Tokyo Sushi in Orlando

I am spending a week in Orlando while my son attends camp at SeaWorld. I didn't want to spend too much money on food for the week, but I also didn't want to eat typical grill fare the entire time. While looking for a drug store near my hotel, I noticed the Tokyo Sushi restaurant. I checked out the menu posted outside the door, and the prices were reasonable, so I walked in. The place was not fancy, but it seemed clean. I sat at the sushi bar and, after looking at the fish behind the glass, immediately knew I wasn't going to like it. Still, "don't judge a book by its cover" going through my head, I gave it a try.

I ordered yellowtail sashimi and a spicy scallop roll. While they were preparing my lunch I asked to see their salmon roe, as I did not see any behind the glass. The sushi chef pulled a bin out of a refrigerator and in it was a slime of cloudy, deformed orange roe. I don't know about you, but I like my ikura nicely round and clear. I politely passed on the roe.

Meanwhile, I noticed that the chef and the waitress were speaking in a language I could not immediately recognize. I've eaten sushi prepared by South Americans, Central Americans, blond-haired Mormons, Jamaicans, Koreans and, of course, Japanese. I wasn't exactly sure, but I think yesterday I just added Chinese to my list.

Maybe they were Chinese-Korean, because when I put a piece of the spicy scallion roll into my mouth, I could tell that the chef used Korean red-bean paste to spice up the roll. If I want Korean red-bean paste, I would rather go to a Korean restaurant. If I want spicy scallop roll at a sushi bar, I want it Japanese style.

The hamachi wasn't any better. A good yellowtail should be fatty, but the one they served was too lean, even if it was fresh, as the chef had insisted.

As I left the restaurant I saw a couple looking over the menu posted outside. I caught their eyes, shook my head and offered my unsolicited advice -- "if you know sushi, you probably don't want to eat here." I guess they didn't know sushi, or maybe they just didn't want unwanted advice, because they stepped into the restaurant anyway.