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March 2000

Raw Deal

Restaurant reviews of Sushi - affordably delicious, or pricey and disasterous

Sushi-take Schleissheimerstr. 43 Tel. (089) 12 77 99 11 Delivery hours: Daily 11-14 and 17-23. For those who delight in a night off from cooking, but don’t savor the thought of the cardboard pizzas and soggy eggrolls that home delivery promises, pull out your sake cups — Munich now offers sushi on wheels. Sushi-take Restaurant and delivery service boasts a colorful take-out menu, the dishes from which taste as good as the photos illustrating them. If seafood freshness is the gauge for rating the Japanese delicacy, Sushi-take receives top scores. As sushi’s ingredients are quite simple, several condiments are compulsory accompaniements. All orders are delivered with soy sauce, marinated ginger slices and a sinus-clearing green horseradish. Though package prices are offered, it is more fun to try a bit from each category, beginning with the pricier nigiri sushi — raw fish, shrimp or eggs placed on top of a log of fragrant, sticky Japanese rice. The delicate bundles — scallops, caviar, squid, scampi and yellowtail highlight the elite group — are sold in pairs for DM 7–18.50. Carbohydrate thwarters can enjoy the house Sashimi dishes (DM 23–39), raw salmon or tuna served with a bounty of Asian vegetables. More-for-the-money rolls (DM 5–11) — 6 ample slices per roll — come in a number of creative varieties, and offer those who are squeamish about uncooked sea creatures a chance to partake of the culinary festivities. Maki, long sheets of nori seaweed wrapped around rice and the choice of egg, Japanese radish, pumpkin, tuna or salmon are more filling than their tiny plastic carry-out dish suggests. “Inside-out rolls,” made from rice and sesame seeds on the outside, seaweed and fillings on the inside, are a more tender version of their chewy maki cousins. With all that cool rice and glistening fish, diners may wish to add any one of Sushi-take’s warm dishes or multi-ethnic finger foods to their spread. Ramen noodles, teriyaki, chicken strips, spicy beef pockets, buffalo wings and fried tofu are freshly prepared and will, at the very least, please your “yucky”-screaming kids. A long list of typical Thai/Chinese entrees (DM 11.50–19.90) is also available. A sampling of those dishes reveals that the chefs are in fact Japanese — the usual mundane Chinese fried rice carries a hint of teriyaki and ginger. Sushi-take fare is made-to-order, which means that it can take up to an hour to receive delivery, but, after years of making due with the 20-minute paltry pizza pie, you’ll agree it’s worth the wait. Food 9, Service 10, Atmosphere N/A Sushi and Soul Klenzestrasse 71 Tel. 201 09 92 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 18-1, Fri. & Sat. 18-2. Sushi restaurants have sprung up all over the Western world in the last decade. As with all cuisine trends, authentic establishments live on, while those simply looking to jump on the bandwagon must quickly close up shop. Munich seems to have escaped an onslaught of faux-Japanese cuisine — until now. At Sushi and Soul interior architects have done a beautiful job of creating a pleasant, minimalist décor with soft lighting and sleek tables. They have, however, failed miserably at space design. The centerpiece of the restaurant is an elongated table that no doubt seats about 40 people. Unfortunately, the only way to reach one side of it is to ask people at surrounding tables to stand up and let you by. This inconvenience could be overlooked if you were in for a real Japanese treat. But, you’re not — the menu is a list of hits and misses. In Japan, the quality of a woman’s Miso soup is directly associated with the quality of life in her home. Miso soup (DM 6.90) at Sushi and Soul is served slightly hotter than luke warm and contains tiny pieces of tofu the size of miniature dice. When it comes to sushi, the choices are endless. The Sushi and Soul special (DM 29) consists of five different types of sushi — a mix of maki and nigiri sushi as well as half of a California roll. Maki sushi is the tastiest of this mixed platter and can be ordered à la carte as well (DM 10-DM 16). Here, the sushi rice is firm, not too sticky, and the small pieces of raw fish are not lost in the roll, but instead generously fill it. On the other hand, the nigiri sushi is a disappointment. The portions are well presented, but most of the fish has a slightly mushy consistency. Sushi and Soul also offers hot dishes for those not fond of raw fish. Looking for tempura on the menu, we came across a dish described as fried shrimp. The waitress assured us that the ebi furai (DM 22) consisted of a generous portion of shrimp coated in a delicate batter and fried crisp. The reality resembled fish sticks — processed shrimp coated in bread crumbs tasted exactly like the packaged favorites of your childhood. The restaurant is often filled with young, good-looking people. Sushi and Soul is, at the moment, obviously a very chic place in which to be seen. Food 6, Service 8, Atmosphere 6. <<<

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