Sunday, July 17, 2011

Ukiyoe - White people in No Po hate it.

Good thing I'm a chubby Jew, eh? EH?

(I can say that because I'm a Jew. Self-deprecation is OK.)

Seriously though, Jeremy was a big 'NO' on Ukiyoe based on it's standing Yelp reviews. I freakin' love sushi, however, and as good as the Mio on Greenly and Killingsworth is, I do like to try my options. So after a bit of whining, off to Ukiyoe we went for a date night.

Though there is only street parking, as with many restaurants in No Po, parking was a non-issue. There were only two other tables when we went into the restaurant, so water came quickly and within a few minutes we were asked about a follow up drink order (declined - better to spend that money on delicious sushi!). The restaurant was a bit cold, but I was wearing a sleeveless dress so it was probably my fault. Bad choice on a 70 degree day in Portland, I know, but Jeremy picked it out and if he's going to treat me to sushi at the restaurant of my choice I guess he should get to see me in what he wants me to wear. Otherwise, everything was great; appropriate condiments were on the table, along with the little soy sauce bowls (we'll get back to this later), the lighting was "mood" and the restaurant was clean and tidy. Three more tables filled while we ordered and waited for our meal, but we still got enough attention to suit us.

When our platter came out, I was pleased to see that the rolls were cut into 8 pieces (not 6, which feels sad, or 7 which can't be split nicely by a couple!), and there wasn't too much gari. It bugs the fuck out of me when there is enough gari to be a side dish because GARI IS NOT A SIDE DISH. Making it consumable as such just encourages this behavior. STOP IT. It's to cleanse your palate between different types of fish. Seriously, people. Additionally, the fish on our nigirizushi looked fresh; the color was right, they were freaking beautiful cuts, and it smelled not-fishy. Happy Sammy.

We ordered 4 rolls (favorite to least favorite) - the Forest Fire, Mrs. Roboto Roll, Mai Thai and King of Hawaii roll. The first two were freakin' amazing (tempura sweet potatoes?! Yes, please!), and the last two were good, but not as exciting as the first. Additionally, we ordered three nigiri (again, fav to least) - maguro, masago and hamachi. I don't really care for hamachi ever, so this is about par for the course. The maguro was amazing and I could eat it forever. FOREVER. Jeremy, of course, filled his soy sauce dish to the brim and was about to soak his maguro in it. I scolded him just in time and saved the delicious noms from ruin. Reminder, kids - soy sauce goes on fish only, not rice. You only need soy sauce for nigiri or sashimi, and you're only supposed to dunk the fish side of the nigiri. Stop ruining your nigirizushi rice and your rolls with soy sauce.

When the check came out, I was pretty happy to see it was only $40. That sounds like a bit, but for 4 giant rolls and 3 smashing nigiri (two pieces each, as usual), it was pretty good for a Saturday night. We paid and tipped well; the sushi was as good as ever other place in town in it's price range, we were checked on and cared for sufficiently and had an excellent evening. On the way out, I did have a moment of sadness when I realized how awesome one of the specials we overlooked was. Next time, Chubby Girl roll. Next time.

Good: Food!
Bad: Nothing stood out.
Price: On par with Portland.

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