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

Sushi Night! Sushezi vs. Magic Roll

Ok as promised: sushi night post!  I got my Sushezi for Christmas and LOVE IT but being the curious thing I am when I saw Magic Roll (the box alternates between the Magic Roll and Perfect Roll titles, mildly confusing for the consumer so I chose Magic Roll as it sounded more whiz bangy) I knew the two contraptions had to square off, battle style!  I realize this definitely puts me into the category of food geek but I'm pretty okay with it.

Sushezi vs. Magic Roll Battle!

Each device had its perks and each has some cons.  Keep in mind I purchased these devices because I'm not quite ready to take the at home sushi plunge with the traditional bamboo mats and what have you.

The Sushezi really makes sushi at home easy but the size roll produced leaves you with 10 to 12 pieces of one roll.  If you are like me and like to try a little here, a little there or just make a meal for one or two then the Sushezi isn't the greatest.  It's much better when making enough for four or more.  This could be remedied by putting ingredients half and half I suppose.

Sushezi

Magic Roll solves the size roll issue but has some design flaws.  Although I thought this may roll a tighter roll most of the ones I made with it fell apart if I didn't have the nori on the outside.  It makes smaller rolls, about 4 pieces each.  So its nice because you can mix and match fillings and such and not have a ton of each.  But its a little annoying to try to clean when you have to take everything apart.

Magic Roll

But alas the whole point of a battle of utensils is declaring a winner.  No more sitting on the sushi fence.  In terms of overall ease of use and quality, Sushezi wins out.  You just load up the tube, lock, press and extrude.  It truly is sushi made EASY!  Also, I'd like to amend my previous excessive quantity statement regarding Sushezi.  A couple days after sushi night I made it again for dinner just for Chris and I to use up some of the ingredients we had leftover.  I experimented with only making half rolls and it actually worked quite well!

When having a sushi night I like having some other options to make dinner seem a little more substantial.  So I had edamame and potstickers as starters with lychee martinis for cocktails.  Side note: Trader Joe's has some very yummy Pork Potstickers in their freezer section, they are super easy to cook up and their Gyoza Sauce is delicious!

Spicy Tuna and Shrimp California Rolls with sides of Wasabi and Spicy Mayo

Chicken Teriyaki, Tuna, Smoked Salmon, Spicy Shrimp and Philly Rolls

Well hopefully this sushi night post fulfilled all of your WWSV reading needs, I do apologize for its tardiness.  This weekend its off to Michigan we go for a 1st communion and 1st birthday on Chris' side!  Next up, some recipes using bacon (yummm) and a cocktail bar idea!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cheers!
Steph