Spurred on by our hunger for sushi and a great rating on Urbanspoon, Mr. Piglet and I decided to return to this sushi joint after a 5 year hiatus. I remember when this place was half the size and a nice older gentleman greeted us when we walked in... Memories..
The newer Tokyo Joe's is twice the size and has a small army of hostesses, cashiers and servers to greet us. I'm undecided whether this is or good bad but let's reserve judgment until after the meal. We agree to go for an all-sushi meal as this is what's the restaurant is based on so it should be good, right?
Miso Soup - Free and bottomless when you sit in!
Mr. Piglet loves it but I know that it's A) too salty and B) comes from a box. Mr. Piglet just loves the fact he can have as much of it as he wants and no one will judge him and he doesn't have to pay. *sigh*
DX Spicy Combo - $12.95
Spicy Tuna Roll (8), Negitoro Roll (8) and 1/2 Spicy Tuna Sashimi
The Spicy Tuna Sashimi was a great balance between spicy and fresh and the pieces of cucumber gave a nice crunch to the otherwise soft dish.
The green onion and unfettered tuna of the Negitoro Roll gave us the nice break of spice you need from this combo and it's rolled nicely.
The disappointing component of this combo was the Spicy Tuna Roll which was poorly rolled so kept falling apart and the filling was unevenly distributed.
Fire Dynamite Roll (8) - $5.95
It's a regular dynamite roll of prawn tempura but then topped with smoked salmon, spicy sauce and roe
Nicely rolled, great flavor and we liked the addition of smoked salmon to give this roll another dimension of flavor.
California Roll made with brown rice - $3.45 + $1.00
The North American invention in a Japanese sushi meal, we ruined this otherwise harmless offering by having it made with brown rice. It's too mushy, too moist and gave an unusual flavor - jokes on us cuz we paid an extra $1.00 to ruin this roll. Burn.
Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi (9) - $13.95
THE CROWN JEWEL of this meal - fresh and refreshing. Everyone should eat wild and stop with that farmed junk. I know it comes at a premium but the taste is just on a whole other level (this is what salmon is SUPPOSED to taste like) and the texture is soft and smooth. It goes down like butter. Take it from the Piglets and fork out the extra dollars to try the wild stuff and you'll never go back to farmed. Plus, they say it's healthier and better for the environment.... I don't know, just try it for the taste!
The Piglets could take it or leave it at Tokyo Joe's - they have tons of regulars and the take out line is constant but the sushi was only ok, nothing to write home about. It's good enough for one of those average meals for an average day but no good if you're a sushi connoisseur. Authentic? Everyone behind the sushi counter was speaking Korean...
Pros:
Fast, efficient and friendly service
Take out available - and they do A LOT of takeout
Bottomless tea and miso soup
Promotes local Richmond athletes - a wall is adorned with their pictures
Cons:
Limited parking with only 2 spaces available - we parked at the Chapters and walked over despite it being against the rules (oh well!)
Sushi was only ok
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