Sushi Mori

Having returned from our trip to Portland, we needed to get our keys back from Rich Guy. Naturally, that meant meeting up to eat as a result. Once again, we were searching for a place somewhere in the between. Much like last time, we were thinking of Osamu Sushi. Argh! it's not only closed on Sundays; but Mondays as well! As an alternative, we settled on Sushi Mori. Now when I mean settled, I really mean it. There are other "better" choices out there for sushi in the Tri-Cities area; but due to the circumstances, we ended up here. At the very least, parking was an easy task. On a side note, people might think I'm obsessed with parking when it comes to restaurants. Well, I am. Generally, when you have 2 kids in tow, the last thing you want to do is to spend time finding parking or walking 5 blocks in the rain with 2 kids either. Hence, parking is a very real consideration when it comes to eating out. At least for me that is. I truly digress...

Rich Guy had arrived first and already waiting us at the table was a complimentary appetizer of sorts. On one side, there was pickled radish and the other there was what we thought was watercress with a peanut dressing. Between that and ordering, there was a significant delay since there was only one server working the floor. When we finally did get our order in, the food took a little while to arrive. We started with the Spicy Salmon Sashimi. It looked alright; but we found it underwhelming. I actually think the one at Sushi Town is better. And that is quite the statement since Sushi Town is not exactly the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. The salmon was acceptable while the dressing was a little on the bland side.

We were pleasantly surprised at the size of our Assorted Tempura. From the large ebi to the big pieces of veggies, this was a mound of food. However, the tempura batter was quite aggressively employed; thus it got a bit chewy in the end. Now you've probably heard of hit and miss dishes; but how about hit and miss in the same dish? That would be the case with the Chicken Yakisoba. The noodles had a nice chewy texture while being sauced with the right amount of flavour. The chicken was plentiful and cooked properly. Yet, the whole thing was greasier than a oil disposal unit at the back of a Chinese restaurant. The oil collecting on the cast iron plate would make a pan-pizza at Pizza Hut jealous. What were they doing back there? I heard of stir-fried noodles; but this was like oil-soaked noodles.

We ended up getting a few rolls consisting of the Scallop & Tobiko and Unagi. The rice was a tad gummy and lacking flavour; but was acceptable. I found the scallop to be quite good with large pieces and being sweet. Not a bad roll. Now as for the Unagi, that was another story. As Rich Guy remarked: "there was not enough unagi". Yes, there was a unbalanced unagi-to-rice ratio. Hence, the roll didn't really taste like anything. Lastly, we decided to try out one of their specialty rolls. We found them to be rather expensive, with nothing under $10.00. We ended up with the Caterpillar Roll which is pretty standard in the "specialty" roll category. This particular version consisted of unagi, cucumber, imitation crab meat and asparagus tempura on the inside with avocado on the outside. The entire thing was decorated with a two-tone sauce. Aesthetically-speaking, the presentation was nice as well as the construction of the roll itself. Texturally, the dense rice made each piece substantial to eat. Not necessarily a bad thing if one was hungry I suppose. A pretty solid roll; but not particularly a good value considering the price. In fact, the prices as a whole are on the higher side. They are not out-of-line considering the nearby competition such as Nagano and Sango. Furthermore, there is Sushi Turnhouse nearby which is substantially less expensive, albeit poorer quality. With everything taken into consideration, I wouldn't necessarily choose Sushi Mori over them.

The Good:
- Pretty nice decor
- Lots of choice
- Food is alright

The Bad:
- Expensive for what you get
- Service is non-existent, not enough staff