Sushi at California Grill

[cjackearl]

I'm wondering what the serving size is for an order of sushi. Would an order plus a first course salad or soup work for dinner? Also, any opinions on which type?

 

[ededmd]

The sushi rolls are large (as they should be for these prices). I'm recalling maybe 12 pieces? I think one of these as an entree and an app would be fine for an average / light dinner. Add dessert and you'd be fine I'm sure.

Have tried Snake in the Grass, Spicy Sensation, California roll.
Thought the eel sauce was too sweet in the snake in the grass.
spicy sensation was good.
California roll was the best. Real crab!

I don't give the nod to the California roll because I'm not adventurous nor because I'm squeamish about raw fish. I've eaten sushi in Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo - best ever! I just thought out of what I tried, it was the best - simple and pure.

Enjoy!

Sushi [from the CG menu]

Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways - poki, tartare, and tataki $20
Sashimi - Yellowfin Tuna, Salmon and Hamachi $16
"Snake in the Grass" - Shrimp Tempura with Avocado, Eel, and Cucumber $22
Double-Crunch Rainbow Roll - cobia, salmon, tuna, tempuracrunch, and tobikko $19
Fiery Kazan roll - Spicy crab, shrimp, scallops, pickled vegetables and kazan sauce - $19
Spicy Sensation - Scallops, Tuna, Avocado, Tobiko, and Fireball Sauce $18
California Roll - jumbo lump crab with avocado and cucumber $17
Yoshie's Deluxe Sushi Platter - Maki and Nigiri $24

 

[cjackearl]

Thanks for the input! I definitely want to try the cheese plate for "dessert", so the sushi, app and cheese(mmmm...) should be enough. The California Roll sounds good. I'm thinking maybe we'll get that plus another to split. Not much into spicy. Any other suggestions?

 

[NejTheLion]

My mom and I usually split the deluxe platter. Works good as a first course.

Though, we were just there earlier this month, and the amount of Wasabi used within the sushi really surprised me. I don't mind a little bit between the fish and rice in nigiri, but my eyes nearly started watering with one of the pieces. I prefer to taste the fish rather than pure heat. I think I'll need to ask them to go light on it next time. It's never been a problem before, so maybe it was just an accident.

 

[timmac]

I think it depends on a number of things, namely what exactly you order, and how big of an eater you are. I you've had a decent sized lunch and your dinner isn't too late, you'll probably be happy. If your lunch was a very quick CS while running between Space and Splash, and your dinner ADR is aligned so you'll see a 10pm wishes, then you'll probably want a little more.

For anyone interested, I'll offer my review from when my wife and I were there a month ago. I should point out that we like to order kind of a lot, to experience as much as possible, since we don't do this type of thing so often. We were full, but not horribly. And we still had PM EMH at MK until 2am following this

ADR was for 9:30. We showed up at about 8:45, figuring we'd have a drink at the bar or whatever, rather than just aimlessly wandering around the Contemporary (and buying more candy at the shop there that has it, that fudge was yummy though).

We sat down at the bar, and I asked the bartender if they had any specialties. (The idea being that maybe they had certain things they did a special way or whatever, or that I might try something new) He said "Every drink we make is special." Okay, so I guess that meant it was just a standard bar, fair enough. I ordered a Long Island and my wife followed suit. After a quick banter ("Oh, are you old enough to have a long island?" "Oh, you wanna see an ID? OK") and a sip or two of our drinks (which were a little on the strong side, but very good) the buzzer/pager was already going off, to my surprise. The hostess looked over and identified me, and said to take my time. No problem, I flagged the bartender down to pay him, and we were escorted to our table.

That's where it started to get really really cool. We were nestled in the corner, to the left of the observation deck (when viewed from the bar area), right next to the window. I make no exaggeration to say that I think it was possibly the single best table in the restaurant. Our server, Wendi, made her way over before long, and started explaining everything to us, including the $16 cheese board. While $16 for stuff I couldn't even pronounce definitely seemed steep, in keeping with the whole "how often do we get to do this" theme, we order it. The five cheeses were in order from least to most pungent, and accompanied by a paper detailing them. Of the five, one we really liked (tasted almost like a sharp cheddar), two were okay but not great, and two we really didn't care for. The smell of some of them is a bit off-putting, but not a complete deterrent. Forgive my colorful analogy, but the best I can explain the smell is that it's like what a baby smells like under their neck or behind their ears (kind of like a dirty smell from dribbled formula). That said, the variety of tastes and textures was interesting in it's own right. If you're even a bit of a foodee, I'd recommend trying it.

Next up was the sushi. I had the Yoshi's Deluxe platter, DW had the tuna three ways. We both enjoyed the platters overall. To nitpick a bit, I'd have to say that most of mine was a bit on the bland side, though it allowed one to experience the flavors of each of the different fish. Also, this is the only place I've thus far had sushi that actually served cuttlefish (definitely was a slight difference from the squid that is more common). I think there were about 12-14 pieces on the plate total, and it was enjoyable. My wife enjoyed two of the three varieties, but found the third to be too spicy. I was happy to assist with the issue

Wishes actually started while we were eating the sushi. My suspicion about our table location was confirmed when people swarmed around us... including a few older teens who were reprimanded by their parents to 'stop blocking that lady's view!' I can definitely say this was an amazing experience to see Wishes from here... certainly a highlight of the trip.

My wife wanted a glass of wine, and asked for some assistance from Wendi, who was happy to help. Upon explaining that she wanted a glass of something white that tasted good, and after trying a sip, she was talked into the most expensive Riesling on the menu It was very good indeed, but not sure that it was worth $15 for a glass. Well, again, it was pretty good, so maybe.

Next, we split a bowl of the potato/asparagus with crab soup. Our server actually brought out a half-portion each in two separate bowls to facilitate our eating it. This was absolutely excellent. At the end, I used the bread to wipe out the inside of my bowl, it was that good.

For entrees, my wife got the day boat scallops... they were fairly large, and I think there were about six of them on the plate, and she loved it. I got the oak fired filet mignon. The teriyaki barbecue sauce tasted excellent, and the filet was so tender that my then toothless 11 month old could have eaten it. I don't remember exactly what vegetables accompanied it, but with the sauce and juices that flowed over everything, I wiped the plate clean very easily.

Desert was somewhat of a let down, and my memory of it is actually minimal, so hopefully I don't have this backwards, but who knows. I think my wife got a type of chocolate cake sort of thing, maybe with some type of topping on it? Like I said, not especially memorable, but it was good. I was reading over the menu, and saw the chocolate three ways, but got a bit nervous at the 'no sugar added' notation. Honestly, I equate that with "tastes like cardboard". Wendi assured me that even though it was no sugar added, it had plenty of natural sweetness, and didn't rely upon artificial sugar replacements hence didn't have an odd taste, so I ordered it. This was the only real disappointment of the meal. It was chocolate-colored paper pulp. I seem to remember some little pieces of fruit topping or garnish, but if my memory serves me, they were things like blueberries and raspberries that were really more tart than sweet. (I'm not a huge fan of most fruits, so for me, they didn't add anything) That said, I finished the desert anyway, to at least give a full try to each of the three items.

So, after all was said and done, not including the drinks at the bar, total with tip was $215. Worth every penny of it, too.

 

[Pakey]

I have done a green salad for appetizer, sushi for entree and cheese for dessert many times. Perfect amount of food.

 

[cjackearl]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback. Can't wait to try some Cali Grill sushi, along with a first course and cheese(mmmmm...)