Rishi Sushi

LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS!
There, now that all of that is out of the way...we may proceed.

114 North 3rd Street

(614) 914-5125

Rishi Sushi is a recently opened noodle/ sushi bar that offers a healthy selection of "Asian" inspired dishes, as well as a full bar. With that being said, I must point out how longingly I've searched for a noodle bar that is local and worth spending money at, and I may very well have found it. My main hesitation is their relative newness. Restaurants have a habit of being terrible and phenomenal during their first few months, and if they make it past that...well they still have a lot of challenges to face.

Despite knowing that they have only been open a week, my desire for a hot bowl of  real ramen got the best of me. By real ramen I mean: an over-sized bowl filled with a rich broth, delicate slices of meat, soft-boiled eggs, and none of those damn dehydrated styrofoam noodles!

Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately greeted and obtained a seat. To traverse the field, you have to walk right pass the back of house window (The magic portal that spits out your food from the kitchen), as well as both the drink and sushi bars. Their are huge glass windows, the wall colors are comforting, and with electronic jazz playing in the background- you just feel right.

The menu doesn't take long to review, but it does have quite a few offerings. I found myself doing a double take during the appetizer sections, as the offerings towards the bottom started sounding like they could have been entrees. Their selection of ramen is pretty standard, and they have several burger options, including fish, and chicken. 

                                           

To start, Brandon and I had a yellow tail fish taco, as well as an order of the loaded fries. The taco was served wrapped in a delicate leaf of bib lettuce. A delightful take on the over replicated fried fish in a taco shell. My only complaints come from it leaking out, a bit tough to eat with much dignity. Loaded fries, not too difficult to make deliciously- however Rishi has upped the bar with theirs. a mound of still crispy, golden fries loaded throughout with their sloppy joe mix, bacon, melted cheese, loads of scallions, and topped with delightfully spicy kimchi. Delicious at every level, however, I believe the menu stated there was to be truffle in the mix- none were to be hinted at. 

Continuing at an odd pace, my bowl of ramen and Brandon's sushi came to the table. The fish in the rolls were fresh, and well executed. As for the ramen, I found what I came for in the bowl of "Live for the Moment". A hearty beef broth with sliced pork belly, pickled egg, bok-choy, and delightfully springy noodles. The entire large black bowl was hot and delicious! Although mine didn't come out as full of toppings as some other pictures that I've seen.

I was too stuffed by this point to truly consider dessert. However Brandon was interested in having some, as his meal was much lighter. Before hand, I had noticed they offered simple berries and cream, a simple refreshing offering that caught me by surprise. They had sold out of the green tea tiramisu, but the passionfruit creme brulee still spoke to us. It arrived in a much larger portion than anticipated (easy to share though). With a nice and even gold shell of rich burnt sugar, I was excited; sadly I must say it was probably the worst part of the meal. The custard was set, and fundamentally it was fine, but flavor wise...not so much. I didn't taste any of the eagerly anticipated tartness that is passionfruit. In fact it tasted of a (perhaps I'm crazy) "cakey" liqueur. My advice- add some actual puree to that custard, or drizzle some on top. 

While it may be a bit too soon to tell if Rishi will be my forever home for ramen, I can say it is most definitely worth a stop in. You will find a great atmosphere that begs for patio space to open, great food, and a very pleasing staff. They have a few menu items to work through, but these are likely just minor issues that will work themselves out.

Keep Eating,

JTFussy

Dalek soy sauce dispenser, here to exterminate tasteless food! 

Royal Ginger Asian Fusion Bistro

1625 West Lane Avenue
(614) 488-7888 ‎

Quite some time ago, Dessie (Brandon's Roommate) requested we all go to dinner again. Apparently she had a decent enough time with us from our excursion to Barley's. We allowed her to decide the restaurant of the evening, and with that we made our trip up to Lane Avenue, next to the Whole Foods in Upper Arlington.

Generally I am hesitant of sushi places that offer discounts and "too good to be true" specials. From the website- that's what Royal Ginger was. However we still tossed caution to the wind, and ignored all guidance of Mr. Bourdain on this subject. To my own relief, after we were sat, it became clear that the menu online was completely unrelated to current business operations. This was not what we hoped for, but it would work.

The interior of the place is quite fun, ethnic in every corner. We sat next to a very large "sculpture" that appeared to be made out of lacquered sand. Continuing on the extravagance of the decor- the tables, metal in material, had autumnal leaves stunningly screened onto them,

I started off with a pomegranate martini, because every other drink I requested from their specials list, had ingredients that no longer were found in stock. In fact, this was a common trend, as a few of my options in sushi weren't available that night either. It seemed quite odd, seeing as there were no more than 10 other people in the establishment. The martini felt small, and was metallic tasting from beginning to end.

We all started with an order of Vietnamese summer rolls. Classic and tasty. Rice paper encased shrimp, vermicelli, mango and a piece or two of shrimp- served with a sweet and spicing dipping sauce. These had to be the largest summer rolls I've ever had. This was both good and bad. They tasted fine enough, but were difficult to eat. Not only that, but there was enough lettuce in it to actually fight the classic spicy fish sauce.

Moving forward, we all had two sushi rolls. Although sharing didn't seem to be in the air, the general reports on everyone's rolls were decent, some better than others. Nothing mind blowing. My first roll was called the Great Harvest. In general it wasn't a bad choice. I usually enjoy sweet potato rolls but it was topped with a sickeningly sweet artificial raspberry sauce.  

My other roll was the kamikaze. Uber meaty, fried shrimp with spicy tuna and barbequed eel. A roll that even in its worst form is bound to please. Yet it this case, the amount of siracha placed  over the top was slightly off-putting. The garnish, as you can see in the picture was a nice touch, but sloppy and not very well thought out. 

Overall I wasn't that amazed with Royal Ginger. It's clearly all show and not well stocked. They need to keep up with their menu, and create a better balance over some of their classics. Although food always tastes better with good company, it is still important to start with great food. Royal ginger isn't a total disappointment, but there are clearly better options.

Keep Eating,

JTFussy.

Akai Hana

1173 Old Henderson Rd, Columbus, OH 43220
(614) 451-5411

When I need a sushi fix, I can't help but think about Akai Hana. Located a bit out of the way, up on Old Henderson Road, it's unlikely that you'll find fresher raw fish in the city. I've been to Akai Hana on several special occasions, from dates to watching friends leave town and have had a wonderful time with most all of my visits. Unfortunately my last visit was, less than spectacular on certain levels.

The particular day that we dined at this sushi house, was a very special day from Brandon and myself, I had made reservations two weeks in advance so that we could have a particularly pleasant experience. When we arrived, our reservations had been lost, and we were placed in line with quite a few groups waiting behind us. Greatly confused by the situation, we began looking up other potential dinner spots.Within 15 minutes or so, we were given the first available table, making up for us losing our initial spot.

We were quickly greeted by our waitress, yet were told that an order of sushi would take a bit longer due to the capacity of the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of wine, and decided to go for the sushi regardless of the wait. We had ordered a boat (a bit of a tradition for the two of us) as well as uni and their famed sweet potato roll. 

First to the table was our uni. We ordered two pieces, as it was the first time he had ever tried the baby poo looking blob, and I wasn't about to let him go alone (I like sea urchin). We both took a sampling of the sweet glob and I must report Brandon to not be in favor. Soon after came the sweet potato roll and our boat of assorted rolls.

The sweet potato roll has been a usual favorite of mine. It's slightly warm and well composed with slightly spicy beet spouts poking out for great contrast to the creamy spud. This time, the potato was slightly under-cooked, causing an off-putting mouth feel. Our boat was large and easily split by two people without getting any extra rolls.

Each fish offering was fresh, and every roll was bound tight. The only great complaints came from the squid piece and the salmon roe. The squid was rather tough and unpleasant, strongly flavored and far too chewy. The roe tasted as it should, but could have used more rice to offset the texture of the pea-sized pearls. I will note that almost every piece of sushi had an abundance of wasabi, this was not problem for me, but Brandon found it a bit off-putting. I've heard that this has been a recurring problem as of late across the board of Akai Hana, and Tensuki market.

Although I still hold Akai Hana as having some of the best sushi in town, my last experience has restarted my quest to find better sushi in town. I'd recommend going to Akai Hana for your next night out, but consider calling ahead and double checking the wasabi on your plate.

Keep Eating,

JTFussy

Cafe International

Address: 2361 North High Street
Phone: (614)412-2323

If you had ever wanted to give Ethiopian food a try, chances are you had stopped by The Blue Nile. A fun dining experience that left a bit to be desired on the decor. Alas, they shut their doors several months ago. In it's place sprung up Cafe International.

A quiet restaurant on the edge of campus, Cafe International is a complete turn around; with few menu exceptions, the two are nothing alike. The initial photos online are also very misleading, There is most certainly no cooler behind the bar, instead you find shiny new equipment for making coffee and tea, as well as plenty of booze.

I went during prime dinner time, 6:00 on a Saturday night, and received no wait. In fact it seems that this gem has yet to be discovered by the general public. We sat at a high, slightly uncomfortable table, where we browsed a laminated menu with several blacked out items. These were an eyesore and disappointment for Brandon and I.

Being the lushes we are, Our appetizer course consisted of cocktails. A heavy-on-the-mango Paradise Shooter for Brandon, and I had an English Garden crisp, sweet, and very pineapple forward. As we sipped our cocktails, we ordered a large array of small plates for the rest of the meal. We picked a spattering of options from across the board.

The first plate to arrive on the table was minchetabesh, a spiced Ethiopian chili served with sour Injera. Mild in heat, and rich in flavor, the meaty concoction was perfect for being scooped up by hand with the lightly rolled bread. Following our chili came our shrimp and pork dumplings. Small and well seasoned dumplings cook just through was tasty enough, but not as textually sound as expected. Large chunks of shrimp became springy against the rest of the filling. Okonomiyaki fries were next: simple fries with Asian barbecue sauce and mayonnaise were topped with seaweed and fish flakes. The fries were tasty, but would have been better with additional toppings. Half of the plate was undressed. Two very large Sambusa pockets were next. Crispy potato and pea dumplings the size of a small baby's hand! One dumpling would have been enough for the two of us. The huge dumpling was seasoned well but needed a stronger dipping sauce.

The Chives Cake were clearly the star of our meal, though. Perfectly triangular green bites were mild, crisp and perfect for dipping. Though the sauce was their usual soy dipping sauce, the slightly sweet and spicy combination really brought the bites alive.

As quick as our tiny table was filled, the plates left. Pots of tea were had to finish off the meal. The pots both did not arrive at the table steeped, but a few moments later we were sipping away. The Genmai option was highly suggested, and was quite worth the gamble. Slightly nutty delicate green tea was a perfect way to end the meal.

I urge you to try out Cafe International before the word gets out, although you may want to stick away from the Sambusa. If you can barter extra dressing on the fries, I highly recommend you adding them to your nightly selection- just be sure to get the chives cake!

Keep Eating,
JTFussy

Miso Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic, adored by everyone young and old. Some of my first food memories are of this classic dish, and it still holds a special place in my recipe book. In fact, the first thing my boyfriend ever prepared for me was Spaghetti- just like my parents make it, too!

Although we all pretty much love this combination of sauced pasta and chunks of  seasoned meat, sometimes it's nice to do something slightly different. Today I felt like having dumplings for lunch. To be honest, dumplings can be quite tedious. For this reason we are going to deconstruct them, making spaghetti and meatballs that taste just like them.

Pork Meatballs:

1 lb ground pork
2 teaspoons siracha
2 teaspoons tamari
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 mushrooms- minced
1 cup cabbage- minced
2 large cloves garlic- minced
1/4 teaspoon ground dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 green onions, sliced

yield: 20 meatballs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine together all of the ingredients, in a medium bowl
Mix until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the pork
Divide the mixture up between 20 meatballs
Roll by hand to create smooth balls
Place each ball on a well greased sheet tray
Roast the meatballs until cooked thoroughly about 25-30 minutes
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving

Miso Sauce:

5 Tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic- minced
1 cup white wine
5 Tablespoons white miso paste
1 lb angel hair pasta- cooked
1 orange zested
4 basil leaves

Yield:4-6 servings

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter
Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat
Pour the wine into the pan, and return to heat
Allow the wine to reduce by half
Stir in the miso, remove the heat
Toss the pasta in the sauce until evenly coated
Place the dressed pasta onto a plate, add meatballs
Garnish with orange zest and basil leaves

Fresh citrus complements the butter and salty miso. The meatballs are earthy, and slightly spicy, but are easily toned down by the addition of pasta. Mix the two together and you get a nice, light rendition of two classics. Congrats my friends, we just made some easy fusion fare. Serve the pasta with the same white wine you used in the sauce and you won't have to worry about a bad wine pairing, either. Dumplings made easy, or a change up to your spaghetti? You decide.


Keep Eating
JTFussy

Fusian

Address: 14 E 11th Ave, Columbus, OH 43201
Phone:(614) 294-2333

Easy. Casual. Sushi = Fusian

Cincinnati based restaurant Fusian is a bit of conundrum for me. They stand for several things that I regard as critical for a good restaurant. They are efficient, not overly pretentious, easy going, and ecologically responsible. On top of all of that they respect their clientele too. However, as a quick service restaurant with multiple locations I would normally disregard them as being the run of the mill Chipotle/ Piada style restaurant. Not to mention, fresh sushi grade fish in Columbus does raise question to their environmental aspects.

One can't have their cake and eat it too, I suppose; So being a lover of sushi it is worth turning a blind eye to how they are receiving their fish. And for whatever carbon footprint they leave with obtaining their fish, they do their best to offset it with all cups and service-ware being made of compostable plastics.With monthly special features Fusian brings quick service decent tasting sushi to the Campus area and does so with a tasteful and green attitude. The room is warm with lot's of wood and crisp clean design style. A bit confusing when you enter, as you must immediately turn right, instead of directly entering the queue. 

A variety of meats and vegetables are available so help yourself to your favorites, and they'll roll it up nice and tight for you. This months menu addition is dried cranberries. I was happy to find the sweet gems as they allowed me to make a delightfully sweet and spicy roll that with a bit of soy sauce was quite tasty. The only downside to getting them, your roll will become much more chewy. 

Don't get me wrong, Fusian does a great job for a quick bite, however I wouldn't really want to take a date here. There is better sushi in the city, however, Fusian is probably in my top three. I wouldn't drive across town just for them but, if you find yourself walking out of the Gateway/ Wexner Center, or needing a quick bite after class, why not give them a try?

Keep Eating,

JTFussy