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3940 Lake Tahoe Blvd #3, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
530-541-FISH (3474)

http://www.thenakedfish.com/

It has been disappointing to learn that several restaurants in the Lake Tahoe area do not offer their Happy Hour specials during the summer… but not The Naked Fish! Come Monday through Thursday (excluding holidays) from 5 to 6:30 pm.

Happy Hour Handrolls ($2.50 each)

911 - Spicy tuna, cucumber, and spicy tobiko.
Shrimp Tempura - There was an interesting dark sauce poured onto the shrimp tempura.
Shrimp & Avocado - I thought the slice of avocado was actually too much… or maybe there should be more shrimp!

California Roll (HH $3.75, regularly $5.75) - Shredded crab and avocado. This is pretty much offered at every sushi restaurant, but this was the best that I’ve had. It’s usually kind of dry at other restaurants, but at the Naked Fish, the crab (or should I say Krab?) was moist… almost creamy… like melt in your mouth good… I like it plain, without soy sauce.

Mermaid Roll ($6.95) - Yellow Tail and mango.

Adam’s Leaf ($6.95) - Yellow Tail with Dynamite Sauce sandwiched between Shiso leaves, deep fried, and served with Ponzu Sauce.

High Roller ($12-15?) - It’s basically the California Roll topped with salmon, eel teriyaki sauce, and Dynamite Sauce.

Beware of the small parking lot. Also, try to come early because they are busy! I saw this restaurant on an episode of Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels and it did not disappoint. While sitting inside, it occurred to me how different the atmosphere was from the lazy summer days of Lake Tahoe. The restaurant reminds me of a trendy place-to-be in San Diego. Our waiter was super friendly. You can tell that he enjoys what he does.

Posted for Dave

“Hey Dave, you watch Sam the Cooking Guy much?”
“Nope. Never seen the show. Why?”
“He does a recipe with seared ahi tuna you gotta try.”
“Mmmm… ahi. Sounds good.”
“Yeah, he rolls the ahi in Cap’n Crunch.”
“I do like ahi. I should… wait, say again?!”

Yes, you read right. Seared ahi tuna covered in crushed Cap’n Crunch cereal. Some friends recommended it so I pulled the recipe from the Sam the Cooking Guy site. Granted, it is an odd combination, but hey, I’m the guy who thinks that aerosol cheese deserves its own food group so I’m willing to try anything. Turns out it’s pretty good. Check it out.

Cap’n Crunch Seared Tuna

1/4 C mayonnaise
1 T yellow mustard
1 lb. sushi gradi tuna, in 2 rectangular blocks
1 C regular Cap’n Crunch
fresh ground pepper
chili sauce
oil

Mix the mayonnaise and mustard and set aside. Crush the cereal in a plastic bag until fine and put on a plate and top with fresh ground pepper. Lightly oil the tuna then press down into the cereal making sure it’s covered wll on all sides. Heat a non-stick pan really will first and then add about a tablespoon of oil. When it just starts to smoke, add the tuna and sear quickly on all sides until lightly browned. Slice and serve along with the mustard/mayo mix and some chili paste.

Kukui Grove Shopping Center, 3-2600 Kaumuali’i Highway, Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii 96766. (808) 632-2450

I wanted to try out Genki Sushi because I had heard that they served their reasonably priced sushi on a conveyor belt! Each item is served on a color coded plate, which indicates the cost of the item.

GOLD PLATES ($1.55)

Tofu

Tuna Salad - I liked the homemade tuna salad from a can taste. It was very moist and creamy.

GREEN PLATES ($2.20)

Spicy Tuna

RED PLATES ($2.85)

Teriyaki Chicken Bowl and Chicken Karaage - The teriyaki chicken bowl was different from the teriyaki chicken that I’m used to. Instead of teriyaki sauce over flame broiled chicken, this seemed to be a red teriyaki sauce marinated in the chicken. The chicken karaage was very crispy. It needed some kind of dipping sauce though.

Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 2/5
Service/Atmosphere: 3/5
Total: 12/20

9172 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 348-0414

Dennis, Lynn and I decided to try out bamboo hut in Mira Mesa because we found a coupon in the clipper magazine.

Our appetizer, the Spicy Tuna Roll (not shown) was very plain and it was extremely dry, even after dipping it in the sauce. Dennis ordered the Combination Bento C with nigiri sushi, chicken katsu, and cali roll (9.25), which includes salad and a choice of garlic or steamed rice. The salad was the typical lettuce sprinkled with the ginger salad dressing and the garlic rice definitely was more flavorful than the plain rice, with a subtle hint of garlic. The katsu chicken pieces seemed too thin but the crunchy texture and sweet sauce tasted fine.

Nguyen ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry (5.95) with a second item (2.50) of Mochi Chicken, with the standard salad and rice. The bite sized mochi chicken was dipped in seasoned sweet rice flower and deep fried. The texture was soft with a hint of crisp but the flavor was not of his liking. We didn’t like the katsu curry chicken too much either. The breading was less crisp because of the watery, buttery curry, plus it should have had a stronger curry flavor. The steamed rice wasn’t that great either, as if all the flavor was sucked out of it.

As for service and atmosphere, we weren’t too pleased. All the tables were dirty when we got there and the waitress left the table wet after wiping it down. The menus were a bit dirty too. The wait for the food seemed a bit long because the table that ordered before us almost finished their food by the time our main courses came out. Most likely, we won’t go back unless we go for happy hour sushi rolls, since this restaurant got an award from san diego’s best.

Taste: 5/10
Service: 3/5
Presentation: 3/5

Total: 11/20

3870 Valley Centre Dr Ste 302. San Diego, CA 92130. (858) 792-5509

Oyster Shooter ($6.00). I didn’t try this and so I can’t comment on it. But from what I’ve heard, it gives you the extra oomph you might need at night. =)

Chef Choice Sashimi ($28.00). More than thirty pieces of daily fresh fish.

I don’t usually eat sashimi but this was pretty good. My favorite was the yellowtail and tuna pieces.

Salmon Skin Handrolls ($5.00).

These were scrumptious.  Salmon skin is always a good choice.

Hamachi Kama ($?) Grilled Yellowtail Cheekbone.

This is the first time I’ve had this and it is fantastic! Its soft enough that you can pick at it with your chopsticks and break it into pieces. The best part of it is near the bone where the fatty pieces of meat are. Yummy!

Gami Special Roll ($15.00). In-Shrimp Tempura, Crab, Avocado, Out-Japanese Fresh Water Eel Sauce, Parmesan Cheese.

I always like to order entrees that bear the house name. And even though it had parmesan cheese on it, I thought it was worth the try. To my surprise it tasted fine. Its very similar to the Dragon roll but has a very subtle difference to it. The other guests didn’t like it as much as the Dragon roll though. They said the parmesan cheese was too strange for them. So I guess its just a matter of personal taste.

Unknown ($?).

Dragon Roll ($15.00).

Edamame ($?).

Naruto Roll ($14.00). Tuna, Salmon, Yellowtail, Avocado, Gobo, Green Onion, Yuzu, and Ponzu Sauce.

This non-rice roll (on the house after all the food/drinks we ordered) was strange and unique. It was not bad at all but it had a completely different kind of texture and taste to it. In general it had a very fresh taste to it.  The outside was solid and firm but the insides were very soft and moist.

Softshell Crab Handroll ($7.00).

Fire Roll ($15.00). In-Jalepeno spicy tuna, Avocado, Gobo, Cilantro. Out-Hawaiian Fresh Tuna Creamy Fire Sauce.

The sauce on the top was so overwhelmingly hot that it was difficult to taste the fish underneath. Yet at the same time, every bite was fun and exciting!

Kalbi ($?) Korean BBQ Beef.

OMG. I haven’t had good korean bbq in such a long time. This meat was so juicy and flavorful. It was perfectly cooked with just a slight bit of char. Yippee!

Conclusion: Although there is no happy hour or special promotions for this place, I would definitely go back. Its a small and cozy restaurant that’s intimate and comfortable. The staff here are wonderfully attentive and accommodating. With cold saki, sushi, and hot food, I couldn’t ask for more.

Taste: 10/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 20/20