Started with a delicious bowl of miso soup for under $2. Miso isn't much to brag about, but this had a deep, rich flavor, was served hot and avoided the trap some find of just being tasty luke warm water.
Before our meals came, the server brought us out a bowl of edamame, which we did not order, and apologized in advance for the wait. They just had a large carryout order called in. The advance gesture was rare, thoughtful, and more than kind.
I ordered a rainbow roll and an Alaskan roll. While I wasn't wildly impressed with either, they were both good, especially for the price. Some of the fish wasn't as fresh as I'd expected, it was mushy and tasteless, the salmon in particular. The tuna, however was firm and fantastic. My expectations may have been a bit hyped, but I found myself with very little to say about the sushi. However, bonus points for having low sodium soy sauce right on the table.
The highlight if our meal was my girlfriends order, the bento box with spicy chicken. For $10, it's a ton of food, plenty to take home. The spicy chicken was easily the best thing we tried. It had a nice mixture of spicy, but not too spicy, a touch of sweetness, and a bold rich flavor that I suspect was a mixture of hoisin sauce and sriracha? I'm not sure, but it was a perfectly balanced flavor mixed over sliced fresh chicken and sautéed onions, served with a side of rice. The bento box also came with a tasty dumpling and a few other interesting appetizer samplers, all pretty delicious, with a side of ginger salad, and a California roll. It was very good and a great deal for the price.
The service was friendly and welcoming, but there were a few minor mishaps, including overlooking our request for no avocado in the box meal due to my girlfriend's allergy. They brought the meal out with avocado, we sent it back, no problem, it came back fast and they remade the California roll that had the avocado. No big deal, except when she finished eating she realized they put the new roll on the old roll leftovers, which meant avocado smeared on the tray and on the remade roll. A little higher sensitivity toward allergy requests would be appreciated.
Last, we ordered the Japanese Fried Chicken appetizer based on a number of yelp reviews. It came out after our meal due to a mix up at the register, not a big deal to me. It was ok, bite sized sliced fried dark meat chicken in a light batter served with a side of sweet & sour sauce. It had a peculiar flavor that wasn't really good or bad. I wasn't impressed and likely wouldn't order it again.
Rice Blvd is affordable, the atmosphere is clean and simple, the service is friendly, and the food was pretty good, though it didn't meet my expectations based on recommendations. I'll definitely be going back and giving it another shot, maybe it was just a rough night. Next time I might spend more time looking at the meals rather than the sushi, though. Or, at least ask for a recommendation from the chef. Regardless, affordable healthy food is always welcome in Toledo, where it's rarer than the fish atop those rolls I ate tonight.
Well worth a try and a welcome addition to the neighborhood. read more