Sticky Rice: First-time Sushi

With a physiology exam looming, Rini suggested a study break for sushi. Sushi? Sushi! Finally I get to try some sushi here in Richmond. When I found the restaurant she wanted to go was Sticky Rice, I was really excited because I've heard mixed reviews on this place. We decided to go to the Sushi ToGoGo (their pick-up locations across the street), so I can't really comment on the atmosphere or waitstaff, but I can comment on the sushi :P

I ordered the eel roll and the spicy avacado roll. Two things struck me right off the bat while I was perusing the menu: cream. cheese. It was in almost every single roll! I personally hate cream cheese in my sushi. I don't like it much in general, actually - especially when it hasn't been altered in any way.

I settled on the spicy avacado roll and the eel roll - two of my favorites (I like to do a fish roll and a "clean" roll). Rini got two of the specials - one was called Battered and Buttered or something like that, and another one with everything under the sun: crab, avacado, shrimp...

The servers were really nice and gave me an extra container of pickled ginger (my favorite condiment EVER) and I really love the chopsticks here - super sturdy.

When we got home, I surveyed my choices. The first thing I noticed was how thick mine was cut. It made all the flavors jumble together, so I just took a big knife and cut them in half width-wise. That made a hige difference and I could taste the ingredients. The rice was realllllly sticky - I like the rice at Sadako better. When the roll pieces were on the larger size, it was so annoying to be sitting there with a ball of rice rolling around in your mouth. Again, I was glad I cut them.

The spicy avacado rolls was realy good - the avacado was fresh and I enjoyed the kick of whatever they'd rolled the rice in. Goooood stuff! The eel roll left something to be desired. It was good, but I couldn't taste the eel very much. And it wasn't as flavorful as I would have liked.

I didn't try Rini's butter roll thing - it turned me off once I realized that little thing on the side to dip it in is butter. Or something that's supposed to emulate it. No thanks, not interested.

Her other roll was really good, though. I think I might even order it again, but tell them to hold the cream cheese. Some bites were awesome and the fish shined - other bites were bogged down in... well, you know.

Lasting impressions:

Great concept - having a To Go section which is a seperate place entirely allows for faster service. I also like the option of their "half rolls" which are really just smaller rolls, for half the cost. This lets you taste more and not risk getting bored.

Quality - Meh... a little better than average. The flavor wasn't bright enough for me and I felt like the quality of the fish wasn't that impressive.

I'll keep looking for a regular sushi place, but in the meantime, I was happy with Sticky Rice. It didn't blow me away, but it did satisfy my craving.