Yanagi Too

For those of you who love sushi but don't love the check when it arrives at your table, I have a treat for you. Thanks to Facebook I have been in contact with lots of friends from school and previous jobs. Today I met Amber, a fellow Calaveras High School alum. She happened to see one of my blog updates and insisted I try her favorite sushi spot.

When I pulled up and parked out front of Yanagi Too, it was love at first sight. Totally a hole in the wall kinda joint, my kinda joint. When you walk in there is a giant menu, and also pictures of their assorted rolls.


As you can see, their prices are very reasonable. That's because this is a deli type of set up. You walk up to the counter, place your order, pay and have a seat. Plus as an added bonus, you are not expected to tip, hey that extra cash means more raw fish for me to enjoy.

Since I was already dollars ahead, I wanted to try and stay under $20, I asked what their most popular roll was. Turns out is was one that I was contemplating anyways, it's called the Bollinger Roll. Included inside was Tempura Shrimp, Cucumber, Crab, and on the outside was Avacado and Salmon. Topping it off was tobiko, Unagi sauce and a sweet "House" sauce.

Clockwise from bottom right Bollinger Roll, Seaweed Salad, Tempura Shrimp, and California Roll.

The Bollinger roll was delicious, the fish was fresh, the roll was good size and the sauces were superb. I also ordered seaweed salad and a cup of miso soup. The seaweed salad was on the small side and was served on a bed of iceberg lettuce (if I was the seaweed I would be insulted).

Amber enjoying her Miso.

She also ordered the tempura shrimp, and a California roll. Amber is a self proclaimed "fake" sushi eater. A "Sushi Poser" if you will, she only eats rolls that include cooked fish. Her favorite is the California roll, I rolled my eyes a little at first, but I must admit, Yanagi Too puts a great spin on this classic "beginner" roll by including plenty of spicy sauce on top.



If you are interested in sushi on the cheap, ditch the supermarkets and head to Yanagi Too.

You can find them at:

1061 Market Pl, San Ramon, CA 94583

Matsu Sushi

The words cheap and sushi almost never end up in the same sentence. However, a couple of years ago I was introduced to the best value available in sushi restaurants. There exists an item on 95% of all sushi menus called Chirashi. For the true sushi enthusiast, a person who loves raw fish and is not afraid to "think outside of the roll". Chirashi is for you, translated Chirashizushi means literally "scattered sushi".

Chirashi consists of a bowl of sushi rice that is covered with assorted raw fish, accompanied by wasabi paste, ginger, and often times tamago (a sweet layered Japanese omelete).

It's always chef's choice as to what fish you get. I've always had good luck though, they seem to always have a great variety. So let's break this down to dollars and cents. Your assorted nigiri sushi can cost anywhere between $3-$5 per two piece order. Most Chirashi varies between $14.95-$24.95, we'll average it out to $19.95. Typically you get 20 pieces of sushi, so that is only $.99 per piece.

Also, they serve miso soup and a house salad with their Chirashi. I personally think that iceberg lettuce needs to be banned from cuisine entirely both here at home and abroad. With that said, the dressing they used on this salad was so delicious that I ate every chilled lettuce crisp and carrot (and I dislike carrots more than iceberg lettuce).

It really is "edible art", look at all those vibrant colors!!

Today the chef included:

Shiro Maguro (Albacore Tuna)
Maguro (Ahi Tuna)
Red Snapper
Yellowfin
Salmon
Tamago
Ebi (Shrimp)

Each of the pieces of fish was very fresh, the salmon had great color and magnificent flavor. The albacore tuna was fantastic as well, the flavor was exceptional as it melted away on my tongue.

Albacore dipped in wasabi/soy sauce mixture. I love albacore like Homer Simpson loves donuts.

I was surprised that Matsu Sushi was so good, as it happens to be located so close to a bunch of other chain style restaurants next to a movie theater.

If you ever want to get your Wasabi fix before a movie stop by Matsu Sushi.

You can visit them online at:

http://www.matsusushiusa.com/pages/menu.htm

Or in person in Dublin at:

4930 Dublin Blvd., Suite 800
Dublin, CA