Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sushi Fever

Last night after a lovely session of candlelight yoga and live music my dad took my best friend and I around the corner to the popular Sushi Fever on Buffalo and Sahara. We had to wait ten minutes for a table, which may be a sign that the economy is coming back, or a sign they need more tables. One thing I love about Vegas is that you rarely need to make reservations, however, Sushi Fever has been around for awhile and has a large following. Though not the absolute best sushi place I have been (that Frugal Foodie award would go to the ridiculously un-frugal Sushi Sasabune in Los Angeles), the rolls are fresh, creative, and well-executed. Most are in the $12-$15 range but there are some relative bargains such as the Washington Roll (pictured above) for $9.50. This roll is stuffed with salmon, avocado, cucumber and one of my personal favorite fillings, yamagobo, which is a pickled Japanese root vegetable similar to a carrot in the shape of a stringbean. It adds great texture to the roll as it has a hearty crunch. The Washington Roll is topped with a very thin layer of salmon, which normally I would say is a cheap way for a restaurant to advertise more fish, but in this case worked very well since there were also big chunks of salmon inside. I think the roll might have been too big and salmon-y had the slice been thicker.

We also ordered two of my personal favorites, the 90% Roll and the Rock and Roll. Both of these are quite the mouthful but incredibly tasty, not least because they both come with an out-of this world tangy dipping sauce. The ingredients I can identify in the sauce are rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, scallions, tiny fish roe, and kewpie mayonaise, a Japanese mayonaise that in my opinion is much better than American mayonaises (see the ingredient shopping page). My dad had the brilliant idea of using a spoon to ladel the sauce on top because otherwise it is very easy to lose your roll to the bottom of the bowl while dipping. The 90% Roll has fried sof-shell crap in the interior, is wrapped with ahi tuna, and then is topped with chopped and baked scallops. It's not the healthiest but a must try. The Rock and Roll is much lighter but equally delicious. It has hamachi, salmon, tuna, and crab and is wrapped skillfully in cucumber. We also had to order the hamachi sashimi, because although rolls are fun to eat, they are definitely not authentic. A great piece of butttery fish with a little soy sauce and wasabi is beautiful in its simplicity and truly lets you enjoy the flavor of the fish.

The meal was highly enjoyable, but the service and ambience ceratinly left something to be desired. Once we were able to locate our waiter the rolls came out quickly, but I don't think I'll be going to Sushi Fever on a Friday night anytime soon. For good reason is it a popular spot, and as long as you go at the right time, it should prove to be a fullfilling experience!


Tonight's food rating: 8.5
Ambience: 5.5
Would I go back? YES


Rock and Roll

Hamachi Sashimi

90% Roll

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