Thursday, May 03, 2007
Wasabi's brings fine sushi to City Market
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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Now that spring really is here, you may want to give thought to eating lighter -- or at least eating things that are better for you. I'm telling this to you: me, I'm gonna keep eating mashed potatoes and gravy, no matter.
A nice change of pace down on the embattled -- oops -- make that the historic Farmers Market in downtown Roanoke would be the new Wasabi's, open now for several months. But down on the market, if you haven't been around for 90 years, you're the new guy on the block.
Run by very same Michelle of Michelle's on Main in Salem, Wasabi's is a new direction for this talented restaurateur, using the considerable sushi skills of a former chef from Sake House, Santiago Cruz.
Wasabi's is open for lunch and dinner and the food is strictly fresh, no-nonsense, and no cutlery. If you can't eat rice with chop sticks, better enroll in "Chopsticks 101" post-haste.
They do not make you eat the soups with chopsticks, of course, and the soups are tops: miso with tofu in a flavorful soybean broth; the basic "house" with that lovely slightly sweet dressing; and the seafood soup of fish and shellfish in broth. These soups helped pull me through a few bone-chilling days this winter.
There are plenty of other salads -- seaweed, sake, seafood, baby tako, etc.
I'm always hard-pressed to NOT order tempura. Most anything deep-fried with a light batter is fine with me, and I've not tasted anything yet that I didn't like: chicken, shrimp, vegetables of all sorts. Leave it to me to have a passion for the single menu item that would make me gain weight. But the tempura is lightly battered and plenty delicious.
Appetizers are a meal in themselves and reasonably priced in the $1-8 range. Choose from a dozen items, including marinated tuna (sent to our table one day and was a huge hit; with a slight spicy kick); soft shell crab, done tempura style; and Japanese spring roll, always freshly made and piping hot when it arrives with a lovely plum sauce. I had two just yesterday.
There are 11 spicy maki rolls to enjoy, including tuna, sake, yellow tail maki, octopus, shrimp, California style, soft shell crab and chicken. I've enjoyed the chicken tempura roll with unagi sauce and the shrimp tempura with sweet sauce as well.
I'm not a big Nigiri fan, but it's the fresh sushi that the people line up for in this restaurant. Watch chef Santiago perform his delicate preparations right before your eyes, though the smallness of this restaurant means that only a handful can actually sit at the sushi bar and see his talents up close.
You may prefer to order entrees instead of a la carte. If you want to be adventurous, order the "Sashumi special," which is the chef's choice of fresh fish daily. My dining partner usually orders the Bento box, which is a combination of rice, tempura veggies, and a fresh fish of the chef's choice. He's found that ordering the Bento "to go" loses something in the translation. Taking each little "box" compartment and putting them into tiny paper boxes just results in a silly mishmash of cartons and lots of extra work. Sit down and enjoy it fresh right at the restaurant. Some things were never meant to be poked into a "to go" bag. I personally prefer the combo teriyaki, your two choices of chicken, salmon or shrimp.
At the Sushi bar, the Mega Miki combo entree is a real gut-buster with Cali roll, cucumber roll, three pieces of eel roll and four pieces of Futo maki.
Wasabi's offers a few exotic and unusual desserts items, but they change daily, so just ask.
Wasabi's fills up rather quickly at lunch, so it's best to get there early. A recent trip there found them busy and everyone looked a bit stressed. Welcome to the restaurant lunch business downtown. It's all or nothing. And all at once!
Michelle and Santiago have a good thing going here, though I've heard that evenings are still hit and miss. Again, that's the nature of downtown at night. It's certainly not because of their food, which is exceptional.
Wasabi's Authentic Japanese Cuisine Sake Shop and Sushi Bar
214 Market St.
Roanoke
540-904-MAKI
