Local Foodie Moment: Rishi Sushi Kitchen & Bar, Downtown

I know it's been a minute since I've gotten a blog up, things have been BUSYYYY!  But I assure you fabulous readers that I've been busily eating at lots of new/new to me restaurants so you'll see a good amount of LFM's coming your way! YEY!

So where can you get sushi and loaded french fries at the same restaurant with zero judgement for ordering both during your meal?  Answer is: Rishi Sushi Kitchen & Bar!  Yes, downtown's newest establishment is offering creative twists on classic bar food as well as sushi and ramen.  My friend Asha doesn't live far from here so last week we decided to check it out.  We needed a little time at a hip new spot to lift our spirits with the chilly weather that keeps lingering!

Aren't these the cutest little app plates?!

The previous tenant was a champagne bar (why I never knew about it before it closed I have no idea but I'm a little sad I never got to try it!).  Personally I think the timing just wasn't right for that concept in that area of the city.  But that's here nor there because now the N. 3rd Street spot is home to Rishi which offers a great vibe for diners.  There's a clean minimalist look to everything with pops of orange and green here and there.  The floor to ceiling windows let in plenty of natural light during the day if you were to pop in for a quick lunch plus an enchanting view of their little corner of downtown in the evening.

We started out with some hot sake as it was rainy and chilly so Asha suggested we needed a little warmer upper!  Then Asha got some of the daily special oysters to start, I wasn't quite brave enough to give them a try just yet (I only recently started coming around to some sushi so raw oysters is gonna take a bit).

Oysters

Then we ordered our sushi.  I got a Philadelphia Roll (typical ingredients: cream cheese, smoked salmon and avocado) and the Open Palm Roll which was walnut-panko avodcado slices, cream cheese, asparagus, wrapped in mamenori drizzled with kiwi chili sauce.  Asha got the J-mynt Roll: shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, topped with spicy crab salad drizzled with spicy peanut teriyaki.  Both of us thought our rolls were good, everything seemed fresh and the combination of flavors on the Open Palm Roll was really yummy!

Bottom left: Open Palm, middle: J-mynt, top: Philadelphia

So we were a little more hungry than we thought so in lieu of dessert we split the Rishi Loaded Fries, hand cut truffle fries loaded with made from scratch sloppy joe, house made crispy bacon, scallions, sauteed kimchi and melted cheese.  This was definitely a savory decadence that had an explosion of different flavors.  I know kimchi on fries sounds a little strange but hear us out!  The earthiness of the truffle fries, then the vinegary tartness of the kimchi and the ooegy gooey cheesey goodness made an unlikely but good combo!

Rishi Loaded Fries

The service was good although I think our server was a little new to the occupation so he seemed a little uncomfortable with the menu but nothing terrible.  Pricing was a little high which was to be expected for a sushi place downtown.  It didn't seem like they had much in the way of a happy hour type of special which I think is always an added draw for diners but overall good creative food, good fresh vibe and good service make for happy restaurant goers!

 

One of my bridal showers and my bachelorette are this weekend so hopefully I'll have some fun photos to share next week.  I CAN'T WAIT to be with treasured friends and family, my heart is already smiling at the thought!  Then I completely forgot to post my Lightened Orange Chicken recipe so I promise that plus some shoes plus plenty more LFM's will be coming soon!

Cheers!
Steph