Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Sakura: simple, outstanding Asian fare
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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First off, let me just say that I had never been to Sakura restaurant before, but that won't happen again, I promise. Also, it was certainly refreshing to go to an Asian-style restaurant and not have to go through six pages of menu items.
Sakura knows what it does well and that's all they do. The menu is so precise that it lists both luncheon items and dinner items on a single card. And that's all she wrote! No appetizers (now there's a first), no separate soups or sides to tantalize. There aren't even any desserts. In fact, there are fewer than 24 items on the evening menu, including soup, salad, vegetables, and fried rice. You really don't need anything else.
Sakura is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and lists exactly seven items: teriyaki chicken at $5.95, hibachi vegetables at $5.95, hibachi rib-eye at $7.95, hibachi shrimp at $7.95, hibachi fish filet at $7.95, hibachi shrimp and chicken at $9.95 and rib-eye steak and chicken at $9.95. Frankly if I was an Asian chef at one of those other places, responsible for 200 items on a menu, I'd be putting in my resume at Sakura.
My first surprise is how large the old McDonalds on Apperson Drive was. How they carved the three tasteful and airy dining rooms plus kitchen, expansive bathrooms, and large foyer out of this building, I simply don't know. But they did and once inside you won't remember that this was once a McDonald's. The rooms are tastefully done in artwork and light hues.
Unlike many restaurants I've been in recently, I could actually hear Fred, my dinner companion, talk. I've been to a number of restaurants lately where hearing conversation is impossible. As I was with Fred the Incredible Mumbler, this was especially nice. Unfortunately I discovered that he really didn't have much to say that I hadn't heard already.
Dinner was stunning in its simplicity, with all of the effort toward professional service and delicious food with nice plate presentations. My server was a bubbly college-type, but she was pleasantly efficient without getting in the way of my conversation.
I ordered the lobster tail, shrimp, and scallop. At $25.95, it's the most expensive thing on the menu and a bargain at that. In fact, I found all the evening entrees modestly priced in the $13.95-$25.95 range. The soup was a simple chicken broth with a few bits and pieces of mushroom and onion tops floating around. It was delicious; the kind of thing you'd like to have served to you in bed during your next bout with the flu. It was followed by a simple and delicious salad with a ginger dressing. I adored it and so did Fred.
Fred had had the Shrimp and scallop, perfectly browned and presented. The scallops were large and tasty.
Other dinner items include: teryaki chicken, hibachi vegetables, hibachi rib-eye, hibachi scallops, filet of tenderloins, combinations of rib-eye steak and chicken, rib-eye and shrimp, rib-eye and scallops, etc. Chef's specials include shrimp and scallop at $16.95, tenderloin and shrimp at $16.95, tenderloin, shrimp and scallop at $22.95, lobster tail and tenderloin at $22.95.
They offer a complete mixed beverage bar.
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to this place but it won't take me so long to get back.
SAKURA
2171 Apperson Drive
Salem, VA. 24153
