MSG150: Seattle International District Lunch Food: April 2009

Today our Japantown route stated to show some of its Japanese roots. The route turned east today on Main Street from 5th Avenue and brought us to Fuji Sushi in the base of a cement urban second growth high-rise housing complex. We were joined today by our friends from Urbanspoon who last lunched with us at the now defunct Made in Kitchen. Let's hope the same curse does not befall Fuji.

Fuji Sushi, Seattle
Address: 520 S Main St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Japanese: Sushi
Average rating: 3.4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/16/2009 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 3 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 17 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 70 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?: None added. Fish stock they use may have some.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Chiba, Japan
Number of tables: 21
Number of occupied tables: 21 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 20 (95%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (4%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Katsu-don - $8.25
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

Fuji is on the upscale side of ID lunch spots. It's appointed with typical Japanese decor and includes two semi-private rooms with traditional sunken tables and floor seating. The Urbanspoon crew arrived first and were greeted warmly by the hostess who found us a nice table for eight by the window. The restaurant was already half full by 11:50 when we arrived.

Our waitress was friendly and prompt. I ordered the Katsu-don, my favorite Japanese lunch of a breaded pork cutlet sliced and stir-fried with egg, onions, and a light sauce on top of rice. It was great to see the Urbanspoon folks again and we were so wrapped up in our conversation I didn't notice how long the food took to arrive. I think Adam kept tally though. When the food arrived I took a break from the table talk to actually eat. The Katsu-don was good, but I've had better. This one was a bit too dry, i.e. there wasn't enough sauce. I ate it all though. For $8.25 I would have expected better.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu - $8.65
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

I first went to Fuji a couple of years ago with Brian Dorsey via his strictly plutonic lunch-date making service (don't worry Brian, I just want to be friends too). Since then, I think I've been ordering roughly the same thing: Lunch Special Bento.

I decided to go with the Catholic version of Vegetarian this meal, and ordered the Bento with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu. The tofu portion of the highly comparmentalized lunch tray was 4 large-ish blocks of soft tofu with a nice ginger sauce on top. I liked the sauce, but there wasn't quite enough of it. Also, "cutting" and eating large chunks of soft tofu with chopsticks is pretty danged tricky. The Salmon Teriyaki was the big winner: the piece of fish was large than I expected, the fish still tasted like fish, and the teriyaki flavor was really nice. There was other stuff in the other compartments, but nothing notable enough for me to remember right now.

A good option for Japanese food if you're in the ID.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki - $10.65
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

Long before I visited I heard rumors of the "Fuji Bento Box." I was told it was an awesome amount of food with a price to match. Having visited many times, I wouldn't say it's a tremendous amount, but for the price you pay, you get a good quantity.

This place is very pretty on the inside, with an upscale vibe suitable for suits and the power lunches of the digerati. We snagged a nice table by the window. I went Bento-Style on some Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki. The Teriyaki was delicious, crispy in places and juicy on the inside. The Sashimi was average, and not worth the extra two dollars, in my opinion. The salad had a tangy dressing but was otherwise not memorable. The miso soup was fairly standard.

For food I give this place a 3, but overall atmosphere bumps it up to a 4. I like coming here, and will continue to come back frequently.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Pork Ginger and Deep Friend Dumplings - $8.65
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Al's Review

Pork was beyond tender - dumplings works of art; +1 if you are not as cheap as I am.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Tanin-don - $8.25
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

VIP Luncher: Adam from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura - $9.65
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

The bento box is near and dear to my heart, and I'm tempted to give Fuji Sushi a high score simply for offering them. I like having my food compartmentalized.

The sushi wasn't spectacular, but certainly a cut above the sushi option near our HQ in Eastlake. The nigiri was standard fare, as was the included roll. Something a bit more exotic might have been nice. The tempura was similarly satisfying without offering any surprises. I wish there had been some potato, eggplant, or fruit in there.

The restaurant was clean and the service attentive, though no one took a drink order and I absentmindedly forgot to request tea. I would eat there again if I was in the neighborhood and Pho Bac didn't exist.

VIP Luncher: Patrick from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Chicken Teriyaki - $9.65
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Patrick's Review

The sushi was 2 thin pieces of a California roll, 3 pieces of a cucumber roll, and 3 nigiri (salmon, tuna, shrimp). The food was fine, but the quantity was little thin, particularly the rolls. The chicken teriyaki was good, but I had some envy of the salmon teriyaki, which looked really good.

VIP Luncher: Ethan from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura - $9.65
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Ethan's Review

This was my second time at Fuji Sushi, and I'd be happy to eat there again, though I probably won't go out of my way to try it another time. Service was friendly, food was fine, just nothing standing out.

The bento box offered a basic mix -- miso, a little salad, rice, tempura and sushi. The tempura was tasty, though the batter seemed to dissolve a little too quickly in the dip. The nigiri was uninspired, but serviceable. The rolls were small and not very numerous. The california roll was pretty wet -- lots of mayo -- but I like that.

I found I was still kind of hungry after finishing the lot, but then I usually eat too much. So maybe that's a good thing.

A couple of the MSG150 crew had the salmon teriyaki. That looked great.

Short version: enjoyable but unexceptional.

Fuji Sushi Photos

Fuji Sushi

Open + Menu

Fuji Sushi Menu Cover

Fuji Sushi Menu

Miso

Katsu-don

Tanin-don

Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Chicken Teriyaki

Lunch Bento Special with Pork Ginger and Deep Friend Dumplings

Lunch Bento Special with Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki

Lunch Bento Special with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu

Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura

Immediately Next door to Tenoch is a relative newcomer to the neighborhood, the Gyro House. The Gyro House has been here for almost a year now and most of the MSG150 crew have been occasionally to regularly for the past few months. It replaced a fairly horrible Filipino restaurant/night club that had been there for years. In Seattle we pronounce this Greek sandwich dZee-ro starting with the voiced alveopalatal affricate (duh). The patron saint of the Gyro is of course not the Gyro Captain. After a couple of false starts the MSG150 crew made it out today to put it to the test.

Gyro House, Seattle
Address: 212 5th Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Average rating: 3.4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/8/2009 @ 12:08:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 37 minutes
Chopstix quality: Forks!
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Greece
Number of tables: 20
Number of occupied tables: 6 (30%)
Number of business lunch tables: 6 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Chicken Schwarma Sandwich and Greek Fries - $5.99 + $3.99
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

It's nice to have some diversity in the area. This place and their neighbor, Tenoch, are members of a precious few who serve non-Asian food. Because of this, I've probably been here about 10 times prior to our "reviewing visit."

After years of getting Gyros, I've learned one thing: always get the "greek fries" too. One thing I've learned from eating at Gyro House: Don't order the falafel. Their falafel is dry and not that delicious. With these nuggets of wisdom in mind, I ordered the Chicken Schwarma Sandwich.

Let's start with the fries. They were Seasoned fries with some parsley(? something green), and topped with a healthy amount of Feta cheese. There were four of us eating the fries, and it ended up working out pretty well for portions. A great starter to precede the coming sandwich.

The chicken Schwarma sandwich was one of the first dishes to arrive, and I had a tough time resisting it because of the delicious smell wafting out of the paper wrapper. Finally everyone's food got to the table and we dug in. I spiced mine up with a splash or two of hot sauce (which I had to fetch... they have several bottles by the soda fountain). A solid "sandwich". The schwarma sauce was good and the pita was a bit chewy but still easy to get through.

The food is good, but the service is typically a little slower than I'd like for a quick lunch. The food portions are also a bit smaller (but still filling) than other places, and I was left wanting of left-overs.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Mozaka - $8.50
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

I've been here several times, and generally love Mediterranean food. This place has a couple of things going against it. They're very slow, even when there isn't a long line, which makes me think twice about coming here for lunch. Second their Falafel is dry and bitter. Perhaps Ross got treated to some new batch, but there's something unsavory either in their mix, or in how they cook it. On the other hand their Gyros are tasty, and their Gyro Salad is loaded with meat, which makes it a great deal for the price. They also have daily specials, which keep things interesting.

Today I went with their Mozaka. Go ahead, click the link, it will tell you NOTHING. I assume they meant Moussaka (also Musakka), which is forgivable, given that it was delicious. According to Wikipedia there are several variants of this, made slightly differently depending on if you're in Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, or Arabic nations. I'm generally accustomed to the Greek versions, which is layered and covered in Custard or Bechemel. But this was closer to the Turkish version, and wasn't formed into a lasagna-esque square. It had great flavor, and big pieces of eggplant, onion, potato, and even broccoli. I can't remember if it was lamb or beef, but the seasoning was great. They served it on top of rice with a greek salad and some pita on the side.

This place does a few things well, but overall I prefer Zaina.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Lamb Gyro Sandwich - $5.99
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

There are three other spot in the neighborhood where you can get a good gyro: there's the Mediterranean Mix on First, Main Street Gyro two blocks west on, and Zaina on Cherry. Gyro House falls somewhere in the middle, somewhere between Mediterranean Mix, on the low side, and Zaina, the gold standard. I had the Lamb Gyro. It was good, but the meat was a bit too salty and dry. Adam shared his Greek Fries and they were excellent, although clearly not healthy.