Arikato rolls with it Arikato rolls with it (October 15, 2004)

Original sushi creations lead menu

By Aimee M. Male

Every Japanese restaurant has its own version of the super sushi roll. A forbidding speed bump of sushi rice, stuffed with vegetables, with a suggestion of fish on top, it's bulky and cheap, but often unfulfilling.

Enter Arikato. This gem, tucked in the corner of the Rengstorff Avenue strip mall where Costco looms, puts sushi roll pretenders to shame. There's more than 30 original rolls on the menu at Arikato (which is an alternate spelling for arigato, or "thank you," in Japanese).

Each one includes a dizzying list of ingredients. Consider the Sunshine roll ($7.95). True to its name, this roll offers bright, crunchy bites of oshinko (yellow daikon pickle) and cucumber inside, and layers of buttery salmon and avocado on top. For heat lovers, the Fusion roll ($9.95) is covered with minced, seriously spicy tuna and stuffed with cooling, crisp asparagus and cucumber.

With a nod to its neighbor and a wink to Atkins devotees, the Costco roll ($12.95) wraps a bounty of shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, hamachi (yellowtail tuna), salmon and unagi (broiled eel) in the thin skin of a cucumber.

Sushi rolls simply aren't the whole story. Arikato offers a wealth of choices for the sushi-shy, from bountiful bento boxes to generous soups and noodle plates. Combined with friendly, quick service and fair prices, Arikato begs to be more than just a quick after-shopping stop -- it's a must-try for sushi fans.

"We come here all the time," a nearby diner chimed unsolicited, as she spied me ogling her Microsoft roll ($9.95), a gigantic sushi roll bent, no doubt, on world domination. Although the combination of cooked steak and asparagus might make some sushi purists cringe, I was assured that it was, as she said, "amazing."

Owner Jay Park opened Arikato less than a year ago to do just that -- amaze patrons with what he calls "fusion" sushi. "You'll never see rolls like this anywhere else, not in Japan, not in Korea," Park said. "Only in America. The more people try, the more they love" the restaurant's inventive creations, he added.

Stepping into Arikato's dining room is like stepping into the belly of a whale -- the restaurant's dark sea blue walls and ceiling are lit with glass lamps that resemble colorful jellyfish. It is cool and comfortable, a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the shopping center outside.

Our bubbly waitress was attentive and kind, and flitted about the restaurant like a spirited mermaid, even bringing us a tender grilled salmon tail gratis at one point. "It's good with beer," she said.

One might want to order an appetizer while leafing through the multipaged menu. Like shopping on an empty stomach, it's easy to get carried away while contemplating the beautiful, glossy pictures of sashimi and other sushi. The challenge is not what to start with, but when to stop.

In addition to some traditional snacks, such as chawan mushi ($4.75), a seafood custard, Arikato has a wide selection of grilled meats, including yakitori (chicken, $3.95) and baby lobster ($7.95). We stuck with a simple seaweed salad ($3.95) and a plate of vegetable tempura ($4.50) which both arrived at our table in a flash.

The tempura was crisp and steaming hot, with a selection of carrot, Japanese eggplant, kabocha (Japanese squash) and zucchini and a soy dipping sauce. A little red pepper gave a tasty kick to the fresh seaweed salad.

Arikato offers a generous list of nigiri sushi prepared by chefs who wield their knives behind the sushi boat counter in the center of the restaurant. During both of my visits, however, there didn't seem to be much to choose from on the boats, aside from a few bobbing plates of seaweed salad. Plates are color-coded to indicate the price of each item -- a quick and easy method of calculating the cost of a meal.

While Arikato's sushi isn't as fresh as fish straight off the plane from Japan, the restaurant does buy daily from local purveyors. Depending on the season, the restaurant also offers certain delicacies. I tried the uni (sea urchin, $8), which was like taking a bite of ocean, briny and cold. Two generous slabs of toro (fatty tuna, $6.75) were meaty, if not a bit sinewy.

The salmon nigiri ($2.75) was simply butter, creamy and rich, and inspired one dining companion to hum happily for the rest of the meal. A palate cleanser of kappa maki (cucumber, $1.95) was refreshing, but with only four pieces to the roll, the portion seemed skimpy.

If fish isn't your liking, Arikato offers plenty of other menu options. Diners can build their own bento box from a long list of meat and vegetarian dishes. Miso soup, a green salad, and steamed rice are included with each dinner.

Noodle soups are also generous and rich. Tempura udon ($7.50) arrived with a plate of tempura (six pieces) on the side, a detail that we appreciated -- when served on top of the soup tempura turns into a soggy mess in minutes. The broth was steaming hot and pleasantly pungent, and got a serious nod from my dining companion as the elixir for which her stuffy nose was seeking.

Park is in the process of acquiring permits to serve lunch and dinner under a covered patio, which will include heat lamps for comfortable dining during the winter months. He expects the patio to be opened by the end of the year.

Arikato is a great place for a quick lunch or a leisurely dinner after a long day of weekend shopping. Service is attentive and dishes are prepared with style and flair.

Whether you are new to sushi or a veteran, Arikato will no doubt surprise you with combinations that are both gorgeously presented and deliciously paired. Let's hope this king of sushi rolls reigns for some time.

Dining Notes

Arikato
1040 A-1 Rengstorff Ave. 988-8686

Hours: Open seven days a week. Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,
Dinner: Monday through Sunday, 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

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