Sushi Garden SV

Guess who's back? Back again. The blog is back. Tell a friend. This time we are trying the new sushi place in Scotts Valley that replaced Yamamori. That was one of our favorites (see its review here from last Spring), so how does it compare?

Sushi Garden SV

Around the corner from Starbucks at the north end of SV, Sushi Garden just opened a few weeks ago. It was sad to see the former sushi place replaced, but we were willing to give this new one a try. We being my teenage, sushi-obsessed daughter and me.

Inside, they kept mostly the same layout for booths and tables, but brightened the area with lighter colors, tablecloths and walls. It was a nice contrast with the new darker chairs. Our friendly server asked where we wanted to sit. Coming from a long line of booth people, our choice was easy.

What to get? I enjoy the salads that Japanese places serve with its Miso dressing, so we started on that. I didn't even look up the price, since how much could a small salad cost? If you guessed $4.50, you'd be right. It was way too much for wet lettuce, cucumbers and carrots served with a scant amount of dressing. Off to a bad start!

The sushi, however, was much better. First up was the Golden California Roll ($7.50), served deep-fried with sweet sauce. This was a great value and the crab and avocado tasted spot on. I liked the purple flower too (didn't check to see if it was edible).

Next up were two rolls: one with pork Gyoza ($6.50) and one with Yam Tempura ($5.90). Both were tasty, but my daughter preferred the Yam one. It had a nice fresh flavor and a small crunch.

One more deep fried roll to try: the Regulator ($12.50), which came with Unagi, spicy Tuna, cream cheese and a sweet sauce. It was another winner that we both very much enjoyed.

It looked like all the guests were given a free dish, probably since they had just opened. Ours was some deep-fried Hamachi (Yellowtail), but it didn't have a strong taste. Just a mild fish flavor covered in crunchy tempura. Free is free.

I'm sorry to say that overall they didn't measure up to the previous restaurant. Maybe they are still working out the kinks? I think it is good enough for your "go-to" north-end sushi place. Hopefully, they can improve on a few things.

Scores out of 10:

Food: 7 (knocked down by the salad)

Service: 7

Atmosphere: 7

Value for price: 6

Overall: 6.75

Ocean City Buffet

So long ago, when the kids were younger, we took them to a Chinese buffet in town. They had fond memories of counters full of french fries, noodles and endless soft-serve ice cream. My daughter was reminiscing about it, so I suggested we try it again. We pulled up to the place on Water Street, but sadly, they had converted to just a Japanese sushi place now. Never fear, I exclaimed, I know of another!

Ocean City Buffet (Yelp)

So, it's not the best decor, but you aren't paying for that. You are paying for many different kinds of food with no limit! I'm not going crazy, like I did in high school (remember King's Table?) or even like I did in my 30s. I prefer quality over quantity these days, but sometimes you do things for the kids.

The buffet was $11.95 for lunch. Sushi, Chinese, soups, noodles, meat and veggies, seafood, fried foods and desserts! The sushi was okay - nothing spectacular, but decent.

My second plate was mostly Chinese food with an errant steam bun on the side. The teriyaki wings and beef and broccoli was good. All very passable, if not amazing. Again, you are going for variety here, not perfection.

The trays of food were clean and appetizing, very important for a buffet. What's the good of abundant amounts if they don't look good? Everything was warm too. Who likes cold Chinese food?

Here's my kid's favorite part - the deep-fried section! Onion rings, french fries, wontons, crab wraps, chicken nuggets, etc. They had tempura veggies too by the sushi section, so that's two kinds of crunchy onion rings!

Okay, here's my favorite thing of the trip - see that little round ball in the middle of the plate? Sesame Ball! It had red bean paste in the middle, which was only slightly sweet, making for a delish dessert! Better than the jello? Yes. Better than the coffee cake? Yup. Cookies too? Affirmative! Next time, I'm sneaking in a large Ziploc bag and making off with two dozen...

Buffets are difficult to review since there are so many different foods. Some are good, some not so much. Overall, Ocean City was a positive experience. The decor leaves a bit to me desired, so don't come looking to be inspired. Just keep going back for those Sesame Balls.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 5 (just water refills)
Atmosphere: 4
Value for price: 7 (bring those Ziplocs!)
Overall: 6

Otoro Sushi SV

Howdy folks! It's been a while since my last food blog, but the "Best of" issue from Good Times came out and I was inspired. They claim the best sushi in Scotts Valley/SLV is Otoro Sushi. I was hungry and needed to do some research.

Otoro Sushi (Yelp page)

It's in a strip mall behind Taco Bell on Mt. Hermon road. Maybe not the greatest location for a sushi place, but let's not be picky. Good food goes where good food goes. I met my daughter there for dinner, since she never misses a sushi run.

Determining our appetites, she decided she wanted a full dinner, but I'd be good with a house salad ($4) and some sushi rolls. Maybe an appetizer too. First up, was the soup and salads. Kelly liked the Miso, but took one bite of the salad and pushed it away. I tried mine and it tasted a bit like dirt. It wasn't gritty, it just tasted bad. The dressing was sparse and only coated the top.

Next up with the Mixed Tempura ($6) with veggies and shrimp. Kelly really goes for the yams and I like the shrimp, so it's a good split. Crispy and not greasy, just the way we like it.

We got served two sushi rolls, Crunchy ($10) and California ($7). We had checked off another on the given paper list, but the waitress missed it. As it turns out, the food we ate was plenty. I'm not sold on the "mark the list to order" routine however. The Crunchy roll had shrimp tempura, avocado and crab with Panko crumbs on the outside. We both liked it very much. The California roll was good too, but I missed the cucumber crunch they usually have.

Bam! Look at the amount of food that comes with the Chicken Katsu dinner ($14)! My kid was stoked and quickly gobbled up the lightly-breaded, fried chicken and sauce. The Katsu sauce is like a tangy ketchup, but not very sweet. More salad was not that exciting. There were steamed carrots, mushrooms and broccoli on the plate too and they seemed out of place. Maybe because we were used to tempura veggies? The rice bowl was heaping and the fruit was a nice touch.

Service was good and the staff were friendly. I should have sent back the salad. I did like the decor - modern and spacious. Why was this place rated so high? I'm not convinced it's better than Rumblefish or Yamamori. Especially with the mega-whiff on the salad. They get docked a point on the food score for that.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 6
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
Overall: 6.75

(Compare with my review of Yamamori)

Sushi Totoro

Lunch time with my brother and sister-in-law at one of their favorite places, Sushi Totoro on Mission Street. You may remember Totoro from the adorable Studio Ghibli anime "My Neighbor Totoro". He's a big, furry, blue cat-like creature. Sort of like my brother...

Yelp website

This is a popular place for college students and has lots of whimsical decorations as well as pictures of past customers on the walls. I think they are going for a party atmosphere, which is good for smaller sushi place.

It was about half full when we got there mid-week and the waitress was quick to give us menus and drinks. Mike, my bro, said we're getting the stuffed peppers appetizer. Sure, sounds good...

The Little Bomb ($7.95) was filled with tuna and cream cheese, deep fried and covered in roe and sauce, it was quite the starter. The sweetness of the fish and sauce balanced the spicy jalapeño and finished with a crunch. I'm a fan!

Next, I ordered my old standby, a California roll. Some things never go out of style. Did you know it was invented in LA in the 70s? Ichiro Mashita, a sushi chef, replaced tuna with avocado and it was an immediate hit. This version was fresh with lots of crab, but I didn't taste the cucumber.

Mike ordered his favorite, the Big Boy ($16.95) has tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, avo & cream cheese and it was double-sized. It too was deep fried and then covered in roe and sauce. The other roll was the TNT Special ($9.95), which had spicy tuna and cucumber. Even though fried, both weren't greasy and we could taste all the ingredients.

The last roll we ordered was the Philadelphia Special ($13.95) with salmon, cream cheese and avo. I guess the specials are all deep fried with sauce and roe. You can get them without, but why would you want to? They make for a more filling meal.

Sushi Totoro is a cozy place that has a great menu and good food. There are other places in town for bigger parties, but for a quick lunch hour, it fits the bill.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Value for Price: 6
Overall: 6.75