Feeling honored and something of a responsibility to get this review right as it said I was first to review Aoki Sushi & Grill, I posted this review MONTHS ago but Yelp messed up and relegated it to my drafts instead. Oh well, better late than never--
To start, you may remember Sushi Ike, once an excellent sushi restaurant located in this very spot. Chef Ike retired and sold his place off to a married couple that carried on with it, only the quality became worse under them. Well they've moved on, mercifully. Unfortunately for the neighborhood, so too did the wonderful Mediterranean kabob and shwarma restaurant that was next door, Al Wazir...
So now we have new kid on the block, "Aoki," and they seem to have picked up with the dual needs of the community as it is a restaurant that, oddly, is doing sushi AND Mediterranean grilled meats!?! Go figure. The renovated restaurant is simple and clean and while not a "date night spot," it's nice enough to the eye.
I order the $19.99 Beef & Chicken Kabob Plate which comes with 2 of 4 sides (hummus, rice, salad or fries). I elect to go w hummus and salad as I'm trying to be healthier and drop a few pounds. Somehow, I wind up with rice on my plate too. I'm not complaining as it's nice looking and well prepared. Tastes pretty good too.
CHICKEN KABOB - the skewer is aesthetically pleasing with fresh cut onions atop it and some pita points underneath, sprinkled over lightly w sumac which I appreciate. The pieces are neither large nor small and the meat is good, could be a little moister, but the flavor is nice. I appreciate that it's not too salty. It's not as moist as I'd like but I want to cut them some slack as it had just opened, they're figuring things out, and will all be dialed in soon enough...
THE BEEF KABOBS: nice sized chunks here on a skewer with the grilled veggies (even a mushroom!), aesthetically terrific, the meat chewy and good. Again, I was hoping it would be a tad juicier, maybe a little more seasoned but, like the chicken, I'll give it 4/5 stars. And finally now--
THE SIDES: the salad was my favorite... refreshing vegetables, a nice Italian dressing, sprinkled with feta cheese. The hummus tastes like that lemony kind you can pretty much buy anywhere and while the consistency is good, it's nothing to write home about. The rice, as mentioned, was nice and had the right amount of salt...
So that's all I have to offer as to the food served here. I saw folks getting sushi rolls and they looked great. Next time.
Special mention for the two young Latin gentlemen who were operating the whole affair. They were gracious and conscientious and invested in my liking the food, made sure to ask me how everything is. I hope this place succeeds.
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