You may be surprised to learn that Oishi, in a somewhat small space on S. Park Street, makes excellent sushi.
Not only that, but the sushi comes in all shapes and sizes. You can order it as a standalone entree, as regular rolls, as special rolls, as signature rolls, as mystery boats featuring 6-10 rolls of the chef’s choosing and as two-piece sets in either sashimi or nigiri.
Those individual pieces featured more unique options than I typically see on a menu. For example, I ordered the wagyu beef ($20), which was tender and lightly cooked with a good grilled flavor. I also had the sea urchin ($14), a decent-sized portion that was yummy and creamy, and it was complemented with raw quail eggs.
Moving on to the signature rolls, my first choice was the absolutely delicious Bumble Bee roll ($19). It featured cucumber, shrimp tempura and crab–though it had a negligible amount of spicy scallops–plus the roll was topped with oyster sauce, wasabi sauce and tobiko.
I also loved the Summer Blossom ($18), which sported huge, fresh chunks of bluefin tuna, white tuna, salmon, Hamachi (yellowtail) and red snapper, plus some avocado. Each piece was so big that it took at least two bites to eat them.
Special rolls include the Spicy Girl ($15) featuring spicy crab meat, salmon, tuna, yellowtail and red snapper, and the 007 ($13) with Hamachi, albacore, cucumber and radish.
Among the appetizers, I selected the fried calamari ($8). It was perfectly crispy, though surprisingly bland, but fortunately, it came with a flavorful Asian dipping sauce.
I was surprised to see aged tofu ($5.50) on the menu, because hardly any restaurants serve it. This version was deep-fried and had almost no flavor, so it depended heavily on the accompanying tempura sauce.
As much as I have made a point about all the sushi choices, I do want to mention that the menu also has ramen, hibachi and teriyaki dishes.
The fried rice, yaki soba and udon noodles sections allow you to pick a topping with one of the three bases. I went with yaki soba, which was deliciously stir-fried, and topped it with pork. I thought it tasted good, but many of the pieces of pork were overcooked.
Oishi is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Monday.
Tags: Japanese, south side
