Restaurant Review:

We were trying to get to Tuna Town to take advantage of the happy hour specials that run from 4 to 7 p.m., but were having trouble finding a free parking space. I have ranted before about how local politicians should be ashamed of themselves for allowing exorbitant parking meters in downtown Huntington Beach that charge people to patronize local businesses.

Because no one at City Hall cares about my stance, I fight the power by utilizing one of the free spots outside the main sphere of downtown and walking.

My guest and I hurriedly walked down Main Street but were three minutes late. That didn’t deter us from eating at the restaurant owned by David Silveria and his ex-wife, Shannon.

Silveria, the former drummer of the rock band Korn, established the restaurant several years ago, and it reflected his musical lifestyle.

The inside is black and dark, an unintentional metaphor to the band’s music. Musical memorabilia, from Korn and other bands, hangs on the wall as music from all rock and pop genres blares through the dining room.

It is definitely a rock ’n’ roll atmosphere, but not so intrusive that you can’t hear the person talking next to you.

The teppan grill area can get a bit loud if there is a group watching the chef dazzle them with his cutlery skills, but again, it’s not too loud.

Besides, the sushi is good enough to overcome any noise.

We began with fresh pieces of yellowtail, white tuna, salmon and scallops, and the results were a bit mixed. The yellowtail and salmon were incredibly fresh. The taste of both instantly filled our mouths.

The white tuna was only so-so. Maybe it was the superiority of the other two, but the tuna didn’t seem as good.

The scallops were good, but there was too much rice in the seaweed paper. I like my ratio about 50-50 with scallops and rice, but this was more like 70-30 rice to scallops.

We ventured over to the rolls, and the list is quite extensive. There are 24 to choose from, ranging from the usual (rainbow and Philadelphia rolls) to the creative.

One of those was the garlic rock shrimp roll. I have never seen garlic utilized in a sushi place and was quite impressed. The cooked rock shrimp is filled with little flecks of garlic, asparagus and radish sprouts, and was very tasty.

We had the crouching tiger roll, a spicy specialty of the house. This is tempura shrimp with cucumber and kani kama (imitation crab meat) and then topped with spicy tuna, avocado and a ponzu-like sauce.

Unlike most places that advertise spicy and don’t deliver, this dish had a great kick to it. The tuna was also fresh, adding to the enjoyment of the dish.

The other roll we had was the lollipop roll. This is assorted sashimi and imitation crab wrapped in cucumber.

I liked this dish, especially the freshness of the cucumber, which brought out the fish.

One appetizer I would certainly not miss is the saucy scallops. These five pan-seared scallops have a mango chutney on top and a ginger-based sauce. It was an incredibly delectable dish, and my guest and I were fighting over the sauce.

Fawn, our waitress, gave us a surprise at the end of the meal, allowing us to slip under the 7 p.m. deadline, which saved us $27. It was one of many nice things she did during our meal.

RA Sushi is still my favorite in downtown, but Tuna Town is a close second.

The menu is extensive, and for someone like myself, who gets bored with the same old sushi selections, this place will always challenge my senses.

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