This may be the most brief review I’ve ever done.
If I had gone to the bathroom to wash my hands before I ordered anything, I would have walked out before eating. Absolutely the most filthy bathroom I’ve seen since I was in a roadside stand in Morocco. I was disgusted.
No soap in the Men’s bathroom. So I hope to God there was soap in the Women’s restroom as it seems to be all women rolling your sushi.
Good luck.
A first for me in Mammoth, sushi in the Mountains; perhaps risky business. I was calculated though, I went on a Saturday night with the assumption that a weekend would bring people from LA and a fresh delivery of fish. I’ll tell you what, a pleasant surprise. I dined at the sushi bar among a full house of hungry diners.
None of the rolls were elaborate, no real showmanship behind the counter either, just efficiency. The spicy tuna was a highlight, made without mayonnaise, rather with Japanese hot pepper; a nice touch. A simple ahi tuna and cucumber salad, while heavy handed with the soy, was flavorful once the tuna was removed from the bath of dressing. A yellowtail and green onion roll was another solid offering. The unagi sushi was simply glazed, rather than dredged in the sweet sauce...bravo.
I was happiest with a sashimi plate of yellowtail and albacore, both with clean flavors. I love albacore to finish. Delicious fish, creamy, and with just a hint of soy and green onion is a favorite of mine. Add one 22oz Kirin to this meal and I walked away a happy man.
If you're craving sushi, there aren't many choices in Mammoth, so who knows when the delivery days are in the middle of summer or what type of volume they do during the week, but on a Saturday in the middle of winter, it's probably a good bet your getting fresh fish and they're busy doing volume.
The Sushi Bar at the JW Marriott was a no-brainer when combined with our late checkout and late flight back to the States. Yes, Americanized, unadventuresome, and pricey by Peruvian standards, but easy.
Peruvian inspired rolls dominated our selections and the ubiquitous Cuzquena filled our bellies nicely. Traditionally wrapped sushi in seaweed and fresh local fish selection, however, the sauces and seasonings were more Peruvian than Japanese. Sauces that we had throughout the trip adorned many of the orders. The only sauce we didn’t care for was a creamy Ranch style blend. I don’t think we had Hidden Valley Ranch at any restaurant in two weeks. I’m exaggerating a bit, the sauce wasn’t Hidden Valley, but it certainly tasted like it. The pace of the meal was great, we weren’t in any rush to get to our flight and the flavor of all the dishes, minus the ranch dressing, was a deft use of fusion. Chef was there experimenting with appetizers and large sharing plates for the upcoming New Year’s festivities, which he was generous enough to share with us.
A good last meal in Peru.
Ceviche for Peruvians is serious business and ordered only between the hours of 10am and 2pm. Just like most people’s first trip to Italy and the scorn one receives for ordering a cappuccino after 10am, same goes for ceviche in Peru. Luckily, the hotel clued us in on the local custom. When we entered Fory Fay at 11am, we sat down to a bowl of toasted corn kernels and immediately ordered a Cuzquena. I had high hopes for this place. When I suggested it to the hotel, they encouraged we not go to such a “local” place, which meant we had chosen the right place and obviously authentic.
Bowl of Ceviche and I do mean a bowl. Chunks of whitefish (perhaps corvina) shrimp, mussels, and one other crustacean. Plenty of thinly sliced red onion, copiousamounts of lime, and some green perhaps seaweed perhaps WaCatay an indigenous herb that’s has the flavor of both basil and mint. What shocked me was the amount of liquid used to submerge our fish. Almost a soup, the residual liquid from the cure was drinkable, of which I indulged. The addition of seaweed and sweet potato can also be seen. The sweet potato over a different texture and a bit of sweetness to contrast all the acid from the curing liquid.
Plate of frito misto or fried fish of the day. The same fish that was in the ceviche with the addition of calamari and an equally generous portion size. Good, clean fry job with nothing over or under done. I happended to like the onion salad a lot; it helped cut the deep fry flavor; although the batter was seasoned slightly. My comparison in recent memory was a small Italian restaurant in Noli, near Finale Ligure in Northern Italy. The fish was simply deep-fried. Fresh fish, hot oil, slightly seasoned batter that dresses the fish but doesn’t over-power it. The Peruvian’s in Arequipa are frying their fish properly.
This was our last meal in Arequipa before we board a flight to Cuzco two hours later. The ceviche and frito misto at Fory Fay was one of the best meals of the trip.
It's true, Fresno has trendy, cool, 'gotta go to' restaurants. Fig Garden Village, (I think there is a Fresno ordinance that states "a food critic must mention The Elbow Room if they review another restaurant in Fig Garden Village") now has another gotta go to restaurant to eat and drink in, Wassabi - Off the Hook.
And for those of you already familiar with my Grammatical Pizza Review, Wassabi is spelled in Fresno with an extra 'S'. Think of the old Budweiser commercial, "Wassup" and you get the picture. Other favorites, Kountry Kitchen, The Dew Drop Inn and Seymour Butz. Enough already.
Yes, the same owners of Wassabi off Herndon cloned the restaurant. Yet in Fig Garden Village it's larger, much larger, and in one of the highest cost lease spaces in town. As I'm mainly a restaurant critic and not a real estate expert, I'll stick with the food, service, and atmosphere review here. Energy on a Thursday night in the old Pangea, now Wassabi, can be lacking. The Fig Garden space is huge, compared to more intimate space at the original on Herndon.
Thursday nights at the original location are full of energy, simply because the space is smaller. I feel a greater connection to the original Wassabi, a cool place to go on a Wednesday or Thursday night. The sushi counter, the lively crowd, the open space, the hustle of a busy service are all the center of attention, not just for the patrons but for the staff. When you walk in at the original, everyone in the restaurant looks up when the employees shout a greeting at a new guest. Sure, they shout a greeting at Fig Garden as well, but it's not the same, perhaps a shadow of the original. Besides, one-third of the guests are in the back room and the other third are on the patio. At the original, everyone is front and center.
So much for atmosphere and vibe. Sushi is the name of the game here. Sure, diners can order a rice bowl or some form of teriyaki chicken, but if you want the Wassabi experience, order some rolls. I think I counted three or four pages of sushi rolls and other sushi-like creations, from the OMG (Oh My God), Yoda (sushi, you will have), Smells Like My Ex (no comment), and 2nd Climax (lucky you). Several of these named rolls and original creations have been quite scandalous. Provocative names, great. How do they taste? Wow, I've written several paragraphs already and I haven't reviewed the food. But one must understand the hype of Wassabi, Fig Garden Village and Fresno Scandal make for a great six months at any restaurant. The business of successful non-chain restaurants in Fresno is important.
As you can see from the OMG roll above, presentations are powerful and portions are substantial. Luckily, I was with six friends that evening, so I didn't order just one roll. Depending upon your mouth size, each piece could be up to 3 bites. The OMG was probably the largest roll we ordered. However, not every roll was this size. The Rock n' Roll below was a more typical roll, however generous with the tobiko and sauce. I'm not going to detail each item we selected. I can assure you that nothing but clean plates went back to the kitchen. And as with many reviews I do, I try not to be the 'blogger' at the table, writing copious notes when I'm having fun with friends.
So, where's the fish and what does the fish taste like with a heavy drizzle of one or two sauces, a deep fried exterior, and topped with other items like tobiko? With fish, determining that you just ate salmon or ahi is harder to distinguish. Eel or shrimp are a little easier. The closest food comparison I could come up with is a burrito with everything in it. With a burrito, the occasional flash flavor of chili verde or carnitas hit all the receptors in your mouth for recognizable flavor. Otherwise, the mix of guacamole, salsa, black or pinto beans, corn or flour tortilla, rice, cheese, onions, cilantro...you get my point, can become overwhelming to the palate. It becomes a Flat Earth evaluation, Was the Burrito Good or Bad?
Please do not misinterpret my food comparison or Flat Earth evaluation as a negative. I happen to love big as your head over-stuffed burritos, combination pizza, even double patty greasy chili cheese burgers. But I also have to be in the mood for them and I certainly don't eat them everyday, or even once a week. I love a simple taco. While a taco may have several ingredients, each one has a place, a proportion that gives balance to the taco. As with a single piece of sushi, the sushi rice, the wasabi, the fish, perhaps with a hint of soy added by the eater or ponzu by the chef, combine in your mouth with harmony, simplicity. Call me a simple guy, but there is elegance in 3 ingredients. I actually do eat simple taqueria tacos, sushi, and simple pasta several times a week. I've eaten fusilli with pesto 4 times this week alone, I love it so much. I will Jones for a simple taco in the same way.
The ahi meatball pictured below is a bit more simple. Simple elements, only a few ingredients, and only one sauce. And to be honest, it didn't need the sauce. Even a crispy, non-greasy won-ton as a base added texture. The ahi was completely ground and formed into a meatball with a seared outside, but completely raw on the inside, similar to a tuna tartare. I think this dish was creative, fun, and tasty. There is also a "Japanese Spicy Spaghetti" topped on the T.P. Roll which is also good.
There is nothing simple about a Wassabi roll. Sure there are some classic rolls, eel and avocado, spicy tuna, California roll, but why? Why bother with the ordinary. I've been to the finest Japanese restaurants on both coasts. In terms of creativity, Wassabi scores high marks for their rolls. While I'm no food porn photographer, even my pictures pop when the rolls are presented on white plates with the combination of colorful ingredients. Seriously, what would you have named the OMG roll? List each ingredient in order? Boring. Leave that to the sushi restaurant down the block.
I keep talking about presentation, pizzazz, atmosphere. How was the service? Efficient. Friendly. Our server regularly came to the table with a smile. I was never without a water glass filled and never lacked for a beer and neither did my friends. It would be interesting to see what the service is like on a packed Friday night and how both the front of house and kitchen keep up with orders.
I'm sure you want a final analysis? I don't think I have one for the food. I had fun with friends and they had fun eating a wide variety of sushi creations with scandalous names that only Wassabi could deliver. We toasted over Kurosawa sake and Kirin and for a Thursday night in any town, it was a great night. And if a group of friends asks me for dinner again at Wassabi, I'll happily join them for a Yoda, a Climax, and a Blonde Bomb Shell.
But next time, I'll finish with a simple albacore sushi.
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