 "Photo: TJ JERKE, THE VOLANTE, 2009")
 "Photo: TJ JERKE, THE VOLANTE, 2009")
I love sushi and it’s not uncommon for me to crave it. Though living in South Dakota may put us sushi lovers at a disadvantage, quality sushi and Japanese restaurants do exist in the area.
Unfortunately, Sioux City’s Sushi Bamboo is not one of them.
When entering Sushi Bamboo, I was bombarded by color. Though the So-Cal inspired décor with slightly tacky Christmas decorations garner an unconventional charm, the framed gift wrapping paper on the walls was enough to make me question the decision makers in the establishment.
The restaurant had a layout similar to a Subway, where customers order at the glass counter near the back of the store.
The menu is on the wall with hard to see photos of sushi rolls and rice bowls serving as the only description of the menu items.
Thankfully, the waitress behind the counter was more than willing to give me more in-depth descriptions of the rolls that ranged from $6 - $12.
The menu offered the typical rolls sushi veterans can recognize from previous experiences such as California rolls, spider rolls, Philadelphia rolls and dragon rolls. There is also a wide array of teriyaki, tempura and soups.
I ordered the special of the day, which was a teriyaki rice bowl for $6 and the spider roll for $10. The order came with a complementary cup of miso soup which I was just as excited for. My friend and I sat in the breezy corner of the empty restaurant and tried not to stare too hard at the silly wall decorations.
The server arrived about five minutes after we ordered with our soup. The appearance of the soup threw me off enough to evoke a very confused look on my face.
I looked down at a soup that looked like crystal clear water with a few pieces of cubed tofu and tiny shreds of seaweed. Miso is a seasoning that is produced by a fermentation process that involves a grain and often times soy beans along with salt and mold culture.
The soup is a staple of Japanese cuisine, and though I have seen many variations of the soup, it is typically done well no matter the quality of the restaurant.
Though the soups I have had often have a semi transparent quality with solid ingredients that sometimes include potatoes, seaweed, tofu, onions and mushrooms.
The miso soup at Sushi Bamboo looked like a terrible excuse for soup. It tasted slightly better than it looked, but I would compare it to a Campbell’s Soup at Hand version of the delicate soup. Though the soup was free, it was ultimately a disappointing way to start a meal.
The server came out with our maki rolls next. With this dish, the meal only worsened. The thought of a spider roll alone can make me salivate, and needless to say, I was excited to order this roll that is a standard offering at every sushi restaurant I’ve been to.
The spider roll contained deep fried soft shell crab with cucumber, sushi rice, nori (dried seaweed), a meager offering of fish roe and a drizzle of teriyaki sauce.
First, the rolls were very small for the price of $10. It was disappointing to see, as I’ve seen much larger rolls and portions for a lower price and even then the rolls were exquisite.
After finishing one bite of the roll, I could feel disappointment spread.
The sushi rice and the softshell crab overpowered every other
component in the roll, even the delightful nori. I was certain that the chef at Sushi Bamboo loved sugar.
The rice and the softshell crab were so sweet that I could barely taste anything else in the roll. The breading for the crab was reminiscent of a coconut shrimp batter. Though it doesn’t make any sense I could almost taste what I thought could be a hint of caramel in the batter. Needless to say, the complex briny integrity of the soft shell crab was completely lost.
I opted to do what I usually avoid doing at sushi restaurants and made a dipping sauce with soy sauce and wasabi paste and stomached the rest of the roll.
Finally, the teriyaki chicken bowl came. The dish entailed a healthy serving of steamed rice, topped with slices of chicken breast in teriyaki sauce and a few bunches of broccoli on the side.
I was hopeful as the smell wafted towards me while I finished the spider roll. However, I should have known that the sugar overload would only worsen with a teriyaki dish.
While sifting through the bowl, yellow pieces of untrimmed chicken fat came into site and after taking a few bites, I decided I was done.
For reasons unknown to me, Sushi Bamboo ruined what could have been a good execution of fast and casual sushi dining with sugar.
I left the establishment confused and wishing I would have gone in the opposite direction on the interstate and headed to Sioux Falls for Sushi Masa or one of the two Tokyo establishments for quality sushi. Unless I want seafood dessert (and I doubt I will), I won’t dine at Sushi Bamboo again.
Reach reporter Ngoc Thach at Ngoc.Thach@usd.edu.
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