sushi Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Bamboo Sushi Happy Hour

November 4, 2013 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Food porn from a happy hour at Bamboo Sushi. My intention that day was to go to Salt & Straw for their monthly special ice cream, and by combining forces with my friend, try all the flavors of the month. The friend I was meeting was a little late (say, leaving at the time she said she would meet me there :P) And it was a day where it was raining super hard too, which is unusual for Portland even with its reputation for Pacific NW rain because it usually is “misting” not full on rain that soaks you in a minute. Usually I might walk up and down window shopping, but with the rain, I wanted shelter. I already sort of anticipated and was even slightly hoping for both of these reasons, because I know Bamboo Sushi is right next door to the Salt & Straw on NW 23rd, and it was happy hour time. Now I had 3 reasons to go in to add to the knowledge of Bamboo’s reputation!

Bamboo Sushi Cocktail of the day and complimentary edamam

3? Right. Besides, rain, and happy hour, there’s Bamboo being a business with a conscience. You probably have already heard all the accolades about how Bamboo Sushi not only offers delicious food, but also focuses on sustainability, and has been for about 5 years now. The founder of the two locations of Bamboo Sushi (one in NW 23rd that I went to, the other at SE 28th) Kristofor Lofgren has a background in environmental science, and besides operating the two restaurants, also works to partner with others and promote environmental responsibility in policy.

They know where all their seafood comes from, how it came to them including how their vendors operate, and all their seafood menu items are chosen according to the Seafood Watch list from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Blue Ocean Institute then certified by The Marine Stewardship Council. This miniature video film at 4 minutes, the Story of Sushi, made splashy news last year in marketing the importance of making smart choices as a seafood diner, especially of sushi.

The Story of Sushi from Bamboo Sushi on Vimeo.

So how could you not be a fan? Especially, if you can make happy hour, which included for my friend and I

Daily Hand Roll and cocktail of the day… what you don’t see is that I already consumed the complimentary edamame bowl. Shh don’t tell my friend.
From their signature cocktail menu, the drink Purple Haze. with fresh blackberry puree shaken with vodka and lemon-lime juice, served on the rocks
Imo koroshi—“potato killer” roasted yam press box, garlic-soy-butter, sesame chili powder, $4 instead of $6 at happy hour. Tastes as wonderful as it looks.
From House Signature Roll section: Green Machine Roll (vegetarian) of tempura fried asparagus and green onions topped with avocado and cilantro sweet chili aioli. Amazing.
$6 instead of $10 at Bamboo Sushi Happy Hour: “karashi” hanger, a marinated and grilled St Helens hanger steak with asian mustard mushrooms and puffed rice
Also on the happy hour menu, char grilled shishito peppers tossed with miso butter and bacon and topped with bonito flakes, $4 instead of $6 at happy hour
Okonomiyaki, a traditional Japanese savory pancake with shrimp and mushrooms, topped with fried oysters, drizzled with aioli and eel sauce, $5 instead of $8 at happy hour

Bamboo Sushi in Portland happy hour, Daily Hand Roll and cocktail of the day From the Bamboo Sushi signature cocktail menu, the drink Purple Haze. with fresh blackberry puree shaken with vodka and lemon-lime juice, served on the rocks From Bamboo Sushi's House Signature Roll section: Green Machine Roll (vegetarian) of tempura fried asparagus and green onions topped with avocado and cilantro sweet chili aioli. Amazing. $6 instead of $10 at Bamboo Sushi Happy Hour: “karashi” hanger, a marinated and grilled St Helens hanger steak with asian mustard mushrooms and puffed rice Also on the Bamboo Sushi happy hour menu, char grilled shishito peppers tossed with miso butter and bacon and topped with bonito flakes, $4 instead of $6 at happy hour Okonomiyaki, a traditional Japanese savory pancake with shrimp and mushrooms, topped with fried oysters, drizzled with aioli and eel sauce, $5 instead of $8 at Bamboo Sushi's happy hour

I also had from the signature cocktail menu a sample sip of the Sparkling Blossom (prosecco, shiso schochu, elderblossom nectar, rhubarb & lemon bitters, lemon juice, with a toschi cherry in a flute, as delicate and beautiful as it sounds), a sip of the super refreshing Shiso Serious (muddled cucumber, shisho infused shochu, lemon-lime juice and soda, garnished with a cucumber), and Sempai Mojito (muddled red grapes, mint and sage, with rum, lemongrass rum and sage simple syrup- very dangerous as it comes in a pint glass and took me over the line in my happy hour libations, oops! The hazards of a happy hour review!).

So we definitely… or maybe me as I pre-ordered everything but the rolls before she arrived to get happy hour prices… over-ordered. But at the same time, I was pleased to see the variety of items on the happy hour menu and could have easily ordered more. I didn’t even get any sashimi because I was so tempted by all these other options!

For happy hour there were 17 options there for food, of which more than half were vegetarian or could be vegetarian by omitting bonito flakes, one choice can even be made gluten free! The rest of the menu includes more of the same so that anyone with any diet can dine at Bamboo Sushi happily. It does get busy and has a hip, trendy vibe, so prepare your arrival/eating time accordingly. It’s obviously not going to be priced like a conveyor belt sushi place- but I think their cause is worth it. If you have the opportunity, come support this great local business with a conscience and enjoy incredible food for happy hour and dinner!

Do you like sushi and/or sashimi? During your visit would you go the raw route with sushi and sashimi and hand rolls, or go with the alternate options like I did during this happy hour? How much does a business with a conscience factor into how you select it as a destination?

Filed Under: Cocktails, Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: Bamboo Sushi, cocktails, gluten free, grilled shishito peppers, hand roll, hanger steak, happy hour, imo koroshi, okonomiyaki, roasted yam press box, signature roll, sushi, sustainable seafood, sustainable sushi, vegetarian

Tokyo Weekend: Sushi Dai Recap

March 23, 2012 by Pechluck Leave a Comment

Sushi Dai- located right in the Tsukiji Fish Market area, the long line of people queuing for one of the mere dozen seats is a testament to their quality and is an easy way to identify it among the rest of the restaurants along these rows literally just across the parking lot from the Fish Market.

Also, none of these places had English signs, so all I had to go off of was a picture of the front printed from my sister’s photo album and the line of people to mark X is the spot. I wish I had printed out more photos so I could have shown the sushi chef their photos in retrospect. One of the things I definitely learned during my international trip is that I don’t know how I can go back to living without the internet- I always felt uninformed and craved immediate access to information.

All the stool seats are right at the counter, with 3 sushi chefs working their magic directly from their expert nimble and quick hands to the raised counter you sit at (no plates!) with a quick verbal description in Japanese, Chinese, or English. It really is teeny tiny they have no other space- you have to put your belongings up on high shelves behind you like a school student because there is no place else- there is just enough room behind the stools for the lady to bring you soup. Once in a while a lady would come out to organize the line- some of us queue along a side street so as not to block the walkway, and then in front of the restaurant itself, in rows of 4 so that you get sorted into seatings as guests leave.

Everyone knows about the line and politely tries to turnover quickly so everyone can enjoy- there is a little chit chat as the chefs work but everyone is a foodie here and knows about the agonizing anticipation when in line, especially this day because it was winter and quite chilly.

Every group had 1-2 people with their cameras out like I did so I wasn’t embarrassed to pull mine out in front of the chefs either… and I’m so glad to have these photos to drool over and remember the experience.

After waiting in line for a couple hours (and that was after I got in line at 8:45am, a late start because I had to pack and check out, and I got lost… and then walked around for a while fascinated as I watched them wrap up business in the fish market), finally I made it in around 11am.

Starting with the warm towel and hot green tea… looking at the beautiful cuts of fish in the case on my right, and the shrimp on the left, the radish is ready on the raised counter… the exact sushi chefs that I had seen pictured in baby J’s pictures and in other internet sources.

sashimi, Sushi Dai, Tokyo, Japan, Tsukiji Fish Market

And then the fantastic lunch commenced (you can get a set or omakase chef’s choice, don’t be stupid, get the omakase). My Sushi Dai recap with photos is below but you can see toro, so beautiful and fresh, followed by flounder, snapper, sea urchin, mackerel, red clam (still moving a little he placed it down before us), warm sweet egg block, horse mackerel, translucent baby shrimp, traditional maki sushi (with the seaweed wrap), marinated tuna, steamed sea eel, and then my choice of anything for the last piece- which I went with fatty tuna.
sashimi, Sushi Dai, Tokyo, Japan, Tsukiji Fish Market

Look how beautiful each piece is, and how thick the cut is… Every generous piece was so soft, cool but not so cold that any flavor was locked in the temperature or texture, and each slice of seafood was long (2 to3 to 4 inches!). The photos are ordered in the same order I received them during my lunch.

Several of the pieces came with the instruction to not use soy sauce because they had pre-marinated it or added their touches of flavor via lime juice or a sprinkle of salt already in crafting the seafood upon the slightly warm rice. I only used my soy sauce for the traditional maki rolls. Oishi! I was sad that these were so delicious that all they melted in my mouth so fast and then in seemingly no time it was already time to go.

Little did I know that my life would soon suck as I find out that my flight is cancelled back home. At least though, I got to have Sushi Dai before that all broke loose. I thought I knew what fresh sushi tasted like- but this was freaking unbelievable.

That’s it for my world tour through Israel, Germany, China (Shenzhen) and Japan (Tokyo). Next stop- after a few days to try to readjust to the time, to Seattle for a quick overnight and workday.

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Travel, Weblogs Tagged With: best sushi of my life, Japan, pictures from Sushi Dai, recap of Sushi Dai, sashimi, sushi, Sushi Dai, Sushi Dai lunch, sushi from Sushi Dai, Tokyo, Tokyo eats, Tsukiji Fish Market

Sushi and Sammies – Mio Sushi and 50 Plates

November 11, 2009 by Pechluck Leave a Comment

I had a sushi dinner on Tuesday night at this place called Mio Sushi. I always pass it on the way home- it's the next stop on the Max line, and I have also seen it in the Pearl, and haven't had sushi in a long time. I ordered the Dynamite- a baked scallop, octopus, giant clam, mushroom, green onion, onion and masago in a special mayo sauce and sweet sauce dish, as well as two rolls and one premium sushi. I didn't even bother photographing the Dynamite because as soon as I saw it, I realized it was a mess. It was more onion then any seafood, and it was just drowned in sauce. I love that sauce, and it was even way too much for me in sickly sweetness.

The rolls were ok- the salmon on the Oregon roll (which also had asparagus and crab) was so much better then the roll I would peel it off just to eat it plain sashimi style. The crunchy roll was ok but would have been better if served immediately to show off the crunch. In the back, the premium sushi of eel with special salmon was pretty good, but only two pieces.

DSCN2719

My Sammies lunch at 50 Plates fortunately made up for the disappointment. I had a pretty simple lunch ordering off of their Sammies list with fries. The Lil Kahuna Burger of Kobe beef, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and a teriyaki glaze was really good- I saved it for my last bite. I had high hopes for my other sammie of Roscoes, but the crispy fried chicken on a waffle with coffee maple drizzle wasn't crispy at all. The drizzle was more of a glaze and was definitely tasty, but the waffle and chicken needed that crispness of texture. The fries and homemade ketchup were fine sides for the sammies. I finished off with oatmeal creams, hoping for warm soft cookies with the goey marshmellow creme middle… and only the middle was true. The cookies themselves had good taste but were hard.

Still, I'll go again- there were several other things on the menu I wanted to try, including a chicken and fennel mac and cheese, a miami special sandwich with mojo pork and gruyere, and turducken salad. Taste-wise and presentation wise everything was great- though execution was a bit lacking, at least at this lunchtime visit. Maybe it would be different on another visit- I'm willing to give them that chance.