Having lived much of my life in larger metropolitan areas, one of the things I miss living in a smaller, more homogenized community is the diversity in culture and cuisine so I was very excited to see that a new Japanese restaurant was opening in the area as I am a big fan of Japanese food and good sushi. As soon as I saw they had opened, I brought my curious, if generally less adventurous spouse, along to Fuji for lunch.
Walking in to the crowded and intimate dining room I noticed a very busy and full sushi bar decorated with the ubiquitous paper lanterns and manned by two busily slicing and rolling sushi chefs. We were seated after only a few minutes of waiting and began perusing the extensive menu while listening to some pleasant smooth jazz playing over the restaurant's hi-fi (probably a caryover from the space's previous incarnation). Having eaten at many Japanese / sushi restaurant's on both coasts, I was impressed by the prices which were a bit higher than other local lunch spots, but I could tell those in charge of the operation had adjusted the prices to the local economy. My wife and I ordered an appetizer of spring rolls for her and the octopus salad for myself. Our orders were taken quickly by a very friendly and accomodating server and, despite the fact that the intimate dining room and sushi bar were packed, our appetizers arrived quickly and were beautifully plated.
My wife loved the crispy fried spring rolls and the sonomono salad I ordered was as good as I've had anywhere else. For our entrees, my wife ordered the teriyaki chicken bento lunch while I ordered the chef's sushi lunch along with an order of smoked eel sashimi. After ordering, we were immediately served our salad and soup to start. The salad was simple. Cold, crisp iceberg lettuce dressed with a typical miso and ginger dressing. The two soup choices were either clear broth with mushroom and onion or miso soup with tofu and seaweed. My wife was a little skeptical of the oddly colored orange salad dressing, but after the first bite she was hooked. She also enjoyed the clear soup, prefering it over my miso which admittedly has a slight funky flavor ( which I love) due to the seaweed used in it.
After only a few minutes wait, our entrees arrived. Again, the food was artistically plated and was fresh and flavorful. My wife was very pleased and impressed with her order as was I. Having tried the Monday night sushi offering at a local "higher end" hotel restaurant, all I can say is there is no comparison. That experience was very unpleasant as I could smell the sushi before they even set the plate down in front of me and it was not a appetizing aroma (it actually reminded me of walking into Ben's bait). At Fuji, the sushi / sashimi was as it should be. Fresh fish expertly sliced and rolled or placed atop correctly prepared sushi rice. All of the five varieties of fish on my plate were delicious, fresh and mild in flavor with no hint of a "fishy" flavor or aroma. Again, while not the best sushi I have ever eaten, for the price, it was better than I had expected and was pleasantly surprised and satisfied.
Leaving Fuji, my wife raved about the experience and suggested we return for lunch the next day before we even got out of the parking lot (which we did).
Our second visit was just as satisfying as our first had been, each of us trying and sharing new dishes with my conservative wife even trying the smoked salmon sashimi the asparagus roll and a tuna cucumber sushi roll, the later becoming her new favorite.
Japanese cuisine is all about fresh ingredients, clean simple flavors and artistically plated dishes cooked to order which Fuji pulls off very well. While I agree the prices are a little higher than other local options, I am more than happy to pay a little extra for fresh, quality food over the greasy, overly sweet and salty food sitting for hours in the buffet steam trays a few blocks away. read more