Just Why Is A Veggie Roll Not Sushi?

As a non-seafood eater I love sushi - well, I love vegetable rolls to be more specific. And I've been told that technically it's not sushi, although I've never read that anywhere in print. Hibashi, a newish restaurant across from the Galleria has one of my favorites, the Vege Tempura Roll ($6), still warm and crispy in the center. So one evening last week, with no kids (school stuff), no husband (working), I ran in for a quick bite.

It was early, and the place is huge, no, it's HUGE. I chose to sit at the bar proper, I hate telling sushi chefs I don't eat seafood (can't take that "picky eater" look). My bartendress was baby doll cute, with high little pigtails and electric pink eye shadow, she taught me a trick using water, matches and a glass on a plate, earning herself an extra $5 tip (obviously she excels in her career).

But I digress. I explained to the 2009 flower child my dilemma of non-seafood sushi passion, she slapped down a newly printed 1/3 page menu, a list of their new vegetarian roll choices. The Vege Delight Roll is the premium choice at $7, with cucumber, avocado, ground [kampyo?] shavings, bean curd, scallion with creamy sauce. There's also the Wakeme Roll which contains their marinated seaweed salad wrapped in rice ($4), the Kampyo Roll, the Dakkwon Roll (dikon radish), the Cucumber Roll, the Avocado Roll and the Asparagus Roll, all at $4.

For the meat eater, their Beef Tataki appetizer is pretty good (tho' I miss Chris Ward's at Citizen), and their Hibachi show is pretty affordable if you check out their website for coupons. Just thought I'd share.