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Photo by Jay Paul
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Salmon poke bowl (Photo by Jay Paul)
In spirit this unassuming 28-seater, on a delightfully rundown stretch of North Second Street in Jackson Ward, is less sushi bar or izakaya than food truck without wheels. There’s plenty of raw fish to be had, but the kitchen, like many food trucks, runs on fry and mayo and salt, and sacrifices subtlety and simplicity for whiz-bang effect.
The dish the servers all push is poke, a celebratory marker in Hawaii, where the tuna, cut into ruby-like jewels, lightly dressed and sprinkled with sesame seeds, turns up at seemingly every occasion. Lacking proximity to water for great fresh fish, the kitchen has to rely on enhancements, dousing cubes of passable but not sparkling tuna or salmon in soy and ponzu and igniting them with chili paste. A better time is to be had with the bowls, provided you don’t eat their components individually, in which case you’re likely to focus on, say, the mediocre backfin crab. The strips of broiled eel in the donburi, however, are luscious, and the tightly packed rice is brimming with bright, contrasting condiments in the form of pickled radish, seaweed and edamame.
The sushi and sashimi are best for nights when you have a craving, and either won’t mind correcting the young, eager staff — yellowtail is not yellowfin — or will be content to just let it slide, order another Sapporo, and savor the somber, lamp-lit view of Jackson Ward through the picture window.
317 N. Second St.
804-308-1729
Hours: Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday: 5 to 10 p.m.; Sunday: 5 to 9 p.m.
Prices: $6.50 to $17, handicapped-accessible
