RESTAURANT REVIEW:

My taste in sushi places is usually the more serene atmosphere rather than the rock ‘n’ roll ones, where the techno, Euro, electronic keyboard mates with Mac computer music making conversation impossible.

It does drive me to drink, which is probably the intention, and I would like to see a pie chart on sake sales when Franz and the other members of the Belgrade five invade my ear drums.

One situation of pumping music I will tolerate is when the sushi is really, really good, and Frenzy Sushi definitely has that.

The name would imply the theme that awaits, but while there is definitely music, it is not totally offensive and is kept at a manageable level. Conversation is still possible and the staff is so attentive, it is worth a little inner ear damage.

By the second bite of the Frenzy Biwa, I didn’t care if Barry Manilow showed up and played at full volume while sitting in my lap.

This appetizer is tempura shrimp with a hard-boiled quail egg, pickled cucumber and a mayonnaise-based sauce that no one would give me the recipe for, even after I threatened to break into my own off-key Manilow revue to get them to spill the secret.

Defeated, we moved onto the shumai. This pork and shrimp appetizer, usually found on Chinese restaurant dim sum carts, was good but loose. The rice paper didn’t keep the ingredients tightly wrapped and the result was a little sloppy.

I was impressed with the selection of appetizers. The variety was good, and I saw many dishes that were new to me like the Hiyayakko, which is soft tofu mixed with ginger, green onion and bonito flakes and served with a miso sauce.

Another that grabbed me was the Agenasu. This is thinly sliced pieces of eggplant that are flash fried and glazed with a special miso sauce.

The sushi we had was just as inventive and of high quality. We began with a roll — the Q-T Sashi is a mix of salmon, crab and avocado, but it is wrapped in thin slices of Japanese cucumber.

This was a welcome change from rice, and it made the salmon pop out more than it ever would have with rice. It was served chilled, and I would let it sit a bit before eating it so that the flavors have time to breathe. Also, this is definitely finger food. I am pretty skilled with chopsticks but this proved to be too challenging for me, so I ended up grabbing it with two fingers.

We got a firecracker roll next. It was tempura shrimp, stuffed with avocado and cucumber, and topped with spicy tuna and three sauces. It was spicy but not so hot you couldn’t eat it. Again the quality of the fish was incredible.

I broke up the rolls by ordering albacore and salmon nigiri. The pieces were very generous and so fresh I couldn’t believe it. The specks of minced ginger and teriyaki sauce drizzled on top were a nice touch.

The final dish we had was a crunch roll. This was not my choice, and I would have rather dabbled in other specialty rolls, but my guest was in the mood for it so we ordered it. It was good, though nothing spectacular, but at $8 it’s a good price for the popular roll.

I found most of the prices very reasonable and in the case of the nigiri a downright bargain. I got two large pieces of salmon for $3.75 and two identically large pieces of albacore for $3.95.

The restaurant has been in business for four years now and even though it is tucked in a little strip mall, it is definitely worth seeking out. The quality of the fish is superior to many places I have been to that charge twice as much.

I have a friend who is not crazy about sushi, but I would certainly take her here because of the other menu items such as chicken katsu and a pretty extensive selection of noodle and rice bowls.

By the end of my meal I didn’t even notice the music, probably because my ears were ringing with the sweet melody of sushi.

FRENZY SUSHI

ADDRESS: 369 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa

PHONE: (949) 646-1333

WEBSITE: www.frenzysushi.com

CUISINE: Japanese

SPECIALTY DISH: any of the nigiri sushi

ALCOHOL SERVED: sake, wine, beer

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $4.50 to $17.95

FAMILY FRIENDLY: yes, two-item children’s menu

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, MasterCard and Visa

RATING: ***

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at Nolimepublishing@aol.com or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.