Sushi Roku: Sushi for the Novice and Aficionado

I’ve heard a lot of talk about traditional sushi and how what we eat here in Southern California is anything but. I don’t know about you but raw fish was not on the menu growing up. Whatever a restaurant can do to make it more pleasing to my palate I’m all for it; enter Sushi Roku.

With a menu chock-full of the freshest of fish, Sushi Roku adds creative touches with things like Kumquat Jam, Yuzu Vinaigrette and Truffle Karaski that makes the raw fish more palatable to Western tastes. A great example of this was our first dish of Hirame Sashimi (Fluke a type of Flounder) with Kumquat Jam and Yuzu Vineigrette.  The thin slices of fish had just a dab of the sweet-sour Kumquat Jam on each piece and then were drizzled with the tart Yuzu. The fish was firm to the bite and was just delicious combined with a piece of cilantro and a bit of black salt.

Thick planks of Albacore Sashimi made the base for the next dish we were served, it was topped with Truffle Karashi and Micro Shiso and garnished with a bit of wasabi truffle oil and shaved parmesan cheese. This is where the rubber left the road for me. I usually like Albacore but this particular dish was mushy and for me part of the problem with raw fish is the texture. So although the flavors were superb I had a really hard time with the bite of the Albacore.

Albacore Tacos added a bit of whimsy to our meal. Each little taco was made from a fried wonton formed into the shape of a taco shell  and was brimming with cooked Albacore, some awesome guacamole, tomatoes and cilantro with a freshly-made salsa on the side.  These little tacos are seriously good and also served on the Happy Hour menu I am told.

We had to have one dish from the farm and that was Fillet Mignon wrapped Asparagus. Tender asparagus spears wrapped in thinly sliced Fillet were stacked like wood on a smooth polished rock that was smokin’ hot and then a fabulous soy mirin sauce was poured on top. After the smoked cleared, we were treated to one of the best beef dishes we’ve eaten.

But wait there’s more! We had sashimi and meat but we’d yet to have any sushi, so chef put together an eight piece assortment called Matsu on the menu. It will be different for you than it was for us because the chef uses whatever is freshest that day. I can’t tell you all that we had but each piece was its own work of art and tasted out of this world!

Like every good meal we finished the evening off with a Sushi Roku specialty dessert: Banana Bread Pudding. Bread Pudding has been discovered but not everyone’s makes the cut. Either it’s too dry or too wet or too bland, frankly I was spoiled by my dad’s: he could throw together a bread pudding that would have you crying for more and all without a recipe. Sushi Roku’s was definitely a winner. It’s moist with caramelized bananas throughout and served with vanilla bean ice cream, the addition of fresh berries is just icing on the cake.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Sake we had with our meal. I had a blueberry sparkling one with the cute name of Star Rabbit, I found it quite refreshing. My companion had premium sake made of polished rice which was smooth, and full of flavor. Sushi Roku has an excellent selection of Sakes to tempt you.

For those of you who don’t like raw fish, get over it and give Sushi Roku a try. If you are an aficionado run don’t walk to Sushi Roku for the freshest, most flavorful sushi and sashimi.

Sushi Roku, 33 Miller Alley, Pasadena. They are open every day beginning at lunch hour. Happy Hours are: Sunday – Monday, 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. and Tuesday – Saturday, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Call (626) 683-3000 for reservations or more information.