THE GOSSIPING GOURMET: Fusion sushi with a hip vibe

By Elle Harrow and Terry Markowitz

Feb. 29, 2008 12 AM PT

The astonishing popularity of sushi throughout the world makes it the defining food trend of the new millennium. Even in our small community there are five sushi spots, including Sushi Laguna, each with its own distinctive flavor. What is it about this cold food that makes it so “hot” — especially with young people?

Originally, sushi was street food, fast and easy to eat. It was the McDonald’s of its day (Japan in the 1800s) and now it’s nudging out burgers and pizza in popularity here in America. For the hip young set, it is often mixed with music and booze in club-like restaurants and has earned a reputation as the best hangover food around, thus giving it “a cool vibe.” Those rail-thin media darlings just can’t wait to get out of jail to hit the sushi bars; in part, because their favorite food is perceived as slimming and it means they’re back on the scene.

For the rest of us, sushi represents a whole new world of tastes along with a perception of healthfulness (or at least it did until the mercury scare and the advent of fusion rolls like Sushi Laguna’s Moszulla roll with fried zucchini, mozzarella cheese, tomato and cocktail sauce.)

American culture reflects the fact that we are a melting pot. At one time, each manifestation of ethnic cuisine maintained its own distinctive character but as generations assimilated, chefs began looking for something new. The result was fusion cuisine. At first, it was every ethnic cuisine plus French, and now anything goes.

Enter Sushi Laguna with its baby back rib roll that has no meat, the prosciutto salmon roll, or the Cajun tuna roll with pineapple, cream cheese and jalapeno peppers. Fire station #1 is a vegetable roll topped with tuna, garlic and jalapenos, then seared with a blowtorch.

The fusion concept at Sushi Laguna works really well with the spicy miso soup, chock full of perfectly cooked chewy, thick udon noodles. Traditionally, these are not served in miso soup but in a lighter broth with various toppings. This soup was rather spicy, also a break with tradition, but it was quite delicious. A bowlful of udon noodles in soup can make an inexpensive meal. In Japan, slurping up the noodles is a sign of politeness indicating that you are enjoying yourself and, obvious to anyone around us, we were.

These days it seems rare for restaurants to make their own gyoza (Japanese pan-fried dumplings) but there are good and bad commercial brands. These were not the best. The filling was mushy and undistinguished, however the house-made sauce was perky with a lot of character.

We ordered the soft-shelled crab and were surprised that it was like a tostada, served on a giant fried egg roll skin with lettuce and cabbage. The large amount of salad was underdressed and really functioned more like a garnish. The crab was crispy but the oil it had been fried in tasted overused, one of our pet peeves in restaurant cooking.

Our other favorite here was the Polynesian mix or poki. This Hawaiian classic version of tuna tartare had bits of velvety tuna mixed with curly strands of crunchy red and green seaweed in a simple, slightly sweet sesame oil dressing. The balance of textures was lovely, making the dish quite addictive.

The pleasures of sushi depend on the rice. In fact, the term “sushi” refers to dishes made primarily with boiled rice flavored with sweetened rice vinegar. There is a wide variety of sushi, including nigiri, which is rice combined with slices of raw fish. Nigiri can be exquisite when the rice is perfectly cooked and the fish is very fresh, but this is hard to find; especially when you are not eating in a restaurant on the day that fish is delivered. More often, this type of sushi is just OK and the soy sauce and wasabi give it some flavor. This was the case with the hamachi (yellowtail) we had here.

Perhaps the popularity of the new extravagant, innovative sushi rolls is due to the addition of flavors and ingredients with more familiar and assertive tastes, since the American palate was not accustomed to the ineffable subtlety of Japanese cuisine.

Beginning with California rolls (crabmeat and avocado), which were created by chefs who understood the reluctance of Americans to eat raw fish, we have now reached the point where almost any ingredient is fair game for the sushi chef.

We couldn’t quite bring ourselves to try the Moszulla roll, so we ordered the more familiar caterpillar roll. The very large roll was sliced into eight generous pieces. Each had grilled, barbecue eel wrapped in rice, which was draped with “scales” of thinly sliced avocado. The tataki sauce beneath the roll was thick and sweet.

For the less adventurous, there are chicken and salmon teriyaki dinners with veggies and wasabi mashed potatoes, or a chicken teriyaki rice bowl with broccoli.

The final touch was our dessert, mango mochi. The sweet chewy rice dough enclosed lightly flavored mango ice cream. It was cut up in chunks, served in a martini glass and garnished with parsley.

This restaurant and sushi bar has a casual atmosphere and a patio for dining al fresco on warmer nights.

WHAT: Sushi Laguna

WHERE: 231 Ocean Ave.

PRICES:

Rolls and sushi: $3.50 to $15.50

Entrées: $8.95 to $20

Desserts: $4

WINE:

Bottles: $13 to $32

By the glass: $4 to $9.50

Corkage Fee: $15

Sake: $4 to $17, large bottle $22