noodle dishes), Don Buri (rice) dishes, and even a few “chef’s specials” such as chicken Katsu, Yakimeshi (fried rice), fish Katsu, Miso Yaki or daily bento.
The Japanese, much like the Mexicans, don’t seem to be too big on desserts. No wonder, after you eat all of those noodles, who has room? But they do offer a few things: ice cream tempura, fried bananas, sesame balls, and ice Cream — get this — in flavors of green tea, red bean, ginger or lychee, which, if I recall correctly, is a nut. With ice cream flavors like that, no wonder they’re not big on desserts!
Sake House
141 Electric Road (Lakeside Plaza)
Salem, Va. 24l53
986-1207
