I was pretty surprised at how big a fan I became of the former occupant of this space, Sushi.com -- the quirky little sushi shop that had no business being as good as it was. Unfortunately, they also had no business, full stop, and so Sushi.com became Sushi Ocean. And the world is a little worse for it, sadly.
From the outside, you'd be forgiven for not realizing anything had changed. In a spirit of frugality, they've made as minimal a change to the signage as possible -- the large-scale equivalent of scratching out ".com" and penciling in "Ocean". The inside and the menu are another story.
Gone is the psychedelic weirdness of Sushi.com, which always looked like the aftermath of an explosion in a highlighter factory. Sushi Ocean opts instead for a perfectly normal strip mall Japanese decor. Serviceable, but boring.
The menu remains extensive. Unfortunately, it's also pretty repetitive. There are a lot of choices, but the rolls in particular seem to be a bunch of barely differentiated variations on a theme, and that theme is avocado. Lots and lots of avocado.
At times, it starts to feel like Monty Python's Spam skit. Avocado, rice, tuna, and avocado. Avocado, avocado, salmon, nori, and avocado. Lobster Thermidor à Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provençale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and with a fried egg on top and avocado. You get the idea.
They do have an à la carte menu for rolls, which is much appreciated, though I had to ask for a marker. There's a selection of Korean dishes jammed in there, too (didn't try any, but good to know). There's something called "Ocean Sauce" which seems indistinguishable from spicy mayo, but since both are listed, I guess it must be different (the wag in me wants to suggest it's probably made with avocado, but it's clearly not).
The food is fresh and tasty, but the preparation seems a bit haphazard. Rolls looked poorly formed and they all kind of fell apart; sashimi pieces were huge (great from a value point of view, less so from a trying-to-manipulate-with-chopsticks point of view) and a bit irregular. As I said, though, the quality of the ingredients was still very good, and everything tasted fine. Perhaps just a bad day behind the bar.
The staff is attentive and friendly, but I missed the enthusiasm of the Sushi.com guys, who were always excited to see you and more than willing to offer suggestions.
If it sounds like I'm being harsh, I don't really mean to. Sushi Ocean is perfectly serviceable. But I... well, I never thought I'd say it, but I miss Sushi.com, with its weird name, disastrously funky decor, and hyper-enthusiastic staff. There was something special about that weird little hole-in-the-wall. Its replacement is just okay.
I feel like I should pour 40 oz of soy sauce out on the curb or something. RIP, Sushi.com. read more