Shojin

Ok so Becca and I planned a night out in downtown to Shojin. A number of people have told me that this is the best place for vegan sushi. I was very excited to try most of Quarrygirl's recommendations.  Becca and I got off work around 7:15 pm and made our way downtown. We got there around 8.  The place was pretty crowded but there was one small two-top in a corner.  First off, I was excited to be there so I let it slide that it took several minutes to get a menu and even longer to get a water. However, I quickly realized that this was how the entire night would go. I'm all for a leisurely meal but I mean two hours for 3 rolls and an appetizer felt a little crazy, especially when all the tables around us were served quickly.

First we ordered the pumpkin croquettes. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin, but these were decent. Becca liked them a lot more than I did. They looked and smelled like chicken nuggets but were filled with pumpkin and zucchini. We were starving and this was the first item out of the gate so we were mostly just happy to have something, anything to eat.

Next we got our spicy avocado salad. Unfortunately this was so delicious that we scarfed it down without taking any pictures. Sooo good. A perfect blend of avocado, greens and cucumber. It was a little light on dressing but the avocado was so good that it really didn't matter.

Next we got the dynamite roll, which I heard was the specialty. I realize that my iPhone camera isn't the best, but basically it's fake spicy tuna and avocado with spicy mayo and green onions on top. This was good. However, you can see in the picture that there was way more than a dollop of spicy mayo. It melted in your mouth kinda like nacho cheese, which sounds great except that it's mayonnaise. I'm not a huge fan of mayo in gen, vegan or not, so this was a bit hard on the palate. Mostly I pushed off the mayo top and ate it without.  Oh and at this point we requested some soy sauce because while the sauces were interesting, the sushi was a little dry. They brought us extremely shallow soy sauce dishes filled with maybe a teaspoon. It made for awkward dipping and only lasted for about two dips.

Then we got the tempura roll, which was good. Sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, and potato were all nicely battered and rolled up. The dipping sauce came in a tiny bowl so we had to pour it over the tops of the sushi. It was a little bitter but all in all, this roll was very tasty. Becca and I mostly ate the pieces of tempura out and then dipped the rice and seaweed into soy sauce alone.

Finally we got the BBQ seiten roll. This one was interesting. It was Becca's order. The consistency was good but I wasn't a big fan of the bbq flavor.  Becca enjoyed it though so that's a plus since she's still not sold on the idea of being vegan yet.

We were debating getting the strawberry shortcake or banana chocolate cake for desert. However, we realized that it would most likely take another 30 minutes and it was already 10 pm. We asked for our check just as the table across from us did so. They received complimentary ice cream scoops while we merely got a check for $46.  So my experience wasn't fantastic but it wasn't terrible either. I would say it was neither a win nor a fail, just so-so. I will go back again so that I can see if the service improves. Otherwise, I'll stick to Native Foods, Pure Luck and RFD.