Queer Quisine - RA Sushi

Happy Monday, food lovers! I hope everyone had a fabulous, food-filled weekend.

Today I'm covering RA, on Mill Ave in Phoenix. I know, it's another sushi place but that's just where I happened to have lunch the other day, so that's what I'm reviewing. Get over it. :)

Located near ASU (boo! Go Wildcats!) on Mill Ave in Phoenix, this was actually my first time being able to go to RA even though there's one right here in Tucson. It's in a great location on Mill. When you're done you can walk up and down the avenue and check out all the other nifty stores and such that are there. (I didn't get to do this yet, mind you. Just another thing on my to-do list.)

There were four of us and we opted for a table outside. It was a little breezy, but other than that it was pretty nice. It was a shame, however, that the outside seating was in the back, where your only view is of the buildings around you, rather than in front where you could people watch. If the outside seating area had been in front on Mill, then it would have been damn near perfect.

We started with a couple of appetisers: the vegetable tempura and the pineapple cream cheese wontons ($6.75). I know, when I was first told about the wontons I have to admit I was a little hesitant but they were a very pleasant surprise. There are 4 in the appetiser (a little skimpy, but hey, it's RA), and they are garnished with black sesame seeds and a sort of chili powder. They don't give you the standard wonton dipping sauce with these either. It's more of a spicy pineapple chutney that really brings out the unique flavour of the wontons. I had expected them to be sweet and really unappetising, but after trying them these are definitely going on my list of "must haves" at RA. We also got the vegetable tempura ($6.50), which was pretty standard fare, but still pretty good. There was a mushroom, onion rings, green and red bell peppers, zuchini, asparagus and (my personal favourite) sweet potatoes. Served with the basic tempura dipping sauce, I would definitely recommend sharing this dish. It's a decent sized pile of food for just one person to take on, especially if they're planning on ordering an entree.

A brief note about the service: it was kind of crazy on Mill Ave when we were there. The Ironman marathon was going on, and I wasn't sure if that was going to affect our service. Luckily, it didn't. Our server, Nicole, was very courteous, fast and kept out drinks full. She came back regularly, but not too often, to make sure everything was alright and to see if we needed anything else. It was nice not to have to wait around for our check, or do everything short of waving a red flag to get someone's attention.

On to those entrees. I ordered my usual soft shell crab ($10.50) as well as the sashimi lunch combo ($9.75). Another person ordered the Gojira roll ($10.75), there was the standard California roll ($4.75), and a cucumber and cream cheese roll. (I have no idea what this one cost, as it was a "tweaked" roll.) My sashimi lunch combo came with miso soup and a bowl of rice and consisted of 3 pieces each of salmon, tuna and yellowtail. Really not a bad price for sashimi. The fish was very fresh and tasted great. My soft shell crab was a little different than what I usually expect. It had the avocado and the cucumber, but it also had what looked like a shredded, spicy crab sort of thing in it as well. I still don't know what it was, but it was damn good! The flavours were unique and unexpected, and that was just MY roll. The Gojira roll... now that was one heck of an interesting roll! It was made of shrimp tempura, crab mix (which is what I *think* was in mine), cream cheese and cucumber rolled and topped with spicy tuna and spinach tempura flakes. To me, that's just a really long description for "really damn good!" The plate was garnished with a dipping sauce that was a thick, spicy chili sauce. I wasn't entirely sure how to eat this giant piece of sushi so I took a deep breath, dipped it in the chili sauce, a bit of soy sauce and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. With this roll, that's about all you can do. There's no way to get the whole flavour if you nibble. And what flavour it was! Spicy and cool, it was like there was a flavour party in my mouth and everyone was invited! Not for those who are not fond of spice, though. This roll is definitely a wake-up call for your taste buds.

I didn't try either the California roll or the cucumber cream cheese roll. I'm not a big fan of either, but both of them disappeared fairly quickly with no complaints so if that type of thing is up your alley then I think you'd be in good shape!

And yes, we got dessert. We got the chocolate stuffed fried bananas with caramel Kahlua sauce and chocolate ice cream ($5.50) and the cinnamon tempura ice cream ($6.25). Now one thing to know is that I'm not a big fan of bananas. At all. However... the fried bananas were surprisingly good. I think it was a combination of the batter, chocolate filling and caramel sauce. The bananas pretty much just added texture, which wasn't a bad thing. And the chocolate ice cream was getting rave reviews all around the table. That was the first dessert to get polished off. The tempura ice cream was a big hit too, though. Cinnamon ice cream, fried in tempura batter with a raspberry glaze = fantastic! I've always been a big fan of fried ice cream (how do they do it without melting the ice cream?!) and this was right at the top of the list. The cinnamon ice cream was a nice touch, since most fried ice creams use basic vanilla. Definite two thumbs up for the desserts!

In conclusion, I would have to recommend RA the next time you're in Phoenix. Go have a nice, moderately priced lunch then go walk around Mill Ave and enjoy a favourite Phoenix spot for people watching. I'm sure the RA in Tucson is just as good, but the location isn't half as interesting. When I do manage to get up to the one here, I'll be sure to let you know how it compares.

My score for RA: 9/10

Bon Appetite!