Better. Stronger. Faster. and more Expensive...Michi Sushi (Campbell)

"Steve Austin, astronaut, a man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, we have the technology. We have the capability to make the worlds first Bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster."

The chefs at Michi are the sushi equivalent of the OSI. Building Bionic sushi. Often at astronomical prices, even by Bay Area standards.

In the plus column, they use top-quality fresh fish. And they're open relatively late (though depending on your chef, he may be more eager to get out the door than to feed you).

The "special roll" section of the menu is not for the weak-at-heart...

We ordered:

Raider Roll - ika sansai, wasabi sauce, unagi sauce, macadamia nuts. Please don't leave hate comments. I *know* it's not ethnically correct. But I love sushi with macadamia nuts. Hell, there's not much I *don't* love with macadamia nuts. This one's a little sweet, a little spicy with a satisfying crunch.

Shinchester Roll - maguro, green onion, white onion, and tokarashi pepper mixed with Michi salad dressing, tobiko, cucumber. The standout of the evening, this was everything I love about sushi. Interesting flavors and textures balanced brilliantly.

Dill Salmon Roll - dill salmon, green onion, fresh garlic, ginger, cucumber, tobiko We tried to order this but thye were out of it. We got some most excellent salmon nigiri in its stead.

Java Roll - smoked sake, unagi, cream cheese, cucumber, green onion, avocado, tobiko, unagi sauce, macadamia nuts This arrived promptly, but wasn't exactly what we'd ordered. Our version had tuna in the middle, smoked sake draped over the top when our chef realized his mistake. It was good, but difficult to handle. Macadamia nuts. Yum.

Ebi Tempura Roll - ebi tempura, avocado, cucumber, tobiko, unagi sauce, macadamia nuts - Here's the first party foul. We came in late in the dinner shift -- 30 minutes or so before the posted closing. They seated us, and the ever-present Mr. Shin assured us we were welcome to order as much as we wanted. Unfortunately our sushi chef was a little more eager to begin his after-work activities. When we requested the tempura, we were summarily told the kitchen was closed. When a couple seated after we arrived ordered a spider roll directly from Mr. Shin, it arrived. I guess all in who you ask.

For our entertainment, there was a group of fraternity-types seated at the other end of the bar. Loud. Sake bombs. Blonde jokes. Constant sexual innuendo. No mystery whatsoever why these guys are single.

In the end, the food was superior, the service iffy. Their loss. We tend to tip generously. For the quality of fish we were served, our sushi chef would have received a hearty 25% tip for no more than adequate service (since there's a lot of effort in the presentation. His eagerness to push us out the door dropped him to the standard 15%. And convinced us to explore other options for satisfying the late-night sushi jones.

Michi Japanese Restaurant
2220 Winchester Blvd, Campbell
408.378.8000

Technorati Tags: Food | Sushi | Restaurant Reviews |