Mio Sushi

You can probably guess a few things about me from my first three posts. Some of your guesses would be right; for example, that I love Asian food, with a particular emphasis on sushi. It's true, I could eat sushi almost every day and not be tired of it, and Mio Sushi's sushi is no exception. More on that in a minute.

Some other things about me (fabulous! fascinating!) I love to eat, although I get accused of "eating like a bird," I just don't see how that could be the case because I LOVE eating and always feel like I ate too much. I also love sharing food (sharing IS caring in my book) and so I might be the perfect dinner companion (especially if you come from a loud, Jewish family like mine) and if you like to try everything because everything sounds good. That is my dilemma: Everything always sounds good, and I hate commitment. . . To my FOOD. And I hate not being able to swap with other members of my party. But I am getting off track.

Mio Sushi (and other Portland raw fish joints)

The problem with Mio Sushi is the same problem at Okazu-Ya (see below). They have really yummy food, and lots of people know this, so there is always a wait, and the service is terrible. But, they have REALLY YUMMY FOOD. So it's only once in a Blue Moon that I convince Gnarles to accompany me to sushi, especially because he "doesn't really care for it" which is Gnarles-speak for dislike, and tonight was one such evening when I was too hungry (read: grumpy) to be democratic. Loopy and I just got it in our heads on the ride home from school that there would have to be quick eating in the near future, and that something "healthy" would fit the bill nicely. Enter Mio Sushi, where, I must admit, the healthy, possibly, and the quick, for sure, were promptly removed from the picture.

BUT THEY HAVE REALLY YUMMY FOOD!

We Got:

Sunset roll: the most amazing roll in the world, filled with crab-cream cheese mixture, salmon, avocado and onion, and covered in the little orange roe whose name I forget right now - Tobikko! Thank you google!

Texas Roll: which was something fried and some other spicy stuff (I didn't pick this one, so you'll have to excuse me)

California roll: because it's good, Mayo and crabmeat and avocado are a food orgy, don't deny. Also, I'm partial to the name and the state. And it's cheap. And I've been eating it since I was 7, and I like it so LAY OFF!

And Gnarles, sushi hater that he is, got the Yakisoba, which is like Japanese chow mein, basically, with a really yummy sesame flavor.

So the food was tasty, but everything came at the wrong time, as explained in the posting about Okazu-Ya. This is a running theme with Asian restaurants. I don't know why. They are always really nice, and the food is really good (OK, I'll stop now). But the service is always random, less than prompt, and the meal you thought would take an hour or less turns into a 2 hour check-waiting marathon. Sigh.

Yuki

Located around the corner on 23rd from Mio, and much less crowded, Yuki tends to have a little bit better service, but ONLY because they tend to have half the tables, and fewer people at the tables. Don't let that fool you, though. The food is just as good, and at lunchtime, I daresay the Sashimi Bento Box is the better than anything at Mio (salmon and tuna sashimi, 6 pieces of California roll, 2 potstickers, small salad, cucumber salad, rice and miso for under $9). Gnarles likes their non-sushi more than Mio's, and he's the expert in that arena. Next time Mio is so crowded you want to cry, or your ears start bleeding from the decibel level, head around the corner to 23rd b/t Kearny and Lovejoy, and try some Yuki. It's good, I promise.

Sansai

I used to live a couple blocks from this place (on NW 21st), and for a while, it was one of my go-to's. I could get sushi, with salad and soup, for a fair price (under $10), and Gnarles could get the chicken teriyaki with rice and salad for a similar price. And, because you order at the counter and pay there, you avoid the usual, and unfortunate, service issues previously lamented. But the fairy tale was too good to be true, and sure enough, one day, I got the unthinkable: frozen salmon in my roll. Well, honestly, it was partially-defrosted salmon. It had the texture of icy, unpleasantly crunchy salmon (or, the mouth-feel equivalent of finger nails on a chalkboard). They nicely made me a new one, with salmon that was -uhm-completely defrosted (shudder).

I don't know if it makes me a bad person, or a good food snob, or a naive consumer, but: sushi. should. never. NEVER. be made from frozen/defrosted fish!

EW!

So, be forewarned. And since the price is comparable, get thee to Yuki or Mio for some fresh fish in your sushi. And plan on at least 2 hours. For dinner.


PS - I know I am missing a discussion of the "best" sushi in PDX, Saburo in Westmoreland. However, Gnarles has adamantly refused to go there with me (he REALLY doesn't care for sushi now, since he's sworn off seafood because of the dead, mercury-filled oceans).

On that note, bring on the raw (fresh and never frozen) fish!