Origami (Uptown location) – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I had some friends in town and we decided to get dinner with them. Much to our chagrin, they had chicken wings the previous night so we couldn’t take them to the world’s greatest wing place – D-Spot. They love sushi, so we decided to go to Origami. We hadn’t been to the new location in Uptown yet, and they have a really reasonable happy hour.

D.Rough and I showed up early, specifically so we could have a drink and a chat about our day. I really like doing that, for that record. She got a Penny Dropper (I can’t remember what was in it, but it was damn good) and I got a Mango Chu-hai (fruit puree, vodka, and club soda). Both delicious and refreshing. We also (our friends don’t know this) ordered some Takoyako, which is deep fried octopus dumplings – basically the octopus version of the conch fritters we ate in the Bahamas every day – like a hush puppy.

It came with a drizzle of eel sauce and a dab of seasoned mayo – delicious. There were only five, but D.Rough and I were able to share the remaining 5th wheel and both eat half. Great crunch on the outside of the puff ball and the octopus was soft and not chewy/rubbery. Great appetizer. The server even cleared it away from the table before our friends go there to judge us. Hahahaha

Once our friends arrived, we pretended like everything was all bright and new and we had just gotten there. It’s like two separate happy hours!!!! I ordered the lychee-tini that I had my eye on earlier, and D.Rough got a pinot grigio.

The happy hour menu has a lot of different drinks on it, but the food menu is just as impressive. It was difficult to decide what to get. We made our server laugh when we ordered, “Futo Maki through Spicy Crab Maki”. The server heard those two rolls, and we corrected him by emphasizing THROUGH. So he added Spicy Yellowtail Maki, Spicy tuna Maki, Spicy Scallop Maki, and Spicy Crab Maki to the order. Hilarious. Thankfully, he hadn’t brought up the appetizer we had snuck in before our friends got there. Hahaha.

I’ll make this review really short, we made a mistake and ordered basically five of the same thing and one roll that actually tasted different than the other five versions. Completely our mistake. That being said, the rolls were pretty good, they just all tasted too similar in our minds. The Futo Maki is quite good, despite it being vegetarian (have to get my digs in where I can). The ingredients were fresh and it’s kind of an oversized roll. I liked it a lot.

The other rolls, like I said, were good, but they all tasted pretty similar. So you have five bite rolls, and five of them that tasted the same. That means you have twenty five pieces that tasted the same. Thankfully, they WERE good, otherwise, it could have been an nightmare.

Overall, aside from ordering error, we were happy with our meal. The happy hour menu will for sure keep us coming back, and I’m looking forward to trying some of their whiskey – which is one of the best selections in the area.

Top 5 things about Origami Sushi (Uptown)
1. Takoyako – octopus dumplings
2. Substantial happy hour menu
3. Very friendly staff
4. Futo Maki roll
5. There’s a parking ramp above it and a parking lot right outside (both cost dollars, but are close)

Bottom 5 things
1. We ordered all the things that taste the same (delicious, but the same)
2. The Chu-hai wasn’t very boozy
3. The restaurant isn’t visible from the main street – you have to mean to go there
4. Nothing else was a down-side
5.

www.origamirestaurant.com

Haiku Japanese Bistro – Inver Grove Heights, MN

D.Rough and I noticed a new Japanese restaurant going in a strip mall near our house. When it finally opened, we knew we needed to try it, especially since we were in need of a sushi fix. When we got there, we were impressed with how full the restaurant was – it seems to be doing good business. We were also impressed with the lighting in this place. A considerable amount of tho0ught and money went into the lights, which are everywhere: on the ceiling, no the floor, on the pillars, behind the bar, above the bar, under the bar, in the food – yes, some of the bowls and glasses are lighted. It’s crazy and very modern without being corny. Nicely done.

The menu has a lot of appetizers and entrees on it, some hibachi items, and sushi. A nice mix, so you’ll get fed no matter what you’re in the mood for. They also have a pretty significant cocktail and drink menu, including a couple Japanese beers and sake drinks. D.Rough and I had to narrow down what we wanted, but it didn’t take us terribly long. We went with a Kani Salad (D.Rough’s favorite salad of all time), and a few sushi rolls, a Rainbow Roll, Sweet Potato Tempura Roll, Tuna Family Roll, and Slamming Salmon Roll.

I will suggest you ask about the Crazy Spider Roll. I didn’t and I should have. On the menu, it says it’s a tempura spider, which I assumed was a typo. When I checked out the website, sure enough, it still says tempura spider. If you order that, please let me know what you get on your plate. I’m verrrrry curious.

The Kani Salad arrived and was different than we’ve had in the past. We expected a layer of seaweed, but there wasn’t one – no bother there. Thankfully, the shredded crab meat was quite tasty and was mixed in well with shredded cucumber and likely some jicama, and then some spicy mayo and masago crumbs on the top. It had a great flavor, but it was a tiny bit dry. We mentioned next time, we might order a seaweed salad to accompany the Kani Salad and mix bites of it for more moisture. But honestly, the Kani Salad was tasty and we wolfed it down very quickly. And the spicy mayo had a hidden kick that we both loved.

In order of how I liked our sushi rolls (least to best):

The Tuna Family Roll was alright. Not my favorite. It had a lot of wasabi in it (wasabi mayo, to be exact), which isn’t my favorite. The spicy tuna inside the roll was quite good though. I liked the pepper in the pepper white tuna, as well. Mainly, my issue was with the overpowering wasabi.

Slamming Salmon Roll, my third favorite of the rolls. This had some great flavors on the inside, but it was masked by the wasabi mayo and then the wasabi tobiko crumbs on the top. I figured if you were going to double up on the wasabi items, you’d scale back their potency – not so in this case. And the amount of wasabi crumbs on top, made this roll difficult to eat. There were crumbs all over the table and in my lap, no matter which direction you turned the roll, there were crumbs falling. Again, the spicy salmon on the inside of the roll was quite good, as was the pepper tuna on the top. A decent roll, but probably more so if you really like wasabi a lot.

The Sweet Potato Tempura Roll was much better than expected. It’s also very inexpensive. And quite good. It’s got a smokey flavor from the sweet potato and is more heavy duty than most rolls I’ve had, but it’s really worth getting.

The Rainbow Roll was the best of the rolls. Each fish did taste slightly different and there was plenty of avocado to add a little bit of interesting texture and flavor without being too much. They’re good sized rolls, so we were really happy to see that. I was happy there no wasabi, frankly.

Overall, I feel like the flavors were somewhat muted and not bright and vibrant. I’ve had sushi that puts a smile on my face and makes you feel like you’re ALMOST eating a healthy snack with all the vibrant pops of flavor. This sushi wasn’t bad, it was just middle of the road. It is better than buffet sushi, without a doubt, and there really isn’t anything wrong with it. But I didn’t feel like it was a happy and light meal. Of course, I’ll be back, and am looking forward to it. There are a lot of things on the menu that I want to try and those cocktails may be calling my name here in the near future…

Top 5 things about Haiku Japanese Bistro
1. Rainbow Roll
2. Sweet Potato Tempura Roll
3. Atmosphere is pretty cool
4. Thorough food and cocktail list
5. Kani Salad flavor

Bottom 5 things
1. Heavy on the wasabi
2. Blinking neon lights in a bowl of king crab legs MIGHT be a little over the top (I was going to say jumped the shark, but that, my friends would be too many seafood references and thus, jumping the shark)
3. Kani salad was a tad dry
4. The bar area seems a bit jumbled with bottles randomly stuck on the short wall in front of the pretty purple wall
5. Still curious about a tempura spider…

www.haikujapanese.com

Masu Sushi & Robata – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I needed a date night, and she was feeling sushi-ish. We had to decide whether to do our favorite place, or try something new. We went for the new option and decided on Masu – we’d wanted to go there since it opened and we’d heard good things about it. To Masu!!!

We walked into Masu and instantly liked the energy there. It was filled with a good mix of people – classy, hipster, college, groups, couples, friends, old, young. Everyone had smiles – it was almost weird, but not quite. The walls were decorated with both giant paintings and also fun Japanese toys. We looked at the food as we walked past, and despite it being dark in the dining room, the food looked fantastic. This was going to be awesome.

We started with the drink menu. It’s got enough items on it to be intimidating. Two pages of sake and then cocktails, beers, and fun drinks. They do have drinks with gummi bears on them, but we skipped those and went right to cocktails. I got a Lamuné Ramuné and D.Rough got a Lucky Millionaire Mojito. The night was shaping up.

The drinks were perfect and just what we needed. D.Rough’s drink was garnished with a lottery ticket – seriously, a scratch off (which we didn’t win), and mine was a pint glass with strawberry sake rum and a bottle of Ramuné (a Japanese kids’ soda that’s fun to open and drink due to the marble that plugs the hole when you drink or pour too fast – I love me some Ramuné).

We ordered a seaweed and cucumber salad to split, and an order of three steamed pork belly buns. The rest of the menu is pretty substantial, so we needed to order something to get our first course out of the way so we could focus on the main course.

Once we got to focus, we asked about the robota – it doesn’t have anything to do with robots, much to my chagrin. It basically means small bits of food (usually skewered) that some restaurants let you cook at your own table and others do it for you – like Masu. It might be the Japanese version of tapas. D.Rough and I thought we’d do a couple of robota items and then a few sushi rolls. We ordered some grilled rice balls, grilled asparagus, beef tenderloin wrapped around burdock (root veggies), and then for the sushi, we got a spicy crunchy salmon roll and a Firecracker roll – shrimp tempura, crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy tuna, and tempura flakes.

The seaweed salad came out and divided it up between us. It was very fresh and not ocean-tasting (in a bad way). The crab was plentiful and the cucumbers and seaweed were delicious. A couple of sprouts, some pickled veggies rounded it off and made for a great light salad.

The pork belly buns were out of this world, however. Two slices of thick and tender pork belly on a perfectly steamed bun with pickled carrots and hoisin. That was exactly what we needed. The next time we go back, we’ll likely both get our own orders of these. They were that good.

The small plate items came out next and looked great. The asparagus was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of char on them. On the same plate were the beef burdock rolls. These weren’t D.Rough’s favorites, but I really liked them. I liked the crunch of the veggies on the inside of the roll. And the dipping sauce was really sweet. I’m not even sure what it was, but it was tasty on everything I dipped in it – which was everything.

The rice balls were grilled – I have no idea how that’s done, but it was. The crunchy bits almost had a nutty flavor to them and the insides were delicious and soft. I really liked these, especially dipped in the sweet sauce. We saw a lot of these going to tables, so I’m guessing they’re a big seller at Masu.

The sushi came out immediately after we finished our small plates. The spicy crunchy salmon roll was good and I was surprised to see jalapeno slices on top of it. I really liked that flavor combination and hadn’t seen it before. It was really quite good.

The sushi winner of the night was the Firecracker roll. It had a lot of ingredients inside it and was covered with sri racha (that spicy rooster sauce). It had a great crunch with the shrimp tempura and the tempura flakes and good substance with the tuna and avacado inside. I really liked this roll a lot.

D.Rough got a finisher cocktail that I was a little jealous of – His Majesty Emperor Albert. It is a plum tea Collins. And it tasted like candy. Wow.

We had a fantastic server, but we actually had a few people helping us out, including the hostess and some other folks. Everyone working seemed happy to be there and all of the people we saw dining looked to be not only enjoying their own food, but raving about it and then forcing their dining companions to try their’ s as well. It was really nice to see – THAT’s what we’re talking about with the high energy place. Not some ridiculous hippie crap.

We look forward to coming back to Masu. Now we know what all the hype is about and we completely buy into it. It isn’t cheap, but it’s fantastic if you don’t mind paying for high-quality food and a fun atmosphere. We don’t mind – we just can’t afford it all the time. Hahahaha. Worth it for a fancy date night with my lady, though. I promise.

Top 5 things about Masu Sushi & Robota
1. Pork Belly Buns
2. Firecracker roll
3. Lamuné Ramuné
4. His Majesty Emperor Albert
5. Atmosphere

Bottom 5 things
1. It is a little pricey, but also high-quality
2. The kitchen is open to the dining room, but the all is so high you can’t see their chefs working their magic
3. Some simple explanations of menu items would make deciding slightly easier (but there’s still so much awesome to choose from)
4. Parking is never fun in Northeast, but just bring your quarters
5. Nothing else is even remotely bad here

www.masusushiandrobata.com

Raku – Edina, MN

Trash and I had some business-y things to discuss so we thought we’d check out this sushi place in the 50th and France area. Raku is labeled “Modern” Japanese cuisine, and I was curious what that really entails. The 50th & France area of Edina is known for housing some pricey restaurants and clothing boutiques and this is no different. But there ways around busting your wallet to eat here.

The menu has some delicious items on it and it was difficult to decide on something simple. On the back page is the much less expensive lunch menu, which also allows you to get two rolls for $9 or three rolls for $12. That’s a pretty realistic price for sushi rolls. Obviously, these aren’t the fancy specialty rolls, but they do have the standards. On top of this, they have a separate menu with specials for the day. It was a tough decision deciding between the lunch combination and the daily special, so I went with both. Hahaha. I got an eel and avocado roll and a spicy crunchy salmon roll from the combo menu and then I got a “Megatron” from the specials. Yes, Megatron – as in Transformers.

The lunch meals come with soup or salad, and both Trash and I opted for soup.

As Trash and I chatted, we both began to notice weird things about the restaurant itself. There’s some sort of weird circus-like perspective issue going on here. The scale is a little wonky here. The bar is too big. The light above the tables is too small (for the space). The step out front is too tall. The tables are too narrow. And the chopsticks are too short. Not majorly off, but just enough to make you question if it is you or are things list slightly too small or large. Really weird, but since we both pointed it out, we decided it wasn’t us – it was them.

And speaking of the table, it’s made of rocks encased in some sort of fancy resin. So you feel like you’re eating on rock beach. Very cool idea and was tactfully done. We loved it.

The salads came out in very modern bowls shaped like ceramic papazan chairs. It was a simple spinach/lettuce salad with a slice of tomato and cucumber in it, but the ginger dressing was one of the better ones I’ve had. It really made this salad. So far, we were off to a good start.

The first set of sushi rolls came out and, despite our fear that their perspective would be off and they’d look like burritos or pencils, they looked really good. The perfect size, actually. Trash got two Philly rolls and an avocado roll. She liked her rolls, but she didn’t rave about them. Basically they were better than average, but not mind-blowing. Fresh ingredients, but nothing that made them pop. No fancy sauces or anything out of the ordinary. Just good sushi.

I liked my eel & avocado roll just fine. Tasty and fresh without a lot of flash or fanfare. The spicy crunchy salmon roll was much better though. It had plenty of “spicy” and the "crunchy" made the texture of this thing pretty awesome. I really liked this one, especially for the price. I’ll be back for this one.

Now, I get to describe to you the weirdest sushi roll I’ve ever seen, heard about, or eaten. I ordered the Megatron with a mental picture in my head based on the Transformers cartoon from the 80’s. I didn’t even go to the 2000’s version of CGI vomit, because I’m old school like that. I was really hoping it would be capable of changing from a sushi robot into a sushi 18-wheeler. Or maybe a sushi robot into a sukiyaki robot, even. But I wasn’t ready for what they put on my table.

First I’ll point out the obvious things. You’ll notice tempura shrimp sticking out both ends of the roll. My mind immediately conjured some horrific science-experiment-turned-bad-movie about a killer two-bodied shrimp. Then you’ll notice some sliced cucumbers and avocado inside the roll. Not weird yet. Fake crab meat sticks: normally weird, but in sushi, fairly standard. Orange fish eggs: again, normally weird, but in sushi, fairly standard. Then, not necessarily weird, but more intriguing: the super-thin sliced steak with sea salt on the top of the roll that had been torched (like with a kitchen blow torch). Additionally, equally intriguing but not quite weird: the eel and scallion sauce drizzled artistically over the top of the whole roll. And the coup de grace… there were American cheese slices rolled into the entire thing. It’s difficult to see, but I tried to take a photo to point it out. Wow! That’s thinking outside the traditional roll on this one.

Trash is a vegetarian, so she was absolutely horrified on about 16 different levels when she saw this thing. She hoped it wasn’t cheese, but maybe some bright orange-fleshed fish she was unfamiliar with. If she had peeled the cheese out of its clear cellophane wrapper herself, she would have not believed anyone would put Kraft singles on sushi. This HAPPENED, people.

I took a hesitant first bite and was actually surprised at the rainbow of flavors this roll contained. I could taste both cucumber and avocado. I could taste the steak and the shrimp (especially the yummy fried bits). And I could also taste the “torched” part – it was its own flavor. And then I could taste the cheese. I won’t say the combination didn’t work – because it sort of/almost did. It was way off the weird scale, but I didn’t hate it. It was just like my head couldn’t accept what it was eating. But by the end, I was eating it like my mom packed this into my Japanese school lunch every day when I was child. It was surprisingly good. Hell, I didn’t even know Japanese restaurants kept Kraft singles in their storerooms at all, let alone used them in sushi. What else would they pair American cheese with? I’m actually wondering this question now. If you want to freak out your friends, order a sushi roll and then have the chef slap some Kraft singles in it. Don’t be a white-bread sushi eater. Get crazy. The chefs at Raku CLEARLY have gone off the deep end. But I’ll thank them for it!

Top 5 things about Raku
1. Spicy crunchy salmon roll
2. Ginger salad dressing
3. Eel & Avocado roll
4. Cool resin rock table
5. Magatron roll?

Bottom 5 things
1. Carnival-like perspective shift
2. It isn’t cheap unless you go at lunch
3. I think some splashes of unique sauces might add some “pop” to these rolls
4. The plain avocado roll looked boring to me
5. Megatron roll?

www.rakumn.com

RA - Chicago, IL

TheDoctor and HB had planned a trip to Chicago so TheDoctor could get Bill Simmons to sign a book just published about basketball – in fact, it ended up being multiple people sending TheDoctor to Chicago to get their books signed as well. Being gainfully unemployed, I decided to tag along with and go hang with some friends in Chicago as well.

HB used to work at RA Sushi in Arizona when they both lived there and ended up training a lot of the managers at the Chicago location, so the plan was to hang at RA during happy hour (since 2009 is the Year of Happy Hour), and then TheDoctor and HB could go to the book signing. Callous-un would meet up with us at the end of happy hour and we’d go hang while the others went to the book signing.

I always get nervous around sushi places, since I don’t eat any seafood. But generally, most places have enough appetizer-y things that I can find something to eat. And if all else fails, it was happy hour – I could just pound drinks for a couple of hours, right?

Happy Hour starts at 3 at RA, which just happens to be when we got there. There’s a pretty decent happy hour menu which includes both drinks and appetizers. I felt drawn to the Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons, which would be washed down with what’s known as Tokyo Tea. I made sure it didn’t have any actual tea in it, since I can’t stand dirty water, and when she told me it had sake, lemon and lime juice, and a bunch of other girly stuff, I gave her the thumbs up. The drink was good, but… thin… like there wasn’t enough syrupy goodness in it. Either way, it was delicious.

The Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons came out after a short bit and were really good. They were served on some sort asian cabbage and carrot slaw which was also delicious. The wontons were cooked perfectly, and although they had a faint hint of pineapple in them, I could have used a bit more on the fruity side. As they were, they tasted like slightly sweeter wontons than normal.

I got hungry again and decided to go with the Pork Gyoza. These are dumpling-like rice paper raviolis of pork, lightly fried to seal in the wonderfulness. They were served with some sort of salty sweet dipping sauce and were amazingly tasty. They were much better hot – by the time I got to the last one, it was a bit rubbery, but thankfully, all of the previous 5 were perfect. So really, no complaints at all.

I ended up getting another girly drink when Callous-un arrived, but I can’t remember what I got. I know it was girly and had sake and ginger in it. Maybe a Rising Sun or something like that. It was good, but I drank it too fast and forgot to take a photo. Sorry about that.

The sushi everyone else got looked amazing. They ordered a ton of different stuff, some of which looked like tiny fishes, and some of which looked like tiny sailboats with fried lotus petal sails. Everyone raved about the sushi, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say the sushi is probably what you should get here.

I will go back to RA at some point, I am sure. HB is trying to talk the managers into opening a store in Minneapolis, so it might be sooner rather than later. We will see.

Top 5 things about RA
1. Pork Gyoza
2. All of the sushi – just going based on recommendations
3. Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons
4. Tokyo Tea (If only I could have tuned it in better…)
5. The staff there is easy on the eyes

Bottom 5 things
1. The happy hour menu didn’t have any sort of descriptions for drinks or food
2. The bathroom walls are frosted glass, so it’s a little stage-fright-y trying to utilize the facilities
3. Eating cabbage and carrot slaw with chopsticks is a chore – I still did it, since it was awesome, but it’s still a chore
4. I really wished I ate sushi
5. The Year of Happy Hour is almost over

www.rasushi.com

Moto-I (Round 2) - Minneapolis, MN

Chao visited Moto-I when his cousin was in town, but he wanted to take me there so I could try it and so he could explore more of the menu. We went after our first snow storm of that week (first of 62) and started our visit off with an excellent parking spot close the restaurant. We decided to sit in a booth and we were two of only a few patrons for the evening. This awarded us extra attention from our awesome server. Our water was never less than half full and he had great recommendations for us.

We decided to go all out and try several things on the menu. I have never had sake before and as Chao mentioned before, this place brews their own. Chao ordered his favorite from his first visit and I tried some. It was good but I prefer wine so I ordered a glass of that. We ordered several small plates including a Hoisin Pork Bun, a Hen Bun, Kaarage, and Rangoon. We also ordered the Yakiudon and the Coconut Green Curry with chicken. The small plates were fabulous. I would give a special shout out to the Hoisin Pork bun and the Rangoon as my favorites. The buns are very unique. I have to use my most hated word of all time to describe them. Moist. Aaack! [Chao: The bun wasn't aaack, just using the word. The bun was awesome. Just clarifying.] The Rangoon were made with smoked salmon which is a bit different than the crab normally found and it was a super good change. The Kaarage was like a popcorn chicken which was good and the Hen Bun had a nice spice to it. The Yukiudon was excellent. The noodles were SOO good and the sauce was fabulous. The Green Curry, which was technically MY main dish, was super good but a bit spicy for me after awhile so I stole the rest of Chao's Yukiudon. I don't think he minded too much.

We had a great time here and will be back for sure.

Top 5:
1. Small plates are really fun and super good
2. Yukiudon noodles are fabulous
3. Sake is great here
4. They have Malbec wine
5. I want to bring all sort of friends and family to this place because it is so fun

Bottom 5:
1. I had to use my hated word in this post
2. I am a wimp and the Green Curry ended up being too spicy for me
3. It was really quiet in there so very little people watching happened
4. I am not good at using chopsticks
5. Chao lost his main dish to me! Wa ha ha ha!

http://www.moto-i.com

Moto-I - Minneapolis, MN

I read a review of the Moto-I in the Pioneer Press about a month ago. It's brand new and is getting fantastic reviews. Apparently, this is the United States’ only Japanese Sake brewery. It got a great write up, so I was intrigued. I’d never had sake I liked before, but the food items looked good and I’m always up for trying new things.

Just out of pure coincidence, my cousin e-mailed me and said he had a long layover in Minneapolis and wanted to hook up for a drink at his friends place in Uptown. You guessed it – the Moto-I. Sure, no problem at all. In fact, I was pretty excited. Plus I hadn’t seen my cousin in a couple of years, so I was looking forward to that as well. My cousin is Japanese, and he’s also an expert in sake – he’ll be opening up his own sake bar in San Francisco very soon. He knows what he’s talking about.


I’ll make this review quick since I intend to do a full-length review once I eat a full meal there. But for now, deal with the quick version. The atmosphere of this place is pretty slick. Very modern, but with a true Asian feel to it as well (I’m assuming as I haven’t been to Asia). Clean lines on the woodwork and just a classy place in general.

As I said, I’ve never had good sake, so I tried to nancy out of ordering sake. However, my cousin suggested I try a specific one (they are currently selling three varieties – soon to be 9), which had a hint of melon in it – the Junmai Nama. Plus the owner, Blake, was standing right there, so I complied. It was fabulous. Truly amazing. I got a fantastic history lesson about sake and the brewing process as well, which really helped. Apparently, I’m a sake fan.

We also had a couple of small plate appetizers before I had to get him back to the airport. I got a Hoisin pork bun and an order of Karaage. The pork bun was a traditional small bun with flavored shredded pork inside. It’s the most popular bun on the menu, but they all looked good. I figured I’d go with the majority vote here. It was super flavorful. I will get this again for sure, but maybe try one of each flavor, since they’re small. The Karaage is deep fried soy sauce marinated chicken with a dipping sauce sort of like hoisin. It was like lightly breaded chicken cubes. Amazing flavor, yet seemed simple.

While my cousin was in the restroom, I swiped a bite of his dried squid (twss). I’m not a fan, but I’m sure it was great. He was joking earlier about it, “So, how was Minnesota’s squid crop this year? Ha ha ha ha.”

There were about 30 things I would like to try on the menu, so I’ll be back for sure. They have small plates and full plates as well. The menu explains most of what’s on it in English, and the place setting has a very good description of the sakes they serve. Go to this place. You won’t be disappointed. Blake and his wife were great hosts and were glad to hear I would be back.

Top 5 things about Moto-I
1. Junmai Nama Sake
2. Hoisin Pork Bun
3. Karaage
4. Atmosphere/Ambience
5. James the bartender was awesome

Bottom 5 things
1. Still pretty new, so they’re working out some glitches (you can’t write “bugs” in a restaurant review)
2. Not well labeled on the outside (might be soon though) – it’s across from the Jungle Theater on Lyndale
3. I wish I had more time to eat a full meal
4. Three different menus – lunch, dinner, and late night – soon to be combined into one
5. My pronunciation of Japanese words – I butchered most things.

Moto-I.com