Land of Sushi

One frustration about living in the south suburbs is, as Westword points out at every opportunity, a lack of interesting local dining options. In particular, my husband and I have struggled to find a local sushi restaurant that compares to Sushi Den or Sushi Sasa closer to downtown.

I was therefore intrigued - and surprised - to see a Centennial sushi restaurant I'd never heard of win "Best Sushi Restaurant - 2012" from Westword recently.

That restaurant was Land of Sushi, and it didn't take long for us to decide to give it a try.

But if it weren't for the gushing from Westword, I probably would have steered clear of Land of Sushi. Nothing about the exterior of Land of Sushi is particularly appealing. Not the name, nor the glowing red letters that spell it out, nor the strip mall location across from the newly redeveloped SouthGlenn area.

Last weekend, we arrived to a nearly-full Land of Sushi at around 6:45 pm on Friday evening. The sparsely-decorated, L-shaped restaurant was smaller than I expected. It had no real waiting area, and a couple tables were placed far too close to the entrance. We sat at the small sushi bar, where our dishes were placed on plastic placemats with a fake wood pattern on them. After an initial mix-up between waiters, we were situated with drinks and menus.

We were soon glad we had arrived when we did, as the restaurant quickly filled to capacity, and a small crowd waited for their tables outside.

And although I often cringe at Westword's characterizations of suburban-restaurant ambiance, Land of Sushi certainly reflects the influence of the surrounding Centennial demographics. The restaurant was packed with families, waitstaff shuttled giant boats of sushi and sashimi to tables, and the atmosphere was casual, quiet, and mellow.

To start our meal, we ordered the Fatty Big Eye Tuna Sashimi with Avocado ($16).

Fatty Big Eye Tuna Sashimi with Avocado

I regret that the picture turned out a bit blurry on this one; it doesn't do justice to the beautiful presentation. The fatty big eye tuna slices were buttery, tender, and fresh. The creamy avocado atop each slice was an excellent compliment to every bite.

Our next plate included four orders of salmon sashimi ($2.5/ea, $10 for four orders as shown in photo) and an Ebi Tempura Roll ($7.5)

Ebi Tempura Roll (Front), Salmon Sashimi (Back)

The Ebi Tempura Roll was packed with tempura shrimp, crab, avocado and lettuce. It was the least interesting thing we ordered at Land of Sushi and was really a very average American-style sushi roll. The tempura batter was way too heavy on the shrimp; each bite left me with an unwanted mouthful of panko.

The salmon, however, was perfect. Thinly sliced, fresh, and delicately marbled with fat, I could have eaten several more orders of the fish.

Still hungry, we moved on to our final dish of the night, the Green Monster Roll ($13), which consisted of a green soy paper wrapper stuffed with tuna, crab, fried red snapper, and avocado.

Green Monster Roll

Land of Sushi has plenty of authentic Japanese dishes on the menu, but this certainly wasn't one of them. It was delicious nonetheless; I loved the combination of seafood, delicate sushi rice, and creamy avocado. The soft soy paper was a perfect alternative to nori as a wrapper, and contrasted with the slight crunch of the fried snapper.

Service at Land of Sushi was efficient and attentive. Our neighboring diners seemed to mostly be regulars, and that's no surprise. Despite the no-frills atmosphere, the sushi is good, service is quick, and the location is convenient.

We're looking forward to throwing Land of Sushi into regular rotation on our dining schedule. The restaurant certainly delivers on sushi quality, although it doesn't stand out like Sushi Den or Sushi Sasa downtown in terms of ambiance and authenticity.



Casual Dining

  (7 of 10)

Pros: Great sushi, quick service
Cons: Boring location and decor


 

Hapa Sushi Grill & Sake Bar - Landmark

I remember very distinctly the first time I had sushi with Mr. Oyster. We were in college in Boulder and had just started dating, and I wanted him to try more adventurous foods than the pizza and pasta he had eaten all his life. I brought him to Hapa Sushi on Pearl Street for his first sushi experience, and he instantly reeled a bit at the sight and smell of the uncooked seafood. After a meal full of various shapes and textures of raw fish, he reluctantly confessed: "well, I guess sushi is ok."

That was many, many years ago now, and since that time Mr. Oyster and I have graduated college, moved to the south suburbs, gotten married, worked too much, and started a food blog. Oh, and Hapa has built a couple more restaurants across the metro area, including one near us at Landmark in Greenwood Village that we visited last weekend.

Hapa is not an ideal spot if you're looking for a truly authentic sushi experience. Its menu is filled with "Americanized" sushi rolls containing sugary sauces, fried things and cream cheese everywhere. You also may not want to bring kids to Hapa, or your grandma, or your boss, as the sushi menu is filled with suggestive names. It's more of a trendy, lively place to grab drinks and dinner with friends. You can see why it would thrive in a college town like Boulder, but it also fills a niche in Landmark by catering to the crowds visiting Comedy Works and nearby bars.

Hapa was nearly full when we arrived for our 6 pm reservations on a Friday night, and was completely packed by the time we left. We sat at the sushi bar and watched the chefs in action while we enjoyed our meal.

We started with a sunomono salad ($6), which was comprised of cucumbers with a vinegar dressing, topped with shrimp and octopus.

Sunomono Salad

The salad looked beautiful but was disappointing in terms of taste. The shrimp and octopus pieces both tasted a bit dry. All that was left below the seafood were a million slices of cucumber, making for a tedious eating experience to finish up the salad. I was glad to be splitting the salad with my husband, or I would've given up on the task of eating so much cucumber.

Hapa offers an extensive beer, sake, and cocktail list. Mr. Oyster was very excited to hear that Great Divide Brewing Company makes a rice beer - simply called Hapa Beer ($4) - specifically for Hapa locations across Denver.

Hapa Beer by Great Divide

The beer was excellent, but it tasted very very similar to Great Divide's Samurai Rice Ale, which is available in limited distribution across Colorado.

We then moved on to a half order of the salmon sashimi ($8.5).

Salmon Sashimi

The simple salmon preparation was perfect. The thickly-sliced pieces were succulent, buttery and rich. I could've eaten about ten of them.

We then enjoyed two sushi rolls, the Dragon Roll ($13) and the Pittsburgh Roll ($7.5).

Dragon Roll (front), Pittsburgh Roll (back)

The Dragon Roll contained crab, shrimp tempura, and cucumber, all wrapped in avocado and eel, and drizzled with a very sweet soy sauce. It was, as expected, decadent, fatty, and rich. I enjoyed it but I was glad we had only ordered one roll that was so heavy tasting.

The Pittsburgh Roll was much simpler than the Dragon, containing only cream cheese, raw salmon, and cucumber. The combination of the fatty salmon, rich cream cheese, and light, crunchy cucumber made for a lovely sushi roll.

Still a bit hungry, we decided to try one last roll, the Mork and Mindy ($8).

Mork and Mindy Roll

This roll contained large chunks of white tuna and salmon, along with chives and mandarin oranges. It was a very fresh, light-tasting and citrusy combination, and a perfect finish to our meal.

I loved the sushi rolls and the sashimi we had at Hapa; I wouldn't get the Sunomono Salad again. Presentation of all the dishes was beautiful.

Don't expect a remotely authentic sushi experience at Hapa at Landmark, but it does have a lively atmosphere, a great drink list, and plenty of decent sushi options.


Casual Dining

(7 of 10)

Pros: Great sushi rolls, reasonably priced
Cons: Crowded, skip the sunomono salad

Website:
http://hapasushi.com

Vesta Dipping Grill

Vesta has been a LoDo staple for an extraordinary 14 years, debuting when LoDo was just beginning to carve itself out of an industrial section of downtown Denver, and withstanding constant growth and turnover in the busy area since then. Vesta has long been considered one of Denver's best restaurants, and 5280 Magazine recently put it at the tail end of their 2011 Top 25 Restaurants list.

We made our way through the bar-hopping Lodo crowd to Vesta's location at 18th and Blake last Saturday night. The interior feels very urban and hip, with brick walls, high ceilings, and dark lighting.

My husband and I met up with a couple of friends (ok yes the same bunch we keep eating out with). We started off with drinks and complimentary bread served with roasted garlic; the garlic was an unexpected and unique touch.

If you're wondering about the restaurant's name, Vesta refers to itself as a "dipping grill" because all entrees come with three of Vesta's signature sauces.

But before jumping into entrees, the four of us started with several appetizers and small bites.

First up was the Vesta Roll ($12):

Vesta Roll

The menu claims the tuna is "sesame seared", but it tasted completely raw to me (which was fine). I enjoyed the large chunks of tuna in each bite and the crunchy exterior.

Their appetizer special of the day, Scallop Ceviche ($10):

Scallop Ceviche

The scallops were served with heirloom cherry tomatoes and saltines for serving. I wasn't totally impressed with the saltines, but apparently it is a traditional ceviche accompaniment. Otherwise, the scallops had a wonderful firm texture and citrus bite.

Next up were the Superior Farms Lamb Ribs ($10):

Superior Farms Lamb Ribs

The ribs were coated in a tangy yogurt sauce and a pistachio-mint rub that I absolutely loved.

We also had the Chinese BBQ Pork Belly (each $2):

Chinese BBQ Pork Belly

The belly pieces were topped with orange slices, yuzu mayonnaise, and sisho. The small portion made for a very tasty small bite, which was balanced out by the tangy citrus flavors.

As an entree, I ordered the Sofrito Braised Short Rib ($26):

Sofrito Braised Short Rib

The Southern-inspired dish included garlic rainbow chard, manchego polenta (in layman's terms, cheesy grits), and a bath of smoked paprika jus. The ribs were perfectly cooked to fork-tender.

The suggested sauces, which I had with the dish (not pictured), were green chili gastrique, bacon aioli, and Steuben's chimichurri. The aioli had all the creamy, smoky goodness you would expected from something called "bacon aioli"; the chimichurri was traditional and my favorite accompaniment to the meat. The gastrique had an unusual sweet-and-spicy flavor profile, but I felt it was just too sweet.

My husband ordered the Boneless Berkshire Pork Chop ($24):

Boneless Berkshire Pork Chop

This Southwest-style plate contained adobada pork chop served with pulled pork chilaquiles and jalapeno cabbage slaw. Every bite was just as good as it looks.

The chilaquiles had a very different flavor and texture profile than my chilaquiles at Salt a few weeks back, but it tasted even better. It included a base of soft corn tortillas instead of crispy corn chips. Like my short ribs, the pulled pork was incredibly tender.

The pork chop was very well cooked, and seasoned to allow the natural pork flavor to come through. The colorful accompanying sauces were the suggested salsa verde, mango poblano salsa, and roasted corn.

To finish off all that protein, we ordered the French Toast ($7) and the Dark Chocolate Boca Negra ($8) for desserts.

French Toast

The French Toast came with cinnamon ice cream, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries. The accompanying sauces were strawberry cointreau, hot fudge, and creme anglaise.  It was a disappointing dessert. The French Toast was soggy and bland, made with a plain white bread. The ice cream had an icy texture.

Dark Chocolate Boca Negra

The intimidating-sounding Dark Chocolate Boca Negra - a rich, dense dark chocolate cake - was outstanding. Every bite was decadent hyperglycemic bliss. The cake came with the same dipping sauces as the French Toast, which were all very good but not necessary with the cake.

The only problem with the sauces for all our entrees and desserts? The dishes were already so well seasoned that they didn't need a lot of extra punch; I felt a little overwhelmed with the flavors of so many sauces.

With all the dishes we tried, every bite of meat or seafood at Vesta was high quality, perfectly cooked and expertly seasoned. Keep in mind, however, that between all the food we ordered and the various drinks we washed it down with, our meal at Vesta ended up being fairly expensive.

Vesta seems to suffer from a perception of becoming outmoded among a burgeoning Denver restaurant scene, but their fantastic food should withstand the test of time.


Casual Dining

 (8 of 10)

Pros: Overall great food
Cons: Didn't care for one of the desserts, expensive


Website:
http://www.vestagrill.com

Rice Bistro & Sushi

Tucked very very deep in the south suburbs lies Rice Bistro & Sushi (or RICE Bistro & Sushi as they have on their website), which my husband, myself and two other friends checked out last weekend.

Rice lies at Holly and Orchard in The Orchards shopping area, in a small building adjacent to a Panera and across the parking lot from a King Soopers. Definitely suburban.

We were there on Saturday night for a very late dinner - I believe we got there a little after 8 pm. The restaurant was maybe half occupied, with a separate bar area that stayed busy through the night.

The menu at Rice lists has just about every imaginable Asian dish, as well as impressive list of cold sakes. But we were just there for the sushi. Oh, and sake too I suppose.

Rice's sushi menu includes all your typical sushi concoctions, as well as an entire page of more ambitious and creative rolls. After asking our waiter for recommendations for a spicy roll, he suggested something off the menu: the explosion roll, containing tuna and cream cheese rolled into a fried egg roll wrapper, and topped with a sweet and spicy sauce.

Explosion Roll

These fried little pieces of heaven were high-calorie and delicious and not quite like anything I've tried before. The sauce was spicy as promised.

We then dug into an assortment of more traditional sushi rolls: a shrimp tempura roll ($6.75), a spider roll ($7.5), an "Alaska" roll (crab, smoked salmon, shrimp, avocado, $10), and a spicy salmon roll ($5.5).

Clockwise from top right: Spider Roll, Spicy Salmon Roll, Alaska Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll

These were all good rolls, although nothing stood out worth getting excited about.

For our sushi finale, we decided to conclude the meal with something more adventurous: the Mexican Roll ($14), which came with Spicy super white tuna, scallions and jalapeño topped with salmon and guacamole. Our waiter confirmed that the guacamole that comes with the roll was homemade.

Mexican Roll

I was intrigued by the idea of guacamole with sushi. It must be even better than plain avocado with sushi, right? Wrong. It was good but not amazing, and the flavors of the guacamole didn't blend well with the sushi. I probably should have expected that, but I was disappointed nonetheless.

We enjoyed our meal at Rice and our waiter was very helpful and knowledgeable, but nothing from the menu stood out as particularly special. Worth visiting if you're in the area and looking for Asian food.


Casual Dining

(7 of 10)



Pros: Extremely varied menu, good service
Cons: Food is good but nothing special, strip mall location


Website:
http://www.ricebistrodenver.com/