I Love Sushi
3486 SW Cedar Hills Blvd
Beaverton OR 97005
503-644-5252

Disclaimer: All reviews and original content Copyright © Mike Blackwell [remove "nospam." or it won't work] of Oregon Sushi -- All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, June 1, 2003

Dang. I forgot to buy an "I (heart) Sushi" shirt. That's how much I like this place.

Tucked into a tiny mini-mall, sandwiched between a beauty salon and an Asian grocery, I Love Sushi ("ILS" for short) took me a little while to find. But I'm glad I did.

I took one of the twelve seats at the sushi bar and ordered the same thing I normally order when visiting a sushi bar for the first time: the $15.00 sushi combo, containing a California roll and eight pieces of nigiri, pleasingly presented on a crescent-shaped wooden geta. Portions were generous, ingredients were fresh, and the taste was wonderful. I thought the Cali roll was a little rice-heavy, and the crab somewhat overshadowed by the cucumber and avocado, but it was good, and the rice held up very well under soy sauce. The meal also included miso soup and green tea.

As I was finishing my meal, the couple next to me were served a very large, delicious-looking roll topped with maguro, salmon, and shreds of wakame seaweed. I asked what it was called, and they (and the chef) replied, "Secret Sushi." I checked the menu: it's $9.95, and very tempting. So is their $8.95 Crazy Roll, a deep-fried combination of salmon, halibut, red snapper, spicy tuna, fake crab, cream cheese, green onion and bean sprouts.

While their standard rolls are reasonably priced ($2.75 kappamaki to $5.50 futomaki), their specialty rolls can be expensive, ranging from $6.00 for a Volcano to $11.50 for the Rainbow. However, the rolls I did see being prepared were larger than those I've seen elsewhere; almost as large as Saburo's. Nigiri prices are in line with most other places I've seen.

The atmosphere is friendly and pleasant. A koi pond graces the doorway by the cash register. Chefs take time to talk to the customers. The menu is extensive, with many Korean dishes, specialty rolls, and seldom-seen nigiri, like natto and conch shell.

And no review of ILS would be complete without mentioning how good the glorious, professionally-printed full-color photographic menus look. As slick and clean as a Denny's menu, but more mouth-watering because, hey, it's sushi. Most of the specialty rolls are depicted in beautiful color photos.

All in all, a pleasant discovery, and I recommend it.