Fuji San

My quest to find good sushi led me to midtown Mobile on a hot Friday afternoon.  There I found Fuji San.  Oh, I've driven past what looked like a house turned restaurant numberous times but not once did I think of stopping by. Until now.  I have to say there was aspects I like about it and others not so much.

First thing I noticed was there is quite a selection for lunch and dinner.  There's a variety of teriyaki, noodles, bento boxes and of course sushi. I had a restaurant.com certificate so I had to spend a certain amount in order to use it so I decided to order a bit of everything.  I already knew I was going to bring some food back to my mom and brother so it wouldn't have been a waste.

Bama Roll, Alaska Roll, Salmon Skin Roll, Triple Roll, and Crawfish Roll

I picked out five sushi rolls.  Some were cooked and others raw in order to get the feel of the quality.  Of these, the Bama roll was the most expensive at $9.95.  The rest was under $7 bucks; two were just $4. The sushi rice at Fuji San is unlike any I've had before.  It's much fluffier and more moist.  There's also a hint of sweetness as if they used sweet rice wine vinegar instead of regular.  The moistness of the rice also made the seaweed paper more chewy almost like rice paper in a summer roll.  Otherwise there was a fair amount of filling in each roll and tasted fresh. My family liked it but I thought it was just o.k.

I have been craving scallops and thought this was a perfect opportunity to have some.  I ordered the scallop teriyaki lunch.  It came with miso soup, salad, and fried rice.  My friend, Kat, commented right away that the miso soup was not homemade.  She says it tasted exactly like the stuff she makes from a box for her father.  Even if it was boxed, it was really good.  There was plenty of seaweed flavor and tofu.  The rice used in the fried rice is the same as the sushi.  I thought it was under seasoned. There wasn't much color on the rice so I added a good amount of soy sauce.  Also, the texture was off because good fried rice is a good deal drier. Instead of the same sushi rice, they should have used regular long grain jasmine.  The vegetables were a little disappointing as well as it was made up primarily of onions.  I think it would have been a great deal better to use another vegetable such as cabbage in this dish.  The scallops were nice and large but didn't taste very fresh.  The teriyaki sauce was very thin with little to no color to it.  It reminded me more of a ponzu sauce than anything else.  

Kat decided on the Beef Bento box.  As with the teriyaki lunch, it came with soup, salad and fried rice.  It also had a little seaweed salad I'm sure came already prepared.  It also had a fried cheese wonton and springroll. That big empty space is suppose to contain a couple of pieces of sushi which the waitress brought out a little later.  I tasted the beef and it was nice and tender.  It was drizzled with the same lackluster teriyaki sauce though.  The springroll is your standard cabbage roll you get from a Chinese take out place.  Not complimentary I know, but it wasn't meant to be. The waitress brought out four slices of sushi; two of a california roll and two of a shrimp and crawfish roll.  All in all, this box may make you full but not necessarily satisfied.

The feeling that Fuji San was once a house resonates on the inside as well as out.  When you first step in, it looks like you're stepping into someone's living room.  Off to the side is another room that could have once serve as a dining room.  The tables all look Asian and could crack if someone hefty sat it in.  Needless to say, I chose the more sturdy looking booths.  

The service is something Fuji San could improve on. Our waitress seemed nice enough but wasn't really helpful; especially considering we were new faces.  She seemed more interested in gossiping with one of the sushi chefs than doing her job.  At one point, the cook came out of the kitchen and told her to serve up the bento box that he brought out earlier instead of letting it go cold.  Now, that's awful.  I guess since with my restaurant.com certificate she knew she was going to add gratuity onto the ticket and she decided she didn't have to treat us well?  That would make sense except it almost guarantees I won't be dining in if I come here again.

I really liked Fuji San's sweet tea.  It has a hint of chai that makes it a cross of your good ol southern sweet tea and thai tea.  Delicious!  But in short, the journey to find an excellant sushi spot continues.