Ichibei

I've been meaning to try Ichibei Japanese restaurant on Bank St. for a while now. It has a reputation for being very authentic and very excellent and was recommended to me by a reader. I did some scouting of restaurant review sites, though, and it actually had mixed reviews. So the other day Tracie and I, on one of our epic dates, had an early dinner there. It was much smaller than I had imagined, and had a welcoming, traditional feel. The waitress was dressed in kimono and brought us hot towels. So far so good! I wanted to try the Sukiyaki or something hot and non sushi as was recommended, but when there's sushi on the menu I just can't seem to order anything but! It's a problem. I know.

Tracie and I decided to share the sushi/sashimi combo at 43 dollars. Not cheap. It was beautifully presented and had my favorites, ika (squid) and the raw sweet shrimp with the head on (don't know the name). It was quite good, but I gotta say, I didn't think it was excellent. I've had salmon that melts in my mouth more, and I found the rice a bit chewy and dry. Just a bit.

I think i'll try Ichibei again one day and give the mains a try. Maybe that's their forte. But for the price, I think there are better places in Ottawa for sushi.

That's my report on Ichibei. I talk about sushi alot, eh?

Back to Sushi

I just had a quick lunch at Sushigo in the market. They have a fridge full of sushi combos already packaged in plastic boxes for very enticing prices. But I opted for the more eco friendly option of ordering fresh and eating off a real plate. I ordered a salmon kamikaze roll and a dynamite roll (almost the same thing) and it came to 15 something, a few dollars more than the fridge combo I liked which had more variety and more pieces. Way to reward people for thinking of the environment.

So I sat at the front of the restaurant, feeling like a fish in a tank looking at and being looked at by tourists. The sushi was OK, sort of unelegant, unsubtle. Too much spicy mayo and cucumber. I'm not trashing Sushigo, It's pretty good for fast food sushi. Just get the stuff in the fridge. Next time though, I'll be back at good ol' Sushi Fresh.