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Kasai Restaurant First Visit Wadsworth, Ohio Date of Visit 03/12/14 http://eatatkasai.com/
Round two number three. We have enjoyed almost everything about
Kasai nearly every time we come. One of the things I tend to enjoy
is I can try things I haven’t considered before without much fear.
Yes, both strip mall sushi and I have come a long way. The only
thing that has changed about the restaurant is the addition of a
full bar located right next to the very quietly laboring sushi chefs
in their dark garb. One of the tvs is tuned to an episode of Diners,
Drive-Ins & Dives and between tasks a couple of them seem transfixed
by what’s being cooked on the screen. You must love your job if you
watch it while you’re doing it. |
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Service, we have learned through multiple visits is hit or miss,
efficient or haphazard, friendly or pointedly standoffish. We hit
right down the middle this trip. Speaking of something a bit
different, Steph tried a new roll and some Donburi while I tried a
roll of the new creations paper and the tempura udon. Its just hard
to go wrong here. The same salad and soup options as always were
followed by two beautiful rolls. Steph’s 3-8-1 roll (which the menu
says means I Love Y; I’m not enough of a cryptographer to decipher
why that might be true) was loaded with spicy tuna, avocado and
cucumber with some tempura crunchiness, plus an additional helping of
tuna and avocado layered on top. I don’t know if it loves Y but I
really dig this combo.
The new creation was titled Land & Sea. I have never had a sushi
roll with red meat…why not? The seasoned rice was studded with cubes
of mid rare new york strip, crunchy tempura fried lobster tail,
grilled mushrooms, avocado and masago (the roe [caviar] of the
capelin fish). |
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Roll it in nori and top it all off with eel sauce and spicy mayo and suddenly I can’t believe I haven’t had this before. I will again. The steak was grilled to a lovely mid rare, the tempura held it's crunch from beginning to end, and the combination of the sushi flavors make perfect sense.
The tempura udon noodle bowl had to contain at least a gallon of
lightly flavored broth (I like to give it a dash of soy and some of
the little bowl of sauce that comes with the tempura [I suppose its
for the tempura and not the soup] for a boost…stupid American). The
broth contained lots of cabbage and broccoli and the like, plus long
and thick strands of slippery noodles. It’s a delicate thing but
clean and pure. To muss it up a little there is an assortment of
tempura fried items from long shrimp to sweet potato, also lightly
seasoned and just barely fried pale, not even golden and far from
brown. Even though it sees little heat the panko crumbs still crisp
up nicely and the variety of interior items all maintain their
structural and flavorful integrity. I wonder if I could consider
this diet food? |
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The donburi rice bowl was much less attractive to look at. I have
heard Gordon Ramsay refer to similar plates as a “dog’s dinner”, but
we love our dogs, they eat well, and the rice mix was no different.
Something in the bowl had a distinct sweetness and it coats the
rice, the chicken and the veggies. There are underlying tones of
more umami based ingredients but the sweetness starts the party and
lingers long afterward. Add a little richness from the egg and
crunch from the veggies
Kasai
continues to offer delicious versions of the clean and thoughtful
menu items you would expect from a Japanese restaurant. It is a
great break from some of the more aggressive and haphazard
approaches of many other styles of cuisine.
I am definitely more a fan of the sushi at Kasai, but I've never
been disappointed in any of their offerings. It turns out the other
options are also worth some deviation as well, as is Kasai if you’ve
never been. |
| Change in Ranking | |||||
| Original Score | Which Way? | New Score | Why For? | ||
| B | = | B | No change. The service isn't always as good as our first trip but we have strolled all over the menu and found consistently great food. |
