Tower of Pisa from Sushi Axiom in Addison, Tx
Before I begin, thanks to my friend, Rachel, for the Advil gel caps. Without them, this blog post would not be possible.
So, Nikki and her sister went out for sushi last weekend. My dear, sweet friend apparently has a problem with the seaweed. I find this odd. I’ve never given the seaweed another thought. It’s just a container… you know, it’s what holds all the good stuff in… like a, uh… like a taco shell!
Oh, wait. Nikki’s never had a taco before. Bad analogy.
Anyway. I’ve been eating sushi since around 1999, I’d estimate. The first time I went was with my sister, who was– until then– the pickiest eater I’d ever met. Her med-school boyfriend, Chad, had convinced her to try it, and in turn, she convinced me to. I’ve only had one piece of sushi in my life that I didn’t like: octopus. It was at a hibachi restaurant, and I tried it on a dare. It was so chewy that my teeth literally couldn’t cut it. I had to shamefully dispose of the little guy in my napkin.
Sorry, little guy. You died in vain.
Anyway. I wanted to show Nikki all the awesome things they can do with sushi that will totally distract her from the seaweed (if the rolls even have them). This is the way to go.
My local friends and I went to a local place called Sushi Axiom. It’s less than a mile from my apartment (score!) and has a nice selection of rolls and other sushi-ish treats. This is going to be a post that’s heavy on the (bad) photography. My iPhone has seen better days.
We started with the Tower of Pisa (pictured above), which is layers of spicy tuna, kana crab, avocado, cucumber, and sushi rice topped with tri-colored sauce. It was a little spicy, but a lot heavenly. We each ordered two rolls that sounded good on the menu, but we tasted a little of each others’ dishes.
My friend Clarinda had the Double Happiness (tempura-fried crab, cream cheese and avocado topped with spicy tuna and black tobiko) and the Mt Axiom (crab meat, tempura-fried tiger shrimp, cucumber and cream cheese wrapped with kana crab stick and drizzled in four sauces). Double Happiness was refreshing. Mt. Axiom was very tasty. 🙂 Both are pictured below.
Double Happiness & Mt Axiom
Katie chose the Crunchy Tuna (tempura-fried tuna, asparagus and crab meat with wasabi cream and chili sauce) and the Cherry Blossom (tempura-fried tiger shrimp, crab and cucumber, garnished with tuna and avocado and topped with signature sauces. I didn’t try the Crunchy Tuna, but it looked really good and everyone else raved about it. The Cherry Blossom was so pretty, and I’m not sure what’s in those signature sauces, but they made the dish. Yummmm.
Crunchy Tuna & Cherry Blossom
Rachel, the drug pusher (thanks again!), had the local Addison Roll (that’s the city the restaurant is in) and the… well, the California Roll. I’m not going to explain the California Roll. It’s the most ubiquitous sushi out there. It’s the gateway sushi that’ll get you hooked on all of its little sushi friends. The Addison Roll (tempura-fried crab, shrimp, avocado and cream cheese with sweet soy) was a little sweet, but really good. (I see a trend here… everything seems to be tempura-fried… hmm…)
California Roll & Addison Roll
And finally came my yummy fare. I am a big fan of the Rainbow Roll, and get it nearly every time I go out for sushi. It just looks so colorful and tastes so fresh and good. So I got that as well as something called Lobster Dynamite. The Rainbow Roll is crab meat, avocado and cucumber topped with assorted fish and avocado. Lobster Dynamite was just insanity. This spicy, baked lobster was like candy, topping a tempura-fried shrimp, crab and cream cheese roll. Holy Mary mother of all things holy, was it good.
Rainbow Roll & Lobster Dynamite
So, Nikki, if you look hard, you might see some seaweed, but there are so many other wonderful things in sushi rolls that you don’t even realize it’s there! My advice would be to get a little more adventurous than you think you can be, and the flavors will make you forget all about the wrap that holds it together. If they prepare it right, you won’t even pick up on the texture, either.
Sound like something you can try? Good. Thought so.
Special thanks to Katie, Rachel and Clarinda for joining me tonight on my bloggy mission. I had a great time. PS Rachel, I still think you’re a real woman.
Read It & Eat 