{"id":789,"date":"2010-11-06T08:51:26","date_gmt":"2010-11-06T13:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/?p=789"},"modified":"2010-11-06T08:51:26","modified_gmt":"2010-11-06T13:51:26","slug":"sushi-cafe-double-the-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/general\/sushi-cafe-double-the-size\/","title":{"rendered":"Sushi Cafe – Double the Size"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Chicken Katsu<\/p><\/div>\n

I had dinner at the Sushi Cafe<\/a> in Little Rock, Arkansas with my wife and son this weekend and the first thing I noticed is they are now at least twice as big!\u00a0 My wife had told me they expanded but I didn\u2019t know the full extent.\u00a0 They are\u00a0least twice the size if not bigger.\u00a0 They have a new area complete with a new bar, a front room,\u00a0a middle room, and a glass enclosed private area.\u00a0 My only complaint with the space is that the large private tables were empty while over a dozen people stood around waiting for non-private tables.\u00a0 Maybe they had reservations in the back?<\/p>\n

Sushi Cafe has what is best described as a fusion menu with a huge variety of sushi along with many cooked items.\u00a0 They have everything from cheeseburgers, to hot dogs, to specialty sushi rolls and sashimi.\u00a0 They have several pages of items to choose from with inexpensive goods such as baked salmon ($9)\u00a0to more expensive items such as the duo of lobster tails ($38).\u00a0 Judging from the huge crowd I\u2019d say their menu appeals to quite a few different tastes.<\/p>\n

The place was packed and our wait exceeded the initial 25 minutes with another 30 minutes tacked on.\u00a0 The host did warn us after 25 minutes that it would be another 30 or so but we opted to wait.\u00a0 Our total wait time hovered around 45 minutes.\u00a0 There was no room at the bar so we stood around while we waited.\u00a0 Both my wife and I have lived in larger cities (Philadelphia) and are used to multi-hour waits so it was no big deal really.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Crispy Wontons<\/p><\/div>\n

We were seated and ordered our drink orders right away.\u00a0 It did take about 15 minutes to place our appetizer order since the waitress appeared quite busy serving the other tables.\u00a0 I had been to the Sushi Cafe once before and wanted to try the Creamy Wontons ($5)<\/strong>\u00a0again along with the Tigers Den ($9)<\/strong>.\u00a0 The wontons are filled with cream cheese and crab meat and then deep fried.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0serving comes with 5 wontons and is\u00a0plenty\u00a0for the price.\u00a0 The Tigers Den\u00a0has Wontons, Mini Harumaki, and Wasabi Shumai\u00a0and includes two sauces.<\/p>\n

The Creamy Wontons were wonderful with just the right amount of fry to them and with a sweet interior.\u00a0 My son commented \u201cWe get to eat dessert first!\u201d and I don\u2019t disagree.\u00a0 They came with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce that complimented them well.\u00a0 The only improvement I would suggest is to have more teriyaki sauce on the plate (maybe in a small dish?)\u00a0 It was so good that I ran out quickly.<\/p>\n

The Tiger\u2019s Den also had wontons on it that were identical to the ones on the wonton only plate (great!)\u00a0 The three spring rolls (also called Mini Harumaki) were good and crunchy and without too much grease.\u00a0 Sometimes spring rolls drip with grease but that is not the case at Sushi Cafe.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have a huge flavor to them but the sauces worked well with them.\u00a0 The wasabi flavored dumplings were good but not exceptional.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a similar item in Scottsdale (Arizona) and they add sticky nuts to the dumplings along with a sauce made just for them (drizzled over the top.)\u00a0 They are good at Sushi Cafe but\u00a0could be great with\u00a0some more\u00a0effort.<\/p>\n

We ordered our entrees next with my son having the Chicken Katsu ($13)<\/strong>, my wife had the Fish and Chips ($15)<\/strong>, and I opted for the Kobe Burger ($16)<\/strong>.\u00a0 Our food took a while to show up (once again, due to them being very busy) but it all looked good on arrival.\u00a0 The chicken katsu had some cheese sprinkled over it and had a BBQ dipping sauce in the middle.\u00a0 The chicken was well fried and very tender.\u00a0 I give them high marks for doing such a great job with a simple dish.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fish and Chips<\/p><\/div>\n

The Fish and Chips were not quite what I expected based on my experience with English food but it was fried well.\u00a0 The fish was in the form of fish-cakes and not strips and it came with sweet potato fries but it all tasted good.\u00a0 This is where it got a little too strange for me though.\u00a0 It comes with a sweet remoulade.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, it\u2019s sweet.\u00a0 I expected the remoulade to be spicy (ala cajun style) or to have a tartar sauce taste to it but no, it tasted like it was blended with strawberries or cherries.\u00a0 My wife really liked it but I felt it just didn\u2019t work with the dish.\u00a0 I can appreciate them trying to be different but would prefer they offer a spicy sauce OR the sweet one when you order.\u00a0 Other than the really odd sauce it tasted good.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m saving the worst for last because I really like the Sushi Cafe and am sure their other dishes are much better.\u00a0\u00a0I will give them another shot in the future and don\u2019t plan on making the following my basis for return.\u00a0 With that said, let the sad show begin!\u00a0 I had ordered my Kobe Burger Medium-Rare.\u00a0 Most people will tell you that in order to really taste the meat you shouldn\u2019t cook it past Medium-Rare.\u00a0 You can get away with this with meat such as Kobe because it is supposedly fresh and of very high quality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kobe Burger<\/p><\/div>\n

Well, my burger came out and it was cold.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t luke-warm, it was cold.\u00a0 The other thing I could tell is that the meat patty is pre-formed and pre-frozen.\u00a0 Kobe burgers I\u2019ve had in Las Vegas and in Ft. Lauderdale were fresh formed and you can tell the difference almost immediately.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t surprised but I think $16 is too steep for a\u00a0previously frozen\u00a0American Kobe burger.\u00a0 I informed the waitress that my burger was cold\u00a0and she promptly took it back to the kitchen.\u00a0 After a few minutes she returned with the news that \u201cThe chef said it\u2019s supposed to be cold since it\u2019s Medium-Rare.\u201d\u00a0 Um, no.\u00a0 It\u2019s not supposed to be cold.\u00a0 The problem is that they are grilling it frozen and by the time it\u2019s thawed, it\u2019s cooked to Medium-Rare.\u00a0 In order to keep it from cooking further they have to remove it from the grill.\u00a0 This creates a problem since it\u2019s not hot yet.\u00a0 While technically the chef was right, he was right for the wrong reasons.\u00a0 What they should do is thaw the patties overnight in the refrigerator and cook them only after they have thawed.\u00a0 This would allow them to be cooked to any done-ness without problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a back-and-forth debate with the kitchen I capitulated and requested to have it cooked \u201clike they normally do it.\u201d\u00a0 She warned me it would take a little while but I was in no real hurry.\u00a0 I waited about 20 minutes and received my new burger and\u00a0this time it was completely cooked.\u00a0 Here comes the latest problem though.\u00a0 It was COOKED.\u00a0 It had a burnt smell to it and although it wasn\u2019t burnt on the inside, it was burnt on the outside.\u00a0 Once again the frozen patty hurt the food as they had to burn it to cook it through and to the right external temperature.\u00a0 The bottom line here is that you should NEVER cook frozen food if you want decent results.\u00a0 I ate half of the burger (was hungry) but left the rest behind.\u00a0 I\u2019ve eaten the Cowboy Burger from Sushi Cafe and it is much better than the more expensive Kobe Burger.\u00a0 Needless to say, I will never ever order the Kobe Burger again.<\/p>\n

Except for the Kobe Burger and the sweet remoulade, the food was very good.\u00a0 You can tell the non-sushi items aren\u2019t made with the highest quality ingredients but the price reflects it too (it\u2019s a decent deal for the money.)\u00a0 I like the newly expanded area and everyone was very nice to us.\u00a0 The host was super helpful and the patrons were friendly.\u00a0 I actually had a great time and will return to try out some of their sushi items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Give them a try and let me know what you like on the menu.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure there are good items, I just haven\u2019t found a broad selection yet.<\/p>\n

Sushi Cafe
\n<\/strong>5823 Kavanaugh Blvd\u00a0
\nLittle Rock\u00a0
\nAR\u00a0
\n72207
\n(501) 663-9888<\/p>\n

Lunch MON \u2013 FRI 11am \u2013 2pm
\nDinner MON \u2013 SUN 5pm \u2013 Close<\/p>\n

\"Sushi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com I had dinner at the Sushi Cafe in Little Rock, Arkansas with my wife and son this weekend and the first thing I noticed is they are now at least twice as big!\u00a0 My wife had told me they expanded but I didn\u2019t know the full extent.\u00a0 They are\u00a0least twice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,205],"tags":[286,289,287,288,64,112,72,131,252],"class_list":["post-789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-reviews","tag-cafe","tag-expands","tag-fusion","tag-heights","tag-japanese","tag-little","tag-restaurant","tag-rock","tag-sushi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":799,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789\/revisions\/799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}