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Sushi done right Contrary to a common misconception, sushi does not mean raw fish and not all sushi contains uncooked swimmers. Sushi is all about the vinegared, short grain rice from which it is made—the raw and cooked fish, seafood, fresh and pickled vegetables and various garnishes are what makes sushi interesting, but without the rice it would be something else. (The raw fish part would be sashimi, usually made at sushi restaurants, but less well-known here in the States.) These days everyone wants in on the sushi scene. It is amazing since as recently as even five years ago wasabi was not a condiment easily found in stores here. (That's the nose-tinglingly spicy powdered horseradish paste served with sushi.) Now you can buy ready-made sushi everywhere from restaurants to gas stations with lots of stops in between. Now there's a new kid on the block of the local sushi scene, and it's holding its own pretty well against older and much beloved places. Sushi Hana is Longmont's second sushi restaurant and joins the ranks of more than a handful of sushi bars in the county. The blue-roofed building that houses this popular Japanese restaurant was previously a fast-food fried fish joint and later an Indian restaurant. Perhaps its current incarnation will fare better than either of those. Given the wholly enjoyable meal I had there, I certainly hope so. Jim and I decided to take a recommendation and try the place the other night. We decided to combine the outing with a little summer clothes shopping. In the end we were so content after eating that we skipped the shopping altogether. We started our meal with small bowls of fresh green salad topped with a thick gingery dressing and cups of miso soup. The flavors were just right to pique the appetite and excite the palate. We tried a bowl of akadashi soup next, which is a red soy bean broth with garnishes. It had tofu bites, chopped scallion, shitake mushroom slivers and what was supposed to be seaweed but tasted suspiciously like spinach. The mushrooms were the best part of this soup, chewy and deeply flavored. Veggie tempura came next with the usual tempura dipping sauce. The veggies were covered in batter and fried then served hot. There was nothing exceptional about the dish—it was fine but not superb. What was superb, though, was the seaweed salad that came next. Variously colored, exceptionally fresh bits of green crunchy, chewy, tangy seaweed came dressed in a perfect salty sesame-studded dressing. Seaweed salad is one of my favorite Japanese dishes and this was an especially good rendering of it. Our next course was sushi. For once when ordering sushi we were modest and only ordered two kinds of nigiri (the kind with formed rice ovals) and one roll. We could not pass up trying the blackened tuna and one of my favorites—wasabi-flavored flying fish roe. They were both tasty and well-made: the rice held together but wasn't hard packed. Although there are many very interesting rolls on the menu (white tuna, jalapeño and avocado, for example) we ordered an old standby, spicy tuna. That was also well-made and tasty, enough heat for interest but not enough to numb the tongue. No sooner were the sushi dishes cleared away than the entrées arrived at the table both looking beautiful and smelling delicious. Jim's order of tuna tataki was an artistically arranged plate of thinly sliced, seared rare fresh tuna with sweet ponzu and spicy mustard sauces. Luckily the flavors and textures were as fine as the presentation. I had trouble picking from a handful of dishes and asked our server, who pointed me to the yaki udon. She said it was one of her favorites and now it is also one of mine. Thick noodles pan fried with an assortment of fresh vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces, thick slices of garlic cooked until tender yet still pungent, your choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, mixed seafood or more veggies all conspire to make this dish well above average. As we ate our appetizers I was pleased with the food if not overly impressed. But once the entrées came, my admiration for the skill and care taken with the food was doubled and tripled. This is not food dashed from stove to plate. This is food that has been treated well, thought about, planned for and graciously handled. Whether you are a sushi beginner or an old hand at the stuff, you should make sure to try some when you have dinner at Sushi Hana. But if you assume that sushi is all that is happening there you will miss out on many a fantastic dish. I can hardly wait to go back and try some more of them. Sushi Hana
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