Restaurant Review

FrankAboutFood.com

The Giant Sushi Parade Marches Onward

Sushi Tei

There’s good news (sort of) and then there’s bad news. Until a few years ago there were five Sushi Bars in the entire Conejo. In every case, they were owned and operated by Japanese trained SushiMasters and delivered a legitimate Sushi experience. Soon after, there were fifteen. Nine out of that next ten have been suspect.

They came pouring in with the invasion of The California Roll and other pseudo offshoots that have never seen the light of day in Tokyo or Kyoto. However, you should know it takes years of training (preferably in Japan) to understand the purity and freshness of fish and become truly adept with that sharp knife. This recent and remarkable Sushi explosion thus resulted in a shortage of true SushiMasters. On the other hand, you could probably learn to make a decent California roll in less than a week with an automatic rice cooker and a knife from Wal-Mart. Further, if you are any Asian behind that counter, even though the only Japanese words you know are sayo nara, the food may seem to taste like real sushi. Sadly it rarely does.

	You see, these Johnny-come-lately, simulated and relatively untrained pseudo sushi workers also are paid a lot less money than a true Japanese SushiMaster. And as we all know, we only get what we pay for. Ironically, if you are looking for a similar artificial sushi experience, you will soon be able to get California Roll at 7-11. How’s that for exotic Asian dining?? Sushi McMuffin may be next. So when we were recently dining at Rustico and noticed that Sushi Bar #16 had opened in the vacant store next door we were intrigued. There just seemed to be hints that Sushi Tei had actual Japanese operating the restaurant. It turned out to be true.
When we entered the restaurant for lunch, we were greeted in authentic Japanese by both the waitress and the chef . It turned out Mitsuji Nakamori had been the owner since 1984 (He left Osaka in 1981) of the Tempura House that had recently closed on Thousand Oaks Blvd. He was now doing the slicing at Sushi Tei. Further, the menu prices for true ngiri sushi were about 15-20% below most current local competition. It all looked good for Sushi in North Ranch.
Although only two other people were in the restaurant at peak lunch hour, there were some other good signs. We were quickly presented with a compliments of the chef plate of edamame beans. My wife and I started with orders of hotategai (raw scallops). Nakamori’s assistant who appeared unsure of himself prepared it. However the flavor was good and was followed by the fried muscle portion, which was an intriguing touch. We then had special mackerel. It also had good flavor, however the cut was a bit skimpy. My wife then ordered spicy tuna hand roll and I ordered what I consider to be the real test of sushi quality, uni (sea urchin). The spicy tuna roll was disappointing, seemingly composed of mediocre quality ground tuna, rather than firm hand cut. Although my sea urchin had supposedly just been delivered, it lacked that wonderful briny fresh taste of the ocean that I am used to when ordering it at Kaminari (the number one sushi bar in the county). Further it was also a small portion. We finished the lunch with a pleasant hosted dish of fresh persimmon.
Nakamori appears earnest but he may be operating in the time warp of 15 years ago when the patrons had no idea how fresh firm sushi should taste. Now the competition for the sushi dollar is intense. Yet at lunchtime he had a sign on the counter announcing somewhat forbiddingly that there was a $15 minimum at the sushi bar, excluding liquor. When we pointed that out to him, he waived it. We did however spend over $15 per person because of the cost of the market priced scallops and sea urchin. Kaminari, in contrast, offers a wonderfully fresh sushi assortment specially priced at lunch for about $8 along with comparably low priced standard Japanese cuisine luncheon specials. Other sushi bars in the area do the same although they may not match Kaminari in overall quality.
Sushi Tei may become a valid addition to the legitimate sushi scene but they will have to change their approach to product, portions and marketing in general if they hope to survive. The also “authentic” and always busy Sushi Agoura in the Agoura Mann Theater complex is a fierce competitor in that lower price range. Sushi Tei In the North Ranch Pavilions Center Next to Rustico. Easy and Free parking Most Credit Cards. 818-?????