Battle Sushi - Prologue

I love sushi. Just about everything you can list to describe the Japanese staple is appealing to me. The beautiful presentations that come with each dish are completely unmatched in the culinary world, as specially trained chefs put their art and pride onto the plate. Delicately balanced with salty, sweet, spicy and buttery in every bite, it is a totally satisfying arrangement for every one of the five senses, I salivate at the very thought. Because of my love of this delicate food, I have, in my days, eaten more varieties at more restaurants than I can remember, and as such I feel as though I have developed a pretty fair and respectable palate on the matter, one that I am about to put to the test.

It seems to be that no matter what city you are in, there are vastly different opinions on "the best joint in town" for sushi, and Guelph is no exception to this rule. I have asked around work, inquired with friends, researched the Internet and perused numerous menus, and it seems that at every turn I am faced with polar opposite recommendations and warnings to heed. So with such drastic, and sometimes heated differences of opinion, how then do I make my way to a good and safe place to eat? I stress the word safe because if you've ever eaten bad sushi, then you will know that it can take a while to gain back the courage and stomach to try good sushi again.

So, horror stories and bad memories aside, if one person, for example, states that Beano Sushi is far and away the best place in town and then someone else tells me that Beano Sushi serves the garbage that other sushi restaurants throw behind their dumpsters because it's simply not good enough to share space with the rest of the trash, then how am I to know who is right? Well, it seems to me that the only clear cut way to figure it out, is to start a Sushi Battle Royal - cue the epic musical soundtrack. That's right, a no holds barred, gloves off, raw fish and rice fight.*

*I feel it important to state here that, while sushi contains many ingredients, a very common belief is that all sushi contains raw fish. This, however, is incorrect as many selections are available with cooked fish and perhaps even more common are the completely vegetarian choices that a menu can offer.

So here I go folks; hyped up and hungry, I'm diving head first into a world of varrying opinions and ideas; a world where it seems only individual tastes can truly determine the good from the bad. By comparing my existing knowledge of the culinary underbelly that is sushi culture to what I'm about to experience in Guelph, I will try to crown the best spot in the city to eat. Of course, time is something I can't bring to a halt, and so even though I would love to tackle this project all in one evening, I don't think even the most famished sumo wrestler could fit in honest amounts of food from every establishment in one go, and so I will, as best I can, dedicate my out of home dining experiences over the next short while to this challenge, gather my findings and of course post them back here.**

**Yes, I do realize that, based on my previous statements about vastly varying opinions and ideas, and that it's ultimately at the hands of the individual to make up their sushi driven mind, this is ultimately a redundant project, but hey, I'm hungry and I'm gonna do it anyway.

Not wanting to waste anymore time on the presentation of this idea, the first of these local restaurants, Sushi Choice, has been in my sites for some time, and the experience went as such:

Chapter One - Sushi Choice

It's a small establishment to say the least, containing six tables of four, a two seater by the prep station and another two bar stools by the front window, which is subsequently where I chose to sit. It is located in a place that most people wouldn't look without purpose, down Cork Street next to a sports shop and an auto repair center/large parking lot, which is unfortunate for those who don't know about this place.

The atmosphere is honestly not much different than most other sushi restaurants I've been to: light coloured wooden tables, bar top and framework, with matching white walls and floors. The art was predictable - paintings of koi, ancient sailing ships and bamboo. To sum it up, if you close your eyes and envision the set of Wok With Yan, then you have the personification of sushi decor; and yes, I do know that Stephen Yan is not from Japan but my example still stands.

They were by no means busy, but it was also 8:00 on a stormy Tuesday night, and so on this subject I feel it unfair to judge their popularity. Other than myself and a full four top, the place was empty and so I took my seat, as I mentioned, by the window, which felt absolutely perfect for watching the rain and passersby.

Service was great (though I would hope so with nobody else to wait on) and I had a chopstick setting in front of me within two minutes, my beer followed moments later. The menu was pretty extensive and perhaps even a bit crowded, a trend that is common in a lot of sushi joints and I unfortunately see this as a negative since it can tend to overwhelm and even confuse the diner. So after flipping through the pages I asked for personal recommendations from the waitress and was advised to get the maki set, which, as appetizing as it sounded, contained portions far too hearty for me to eat on my own, so I instead tried ordering Toro (tuna belly) which they were out of (for most places this is not surprising as it is an expensive item to stock and so once more I feel it unfair to judge this topic) so instead I ordered the Tai sashimi (red snapper), Sake roll (salmon) and Butterfish sushi (white tuna).The chef's presentation was above par, with very pretty, methodical and creative plating; clearly he has his talents. So far so good.

Now then, the big one: taste. I was extremely happy with the salmon roll, the fish was very fresh and clean, as was the rice, and texturally it was extremely well prepared, which I have to say is key when it comes to sushi; it also had a very good balance and ratio of ingredients, with high quality nori, which can sometimes be a cheap cutback in some lower grade reastaurants, so kudos to that. The red snapper wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great; as fresh as it may have been, it didn't wow me or really contain a lot for the palette and I likely wouldn't order it again. The white tuna, however, melted away the moment it hit my tongue, filling every one of my senses with sheer pleasure. In fact, the whole purpose for going out tonight was made worth while by these two unbelievably clean bites of fish; and while I ordered it sushi style, it wasn't completely necessary for the rice to be there and so in future would likely stick to a sashimi presentation (more on this later). To be completely honest, I would actually put this dish above par with many sushi dishes I've tried in the past, white tuna or otherwise.

Price-wise, for three "mains" and a drink I spent $23 and was comfortably full, which isn't bad at all for the level of food and service I received. All in all I would rank this high on the scale of sushi experiences to date in Ontario (I am omitting my BC experiences from all comparisons because that would just be unfair to all Ontario restaurateurs)

Will I eat there again? Absolutely. Would I recommended it to others? Without a doubt. Is it the best Guelph has to offer? We'll just have to see.

3.5 out of 5 (points lost for cloudy menu selections and snapper dissapointment)

Sushi Choice

45 Cork Street East

Guelph, Ontario