MILL CREEK – Try as they might to become cosmopolitan in their tastes, some Americans are simply turned off by sushi.
Sushi bars have become as ubiquitous as taco trucks and teriyaki shacks. The trend even has its own gimmicks (a tuna roll that’s been chugging around a restaurant for hours on a conveyor belt? I’ll pass).
Still, some people simply balk at the idea of a meal they worry could be nothing but a plate of tuna tartare.
These cautious diners should try Sushi Zen, a small dining room in a Mill Creek strip mall. A long list of sushi is just part of a menu that includes soup, stir-fries and salads. Take a seat at the bar, where you’ll be just inches away from chefs and their razor-sharp knives. There’s no shame here in ordering the more familiar deep-fried calamari ($6.95) or gyoza (pot stickers, $4.50) as an appetizer instead of age-dashi tofu ($5.50) or squid salad ($5.95). One waitress even admitted that she’s still learning about traditional Japanese cuisine. Eating at Sushi Zen isn’t about doing everything according to protocol, she said. It’s about enjoying the food, whether you prefer chicken teriyaki ($9.95) or roe (fish eggs, $4 and up).
That philosophy was clear when I asked the chef for sea urchin with quail egg ($7.95). He wondered aloud whether the egg would overwhelm the delicately flavored urchin. We discussed the conundrum, and decided to give it a go. He handed me a small plate with two pieces, each one a round rice base topped with creamy urchin, a bright yellow egg yolk anchored on the edge.
It was fresh and smooth, the perfect foil for sips of sake.
A few of the sushi options beg to be treated like silk: handled carefully so as to not disturb the rice, and not mussed with haphazard dunks into soy sauce. The flavors are delicate, and should be enjoyed as they are. These are the prizes in Sushi Zen’s long menu.
One exception is the salmon lemon roll ($8.95). Raw salmon is drenched in bright lemon juice. The result is heaven for those who prefer strong flavors – imagine spritzing a lemon wedge over fish at any classic Seattle seafood place.
The sushi menu is a bonanza of catchy names. The Godzilla roll ($8.95) is eel, avocado, fish roe and shrimp tempura with the restaurant’s signature sweet sauce. The White Christmas roll ($12) is tempura shrimp, cucumber, white tuna, avocado and bright wasabi cream. There are California rolls and spicy tuna rolls – standards for American sushi restaurants. Most of these rolls were invented in the U.S., and make sushi purists seethe on behalf of Japanese culture. Avocado, cucumber, cream cheese and other fillers are coming into vogue at some sushi spots in Japan, but that’s only because they’re considered American imports. These ingredients so rankled Japanese government officials that they announced two years ago a special certification to sushi restaurants worldwide that offer the real deal.
Sushi Zen probably wouldn’t pass the Japanese government’s authenticity test, but that’s not the restaurant’s goal. There’s enough variety to please most American families looking for a night away from spaghetti or pizza, even if it’s just a bowl of rice with deep-fried pork ($8.95). Sashimi of squid ($4), horse mackerel ($4) or monkfish liver ($6.50) will satisfy diners who want to try something traditional.
The pickiest of eaters can choose a tray with udon soup and a basket of tempura vegetables or shrimp ($8.95). The soup’s broth is flavorful and light, but the fat soba noodles are deceptively filling. The vegetables are as bland as cardboard, but the soup is good on its own.
Late in the evening, when the servers begin sneaking away with their own plates, the chef makes small talk. To demonstrate the blade of his knife, he holds a piece of paper in the air and slices cleanly through it. He challenges one young male server to eat a dollop of wasabi, then shows him up, packing a fistful of the hot green paste onto a pad of rice and eating it with otherworldly calm.
If it’s not the way a sushi chef should act, this one doesn’t care. He’s having fun, and hopes you do the same.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.
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