General thoughts for Sushi House - Sushi House has been around since around 2001. Back in the day, they used to have a $10 per month membership where you can buy sushi at $1 a piece off their $1 menu. These aren't the leftover pieces or something you should be paying $1 anyway, these are normal size, high quality sushi. They still have the same thing today, it's just $25 instead of $10. Here's the Dollar Menu. Clearly, they're doing something right, because Sushi House had expanded to invade the next space over, doubling its size from what it started with in 2001. They have created a long list of very innovative rolls. Here's the full menu.
Foods tried -House Special Bento Box (at lunch and dinner) - The dinner box is shown. I've also had a few other things there, but this is basically what I go there for.
Thoughts -
1. Look at the size of that meal!!! I've had this multiple times, not once could I finish it. Couldn't finish the lunch portion either. For one thing, you can't beat the presentation. The Yakitori (basically pieces on a stick) was tender and not drowned in the sweet sauce, the Gyoza clearly just came off the frying pan, the Tempura is fresh and not overly battered, the Salmon and Tuna sashimi are also of the right texture and color. Fresh tuna is supposed to be dark red, fresh salmon is supposed to be bright orange. Check and Check. There's absolutely nothing bad I can say about the quality of the food, I "almost" kinda wish the portion was a hair smaller so I can actually finish it all at once and don't have to bring any leftovers home. Honestly, what all in this box can reheat well? Anything fried becomes soggy, any meat will become overdone, sushi/sashimi won't be raw. So, I usually finish the box, but not without complaining about how amazingly full I am and I need to be wheeled out of there in a chair or something cause walking becomes tough after their House Special Box.
Final thoughts - I'm really proud of what Sushi House has become. The restaurant is successful enough to expand into 2 spaces, the quality of food didn't suffer in anyway, they even offer sushi making classes. I like that you can also do online order for take out. Sushi House takes pictures of patrons and put them on their walls (on their website these days). I know my friends and I have made it on the wall before, but who knows if that picture is still around somewhere. I think my ranting and raving about just that 1 dinner item alone indicates that I will certainly be back (when I need to cheat on my diet a little (a lot).) I absolutely recommend it to anyone that enjoys Japanese food.
**********************************************************************************Tofu House - see beginning of post for the front of the restaurant. Here's the inside -
General Thoughts - Tofu House opened in the summer or fall of 2011, by the same owners of Sushi House, serving Korean food. You can also order food off the Sushi House menu as well since they're right next door. I'm pretty dang sure this was the original Sushi House space, but I'm not 100% positive. The menu isn't extensive, but again, one menu item keeps bringing me back when I need some comfort food.
Foods tried - Soon Du Bu -
Thoughts - For $9.95, in true Sushi (Tofu) House style, you get an obscene amount of food. You can get it mild, medium, and spicy. You have 4 options for what goes with the tofu - beef, kimchee pork, seafood, or mixed. I myself always get the Mixed Spicy.
This whole thing is an experience. First of, you sit down to a hot cup of wheat/barley tea and they leave the pitcher. Then they bring out 2 pieces of silken tofu in soy sauce (center left, hiding behind the entree stone pot) as an appetizer, and 4 side dishes - broccoli, tofu skin (both non-spicy), kimchee, pickled radish (both spicy). After about 15 minutes, they roll out this cart with the rest of the meal - a fried fish, a stone bowl of rice, and the boiling hot stone bowl of the Mixed Spicy dish. The Mixed Spicy consists of squash, lettuce, scallions, clam, squid, oyster, beef, and pork in my choice of the super spicy broth. The yellow thing in the entree is a raw egg. I love egg and it's part of the experience, so why not? They scoop out the rice for you in the small bowl, and they leave the original stone bowl the rice came in at your table for later (see the white spoon in a metal bowl at the upper right corner). I'm not kidding when I say the entree is boiling hot like a witch's cauldron. After about 15 minutes, the server comes back over, takes the pitcher of tea already at your table and pours it into the stone bowl of leftover rice. It sizzles for awhile, and then the rice that was stuck to the bowl gets scraped off and you get served with a rice soup. Talk about an experience.
Final thoughts - I friggin' love the Soon Du Bu, definitely on par with (and probably more than) the House Special Bento Box. I will be happy to bring anyone that wants to go. I'll never forget the Soon Du Bu, this sets the bar very high for all the other Soon Du Bu's I'll try in my lifetime. I have yet to find one that's comparable.
