Sushi downgrade

Niwano'hana' sushi definitely gets a downgrade and I'm not sure it merits another visit.
Earlier visits to Hana sushi had made it one of my favorites for sushi in Richmond. I guess I should have written up on some of the positives earlier but procrastination appears to have its rewards. A recent visit after a gap of a few months had such negative results that those +ves are all history quite literally.
This once favored location is on the avoid list till I get intimation from some other poor soul that it might be safe to venture there again.
The sushi was not fresh at all, the rice was terribly packed and had an after taste. A yellowtail handroll had the texture of rubber. The tuna roll was gritty. The sashimi tasted like catch from another month and a rainbow roll that should have been oh so good was terrible not just to look at but taste. The only kind of "non-traditional" roll that we had was a jalapeno roll and that made my stomach queasy. It was telling that we actually ended up not eating half of our sushi - an experience that was definitely a first for me. More often than not, we're wondering what more to order after the first round. What a colossal waste. The check came to over $60 including tax and tip. Trust me, you are better off anywhere else. I've had grocery store sushi (and we're not talking Whole Foods here) that was of better quality .

To add to the incredulity (along the lines of Hana sushi- that used to be so good), our waitress was completely oblivious to any discomfort on our part. On being asked "um....are you guys having an off day" AND "...did you guys change suppliers"....she cheerfully replied "NO" and walked away. Realizing that subtlety was not her forte, we even ventured to suggest that the sushi was subpar when she came to collect the check. "hmmm" was the response. THATS IT !! And they werent even busy. How can you be so out of tune with your customers ?
On the plus side, she was cheerful in her "NO".

Meanwhile, Akida continues to rule the roost (I hope and pray :)). A recent trip to Moshi Moshi definitely showed some potential there.

sushi

I'm going to write about a couple of sushi experiences over the last couple of months in one post. Probably unfair since I did devote an entire post to the fairly mediocre - Nara sushi (a place I recommended for lunch not dinner and which, for some reason isnt serving lunch anymore! Correction - As of June 2008, Nara is serving lunch again). A few visits to each of these have helped form a decent opinion on where each, at least this quartet, stands on the RVA sushi pantheon (apparently by no means complete).
And the honor roll (pun intended of course) goes along the lines - Akida, Niwano'hana', Sticky Rice and Sumo San. Disposing off the bottom two:
SumoSan - Rather empty on a couple of visits (including, what has become fairly common - a Saturday night). There were just a few other tables occupied. In fact this place was empty on both visits. Sushi quality - passable. They did try a few of the "innovative" rolls but faltered on taste. Even the edamame was a bit disappointing. The service was slow despite the empty place (no water refills for eg). The check came to around $40-$45 and we thought it was quite more than the quality merited. C- (the plus being its walking distance proximity for me)

Sticky Rice - It was nice to see the restaurant buzzing even on a wet and late night on one of our visits. The foggy (weather-related) windows and bulb-lit interiors looked rather inviting. The place befits a college-age hangout place and the crowd reflects that. SR was slightly drafty on a couple of our winter visits (not a problem in summer of course). While the quality of the sushi is definitely not superb, it was decent and they did get moderately innovative (GI Joe sushi?). The downside of Sticky Rice is the fact that people smoke at the bar and the ventilation isnt great (more below). Our table was near some strange odor that kept wafting up every so often.
The check came to $20-$40. Cheap and decent option and quite obviously the college meetup place. Not worth the wait if actually looking for good sushi. C

One (small) reason why both these places rate low - The proximity of the bar (ie cigarette smoke) made for an unimpressive score on the decor front. I do not see why these places allow cigarette smoke. I havent been to Japan, but given its smoking friendly nature, I'd be very curious to see the melding of smoke and sushi but as far as Richmond is concerned, it was not very pleasant.

Nara Sushi

Cheap dining (or accurately eating) options, quite naturally, seem to abound around VCU. While I havent yet gotten to explore much of this, I shall be posting every now and then of my lunch adventures, sans the mentions of the chains of course !
The first stop I mention is a place I've been to a few times now. Nara is a little sushi place that has provided quite a few satisfactory lunches so far. I've experimented with the sushi/rolls, the chirashi, noodles and I must say, what is probably one of the best lunch-deals around - an extremely filling lunch box for $6.50. And to very satisfactory result in most cases !
The menu is very simplistic (ie what have become "sushi" staples across the country -tuna, salmon etc) with a few other ubiquitous options thrown in. Prices are very cheap. I had a throw back to Kotobuki in DC on seeing the prices (no where near in taste of course!). The seafood appeared and tasted fresh. I must mention that the sushi while not great is very satisfactory nonetheless and tad better than standard grocery store fare. One might argue that simple california rolls and their ilk isnt much to write home about but at least they do the basics right. The tempuras were ok, I wasnt too taken in by the taste of a shrimp tempura I had there. I also didnt like the noodles very much. They were devoid of any substantial accoutrements and rather bland. Also one other -ve that comes to mind is the wasabi. While I wasnt expecting authentic wasabi, Nara has some version that just doesnt kick any thing let alone a tastebud.

The decor is one of those faux japan types with an inflatable sumo wrestler, kimono-ed dolls, a few mandatory bamboo umbrellas and some pictures of Mt. Fuji (I guess). Clean and spartan if a little worn down. Service is pretty decent and every time I've been there, the food arrived in a timely manner and they certainly took care to see that I never ran short on a water supply ! The check with tax and tip average between $8-$15 pp.

Bottomline: You will not find an omakase meal here, superior sashimi or any complex and innovative melanges of ingredients by the chef but for a cheap and simple lunch, this place is extremely satisfactory.C. Now dinner there might be a different ballgame.......