I, like so many others who subscribe to American gentrified culture, love sushi. Is it due to the inherent risk of consuming raw fish? The adorable wooden rollers used to make those  delicious little rolls? Or perhaps because of its adorable bite sized nature? I honestly am not sure what it is about sushi that drives the obsession. But what I do know is when I caught word of a sushi restaurant just a stone’s throw from campus still undiscovered I jumped on the opportunity to give it a try. The following is my experience at Katsu Sushi, broken down into the elements that I feel deem a sushi restaurant to be one of quality.

Curb appeal:

I will not lie, this restaurant has little going for it in the exterior looks department. It is located in not the most appealing strip mall plaza on Havana Street. Katsu Sushi’s neighbors include restaurants of every cuisine you can think of, as well as a nail salon and hookah shop. The back lit signs that light this urban oasis contain some of the most bizarre fonts known to man, with titles not stringent on grammar. However, there is plenty of parking and the plaza is clean.

Ambiance:

Katsu Sushi’s décor has pretty much everything you can ask out of a mid-price sushi establishment. There are paper lanterns, mass produced silk paintings and even a sushi bar where you can sit and watch your meal be made. The lighting is low, but not too low, and there are booths as well as table seating options. When you walk in the door, the place smells a little bit like fish, but I suppose so does the ocean, so no complaints; just an observation.

Menu:

Physically, the menu gets negative stars. The lamination is coming off and they are barely held together by their plastic ringlet binding. The actual selection of food, though, is pretty good. They have salads, appetizers, entrée plates and tons of roll options with cooked as well as raw fish and even some vegetarian selections. The drink menu is pretty expensive for a restaurant of this nature, alcoholic and otherwise.

Taste:

I will preface this by saying that I frequently experience order remorse, but I really don’t think you could go wrong with this menu. My table had the basic avocado roll, as well as the more complicated S.A.T. roll, all of which were very delicious. Point blank, bottom line, this place has good sushi.

Bang-for-your-buck:

I am satisfied with the value offered at this restaurant to say the least. The lowest price on the menu is $1.50 for a basic one piece roll and ranges up to just under $12. As far as regular menu prices go, not bad. However, where Katsu Sushi truly shines is in their all you can eat offering. It’s sushi off of the regular menu too, even including some of the more complicated rolls. You pretty much just pick whichever rolls you want and can have as many as you can fit in your tummy. The dinner offering of this special is $24.95 and the lunch is just around $13. Considering that the dinner price is just about what you would pay for two of the fancy rolls, I am counting this as a whole lot of bang for your buck.

Accoutrements:

When I have sushi, I expect the sushi experience. We are talking wasabi, ginger and a little ceramic bowl to pour soy sauce in. Katsu Sushi gave me all of this, and even chopsticks too. Consider me a satisfied customer.

Final thoughts: 5 out of 5

Katsu Sushi got a solid 5 out of 5 stars from me. The place was busy, especially considering I was there on a Thursday night, but not too crowded that I felt like I was taking up space. It is only about a 15 minute drive from campus so it is a nice excuse to get away for a few hours. If you go, tell them Claire sent you; they will most likely have no idea who I am or what you are talking about, but it’s worth a shot.