This is the problem when you don't have people that are fluent in Japanese culture running a sushi…read morerestaurant. I'm in the process of moving to St. Louis and on my travel here this evening I saw this sign for this sushi place and I thought, it's been a while since I've had good sushi." Granted, my expectations for good sushi in farmland Missouri are not real high. But what I got in my interaction with the staff and what they gave me as an order was frankly embarrassing. I feel bad for those unfamiliar with sushi and Japanese culture who come to this place and think they're getting an authentic experience. I will tell you: they are not. It started when the server asked me whether I wanted to see the menu or I knew what I wanted. Generally, as a vegan, I have very few options, so they're pretty much the same wherever. Sometimes I might be able to get a good shiitake maki roll, but nine times out of ten, I'm limited to avocado and cucumber rolls.
I asked if they had inarizushi. Blank stares. The server had no idea what I was talking about, none. I repeated it and she answered back with "unagi?," which is barbecued eel, definitely not vegan. We tried a third time and she asked about egg. I said no that's tamago. Frustrated, I broke down and looked up inarizushi on Wikipedia, which provided a picture. She exclaimed, "Oh! Tofu skin!" The itamae (sushi chef) nodded and said the same. Now I don't know about you, but even as a vegan who enjoys "tofu skin" in a variety of dishes, that sounds absolutely horrid. But there it is, listed on the menu as tofu skin.
My heart actually started to hurt a little, because the Japanese words are descriptive in nature, not just of the ingredients that's contained with each roll or piece, but of the culture that goes into it. But then came the confusion of the pricing, where instead of sets where you get six pieces of a particular maki roll in one set or two pieces of 稲荷 in one order, every single piece you order was individually priced. I'm positive this is to maximize profits, because after ordering only two tofu skins and six avocados my bill was over $19. Seriously? For middle of the sticks Missouri sushi?
There was no place to sit at the sushi bar while I waited, and I stood around uncomfortably feeling like I was in everyone's way while I waited for my sushi order. Eventually, I noticed there was a bench in the entrance alcoveand I sat there to wait on my sushi and immediately started a review on Yelp, knowing that I was going to write of my disappointment while giving a three star recommendation. When I got my order, the inari was the smallest I've ever seen. Seriously, I'd get bigger pieces at a Lawson's near the train station, and no doubt tastier and more filling. Worse was this abomination of avocado sushi prepared in nigirizushi style. I've been all over Japan and had never seen avocado served like this, especially when I was expecting a maki roll.
I just sat in the car, and I immediately marched back in and said, "Look, I don't want this. I don't think you guys know what you're doing." I tried to explain to them how I was expecting a maki roll and they had no idea what was talking about. How can you have a sushi restaurant when you don't understand the basics of sushi? They were all confused about why I wanted my money back and why I wasn't happy. I didn't really want to get in a debate or a discussion of cultural misappropriation, but if you're looking for an authentic sushi-ya ... brother, this ain't it.
I finally just looked at the chef and I said in Mandarin 我不买 "I won't buy it." And that seemed to end the discussion. The restaurant was packed. People seemed to be enjoying it, and the workers were very nice, but they don't know what they're doing. This is not Japanese sushi, it's just the Temu of version of Japanese cuisine bastardized for an American audience. Don't even get me started on putting hot mustard packs in my to go bag. Just really disappointing and inauthentic.
