SUSHI ZUSHI 5TH STREET COMMONS

Atmosphere: The atmosphere here fit the downtown scene. I'd been to the Sushi Zushi in Dallas, TX with Master White Tiger and that Sushi Zushi had a more earthy vibe to it; although, that being said, the decor in the Austin Sushi Zushi was nice as well. The restaurant has a darker feel, and the tables are fairly close together with several booths to the far back. I didn't get to explore the restaurant very well because by the time we got there we had 20 minutes until they closed. 

Nigiri: Master Brasilero was once apprentice Ozzy, but with proper training and guidance from me he's stepped up his Play Time from only cooked things to some raw items. We ordered 2 orders of Toro, Hamachi, Salmon, and 2 orders of Eel Avocado. Sushi Zushi is not all you can eat, infact, I don't know of any Sushi restaurant in Austin that is (if you know of one let me know). Having said that, the expectations of each cut, and fish to rice ratio are a bit more stringent. I am not going to go as far as to say it was a horrible ratio, but I've seen more fish and less rice at all you can eat places throughout my travels. It got to the point where I was cutting the rice in half (check out the pictures on our Facebook Fan Page) so that the rice vinegar wouldn't over power the fish flavor. The Eel Avocado, however, was the shining moment with a good Eel cut and a good ratio to boot. The Toro though was some of the worst I'd had in awhile. It tasted kinda rubbery, and didn't have that fatty texture that Toro is meant to have. 

Rolls: If you're looking for a Play Time location that has a bevy of Roll selections, Sushi Zushi is your spot. The menu has probably over 30 different rolls to choose from. We ordered the Texas Roll, Bora Bora Roll, Las Vegas Roll, and the Monterey Roll. The rolls were delicious, and I don't think we even scratch the surface of roll love making. The favorite between Master Brasilero and I was the Texas Roll made with Roast beef, cream cheese, avocado, asparagus with a crunchy breaded finish. This thing was so tasty, with the right amount of cream cheese and mouth watering cuts of Roast beef. The second favorite was the Bora Bora roll made with Shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese on the inside wrapped with chopped snow crab, mayonnaise and masago caviar. Rolled uramaki style and topped with wasabi honey dressing, eel sauce, srirasha sauce and a special spicy mayonnaise. That's a mouth full, and when the roll hits your mouth you realize just how special each one of those ingredients are to the roll because you can taste them all. The Monterey Roll was next having Melted Monterey cheese on the outside, breaded kanikama crab and avocado rolled inside with chives, chipotle sauce and serrano pepper. Although I didn't try this one, Master Brasilero said he would order this one again because of the chipotle sauce. Lastly, was the Las Vegas roll having Shrimp tempura and avocado rolled uramaki style, wrapped with kanikama style and topped with special spicy mayonnaise. This one was interesting, I thought I'd like it because of the sauce, but after a couple pieces I was moving on to a different roll for better flavor.