Restaurant review: Fuji Ya sushi

Monday night, just before the sky opened up and dumped an assload of snow on the area, Melba and I walked over to Fuji Ya sushi (the Minneapolis location) for dinner. We were planning to meet some friends at a bar later, so we didn't want to wait for a table and chose to eat at the bar instead. Since the sushi bar was also full, and the full menu was also available at the booze bar, that was our only choice.

For beverages, we partook in Kirin Lager - 22oz., of course. Can't go wrong with Kirin. Chased that with some Edamame, which was prepared perfectly. But really - it's pretty hard to fuck up boiling soybeans in water for 5 minutes. This was followed by another appetizer, Wonton Wrapped Salmon. I wasn't wild about this particular "APP" - it was a bit short on the salmon (for $7.95) and had a whole crapload of ceviche salsa that didn't have the right combo of spices for my taste.

Just before our sushi arrived, we were presented with the usual wooden chopsticks in a paper wrapper. Oh, but this was a clever little paper wrapper, for along with the directions on how to hold your chopsticks (like a pencil, ya gringo), it also included thoughtful little warnings about what not to do with them:

Thank you, Fuji Ya... I never knew ramming them in my nostrils would be a bad idea.

I digress. Our sushi choices (all rolls, we're wimps) were as follows:
1. Dynamite ($6.75) This one was good - they went a bit crazy with the lettuce, but it was pleasantly spicy and the Yellowtail was tender and nice.
2. Philly ($7.50) Yes, this makes us weak in the eyes of Mark Beeson, but Melvin and I both dig sushi with cream cheese. This did not disappoint - good stuff.
3. Spicy Tuna ($6.75) Not spicy enough! Hey - if *I* say something isn't spicy enough, it's gotta be damn near prefectly bland.
4. Tempura ($8.50) I usually like my tempura a little more crispy, but ths wasn't bad.
5. Crunchy ($14.95) An interesting one - tempura with "spicy mayo". I liked the spicy mayo - a different taste/texture than I'm used to for sushi.

All in all, Fuji Ya was pretty good. Not spectacular, but I would definitely go back - and the prices seemed reasonable. Dub-O-Meter Food Rating: 65%.

People watching at Fuji Ya was above average. Seated next to us when we arrived was a trio of women who appeared to be co-workers, one of whom was sporting a black t-shirt that featured "Shut the FUCK up!" in large white letters. Can't go wrong with that. And on their other side was a fascinating couple that I can only describe as "middle aged overweight geek on a date with the only woman who would say yes". Aye... he was at least 45 and looked like he still lived in his mom's basement, and she was just... uhh... homely. But they were diggin' on each other muchly, and hey - who am I to judge? The rest of the bar area was the pretty standard Uptown crowd, but sorta homogenous. Dub-O-Meter Social Rating: 73%