Peep Sushi!

Now that Easter is over, you have to deal with all those left-over Peeps. You could just shove them in your face -- but that's sooooo college! Why not add some sophistication to your diet by creating Peep Sushi!

Click here, to go to the Geekologie blog and check out more photos!

Dragon Buffet (Denver, NC)

Next to the Coffeehouse in Denver, NC, are a variety of new restaurants. I've already reviewed Nevole's. So, now I get the chance to review Dragon Buffet.

As you can probably tell by the name, Dragon Buffet is an Asian inspired all-you-can-eat buffet. The food ranges from Chinese to Japanese to a couple other assorted Asian styles.

I walked in for my lunch and was quickly seated. My waitress took the drink order (Pepsi -- they don't offer Coke), and I walked up to the buffet area. It's pretty huge with four food-bar areas, and a separate sushi area, they've got quite the selection from which to choose.

For my first plate I decided on an egg roll, Crab Rangoon, spicy tempura roll, fluorescent red beef, and some Lo Mien. Ahh, the beauty of a buffet -- five completely different types of food on one plate!

I started with the egg roll. Pretty standard. It has the usual fillings of vegetables and shrimp, and was deep-fried to a crisp. The duck sauce (from the sauce section of the bar) was a necessary addition, and gave it a nice sweet flavor. But really, this seemed like the exact same egg roll that I get at most Asian restaurants -- where do they buy them???

The Crab Rangoon was pretty standard as well and consisted of cream cheese and very little (if any) crab. Don't get me wrong, I liked it. A crispy shell fried to a crisp and filled with cheese = YUM! But, I tend to like it even more when I can taste some crab.

Next was the fluorescent red beef. It was different from what I was expecting. Looking at the thickness of the sauce, and the color, I figured it was a type of teriyaki sauce. Instead this beef tasted much more Korean than Japanese, with the emphasis on vinegar and not the teriyaki sweetness. All-in-all, this was probably my favorite food while there.

Then it was time to try the spicy tempura roll. It was good, but thin. so thin that I had to use a fork to scoop it up, instead of chopsticks. It just bent under the pressure of the chopsticks, and was too thin to hold together when held vertically.

The last food left on my plate was the Lo Mien. Unfortunately, I found it lacking. The flavor was really mild, and aside from the very light sesame sauce, there was little flavor. I suppose I could have used a sauce from the sauce selection (which was plentiful), but I wasn't in the mood to get up and try to figure out what sauce was needed.

The restaurant has a nice open feel -- it is one large room. The windows at the front allow light to reach the back, and the color template is warm. The staff were friendly, and my drink was instantly refilled whenever it ran low.

The buffet food is just that -- standard buffet food. Quantity is the focus. And buffets really aren't my favorite. However, it you're a buffet person, you should give this place a try, the price is down right reasonable.

Score:
Atmosphere: 4/5
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 10.5/5

Price: $
Kid Friendly: Yes

Conclusion: If you're REALLY hungry and want Asian food, this is your place. In general, I found the food's flavor to be on the lighter side, but that's something I've noticed with many of the Asian restaurants in the area. However, the staff and atmosphere are above the standard buffet.

Restaurant Info:
Dragon Buffet
7260 Hwy 73
Suite 112
Denver, NC 28037

Coral Sushi (Huntersville)

Behind the latest development on 73, just west and across the street from Birkdale is a new sushi restaurant called Coral Sushi. Located behind Hickory Tavern, it's easy to miss from the street.

But after a reader comment, this place has been on my radar. So, my buddy and I decided to give this place a try. There aren't too many sushi restaurants in the area, and we were both curious about what we'd find.

We walked in and were quickly taken to our seats. Too bad it was soo hot out -- I would have liked to sit on their patio -- it looks nice and relaxing. Which is actually the vibe you get from the inside of this restaurant. It's a nice facility, they did a good job decorating.

We looked over the menus and made our decisions. I started our order with the tempura appetizer. Then I ordered the lunch special, sushi combo A. Which with my ordering includes miso soup, an order of California Roll, and an order of Spicy Salmon Roll.

The tempura arrived first, and had a wide variety of veggies (carrots, broccoli, onions, etc.) and shrimp. The veggies were sliced nice and thin, which I like, but the shrimp was on the smaller side of. Also, the fried tempura batter almost seemed more like breading. It was rather thin and consisted of fine pieces, almost like breadcrumbs. This was different, but not necessarily bad.

Next came the miso soup. This was a disappointment. Miso soup usually is very mild in flavor, and this was too. However, there were two things that really turned me off of this dish. 1) In my opinion it was too salty. and 2) To my untrained nose, it smelled like a hamster. (Yes, like those little guys that run around on a wheel.) Needless to say, I didn't finish my soup. Though my friend didn't agree with my smell test, he wasn't a fan of the soup either.

Lastly, our sushi arrived. It was presented nicely, and was freshly rolled. (Just let me say, everything here was presented nicely. They've got aesthetics down!) I prepped my soy sauce with a generous portion wasabi, and dunked the California Roll. It was -- average. It had lots of cucumber, little avocado, and a standard amount of crab. However, it did seem a little chewy -- maybe the seaweed was a little too moist? Either way, I went over to the spicy salmon roll.

I had the same result with the Spicy Salmon Roll. Average. It was a little squishy, even for raw salmon. Again I'm wondering if the seaweed was too moist. The flavor was OK. But for some reason it didn't work for me.

At the end, we asked for separate checks, and the waiter brought us one bill. Sigh, it's not the biggest deal. But it's the reason the service scored a 3 and not a 4.

One last thing, they do have a decent selection of sushi, and I sorta want to try the Godzilla Roll. It has "Spicy Tuna, Avocado, Masago, Scallions flash Fried w/ Chef's Sauce." Thought I'm always a little wary about something called Chef's Sauce, I still wanna try it!

Score:
Atmosphere: 4/5
Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Total: 10/15

Price: $$ (1/2 appetizer, lunch combo, soda and tip put it at mid-teens)
Kid Friendly: Unknown. I didn't notice a kids menu or specials. I'd call ahead.

Conclusion: Good atmosphere, but the food and service were mostly average. I want to return to try the patio on a nice night and try some of their other foods, just to see if they had an off day.

Restaurant Info:
Coral Sushi
9525 Birkdale Crossings Dr.
#106
Huntersville, NC 28078
p) 704-895-6880
f) 704-895-6879
http://www.coralsushi.com/

Sushi at The Lake

The following review was first available earlier this week on the Lake Norman Social website at http://www.lknsocial.com/. Be sure to check it out!

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My friend gave me a call the other day, asking if I’d been to Sushi @ the Lake. Since I hadn’t been there, and I was in a Sushi mood, I headed over there to see what I would find.

I’ll go almost anywhere for good sushi. In fact, in California I often visited a sushi restaurant that had bullet holes in the windows, wanted posters taped over the holes, and cars without wheels in the parking lot. Strangely, that was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had!

Fortunately, Sushi @ the Lake is nearby and I wasn’t worried about my personal safety. It’s located in the same strip mall as Matt’s Chicago Dog. And is right off of the mess that is Catawba Avenue in Cornelius. (When are they gonna finish that project anyway?)

My friend and I were quickly seated and our drink orders were taken immediately. We glanced over the lunch specials, and I quickly found two of my favorites – California Roll and Tempura – together in the same special.

During a short wait, I had a chance to look around. There isn’t much in the way of atmosphere. The walls are mostly bare. But there was 80’s music playing, and blue neon lights on the tops of the walls. Which meant that I grew to like the place. In addition, they have a separate room with Hibachi Grills. It appears those are only open during dinner.

When the meal arrived, my large plate was loaded. It had six California Rolls. Almost 10 large pieces of Tempura, including two shrimp. And a large salad mostly consisting of lettuce.

The California Rolls were good, and rolled tightly (I hate it when they’re loose and fall apart!). The tempura was fried perfectly – from the onion to the large shrimp. And I found the salad refreshing. The provided dressing, and the simplicity of the lettuce kept the meal from over-filling me. Just what I was looking for.

Score:
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 11/15
Price: $$ (Including meal, soda, and tip, it came to almost $17 – more than I was expecting)
Kid Friendly: Yes. They have high-chairs, and a contraption with netting that holds a baby carrier. They also have a children’s menu.

Conclusion: Though the price was a little higher than I was expecting, the food and service were very good. I’ll be back to try the Hibachi Grill.

Restaurant Info:
Sushi @ the Lake
19732 One Norman Blvd.
Suite 300
Cornelius, NC 28031
p) 704-987-8080
f) 704-987-8030
http://www.blogger.com/”http://www.sushiatthelake.com”

Eez

I enjoy living near the Birkdale area. I like the shopping, the movie theater, and the dining. And while I've enjoyed many of the restaurants in the area, the place I keep going back to is Eez.

This past Wednesday, we arrived at Eez without reservations, nonetheless we were seated immediately. As we walked past the typically busy bar, we entered the larger dining room which contains the kitchen. The room is decorated with a minimalist Asian style and can get loud if the room is packed. However, this time it was half-full, and the din was quiet enough to allow for easy conversation.

Upon sitting we browsed the menu, and the waiter gave us a listing of the specials, and informed us that the wine was half price. Excellent! Next we looked at the menu, and a new menu insert. They now feature an order-your-own sushi menu. So, now you can list the ingredients you want in your sushi-roll, and they'll make what you want -- in addition to their extensive list.

My wife and I started with a new appetizer for us, the Sweet and Sour Pork Potstickers (try saying that 3 times fast!). I have one word to describe them. Absolutely amazing. Ok, that was two words, but one word really doesn't do this dish justice. The melody of flavors that washed over my tongue was fantastic, followed by some serious heat. This dish has two "peppers" next to it on the menu, indicating that it is "quite spicy." As far as I am concerned, it should have three to four peppers listed next to it. The heat was quite intense, and ALMOST overwhelmed the flavor for me. Next time I'll probably ask for it to be just a little lighter on the spicy.

Next came the orders from the sushi menu. First we had the Baked Fillet Mignon and Jalapeno Pinwheels. Yes, the meat is cooked (though rare), and yes, it's cow listed on a fish menu. BUT this is such a treat, you've got to try it. The filet is wrapped around jalapeno spears, and topped with a spicy cream sauce and mango. The flavors again swirled in my mouth, and I ate the large portions ravenously (when I say large, I mean a mouth-full per piece). Beware, this tasty delight costs $17 and has about eight pieces, but I believe it's worth every penny.

Next came our own sushi concoction. Shrimp tempura, kani, avocado, and cream cheese wrapped in seaweed and white rice. I thought it was good, but lacked the flavor of the previous dishes. However, that's not the fault of Eez, since it was my idea. Next time I'll stick with the standard California Roll.

And last, but not least, came dessert. After a furious debate we decided to split the Bananas Foster. Personally, I wanted the yummy Banana Spring Rolls, but I caved-in to my wife's charm and big brown eyes. Needless to say, I was unarmed against such an onslaught.

Back to the Bananas Foster. It simply melted in my mouth. Even though it was not served flambe, I can't deduct points from this rich and decadent dessert. It was delicious.

Score:
Atmosphere: 4/5
Food: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 13/15
Price: $$ (average entree between $10 and $20)

Conclusion: This family-friendly, asian fusion restaurant is a great and informal way to treat your tastebuds to new and enticing flavors. I go there at least once a month -- 'nuff said.

Restaurant Info:
Eez
16925 Birkdale Commons Parkway
Suite F
Huntersville, NC 28078
704-892-4242