The Thanksgiving feasts have come and gone but if you’re like most families, you probably have heaps of leftover turkey just waiting to be slathered with mayo and jammed between two slices of fresh bread. After one turkey sandwich I’ve pretty much had my fill. How many turkey sandwiches can one person eat? And don’t even get me started on hot turkey sandwiches. Me and soggy bread do not get along. Plus, I’m not 80.
Honestly, after the turkey, mashed potato, squash, stuffing, gravy, cheesecake marathon eating, the last thing I want is another heavy meal. When I’m looking to lighten things up, there’s but one thing I crave, sushi. I’m not talking the Americanized rolls full of mayo and greasy tempura’d fish – not that those aren’t freaking delicious sometimes – but rather the real deal, raw fish.
Being hard core on the sushi for some time now, we even rock the sashimi. For those of you not down with sushi, let me school you for a minute. It’s quite simple actually. Sushi can generally be grouped into a few categories. Sashimi means slices of raw fish usually eaten with a touch of wasabi and soy sauce. Nigiri is raw fish or meat over a log of rice (weird description I know). Lastly, maki is rice and some combination of fish, meat or vegetables rolled up with nori, a sheet of seaweed, then sliced into bite sized rounds. Though most folks I know prefer maki, I’m all about the raw.
There are loads of sushi joints in our small city but when we need our raw fish fix, we hit up Wasabi House. One of the newer sushi spots, Wasabi House even did the unexpected this year and dethroned the long time champ of The Coast’s Best of Food Readers’ Choice Awards to win Best Sushi. It’s clear we’re not their only fans. Perhaps it’s the extremely fresh fish or the huge menu or the mostly great service (minus that one bonehead server that I think no longer works there) or the great prices or perhaps it’s all about their popular happy hour. From 9 pm to close daily, a special happy hour menu gets you cheap appys and selected maki rolls at 2 for $9.95 or three for $13.95. They’re pretty much giving the stuff away though I know all you readers in other parts of Canada and the US most likely enjoy those awesome prices on the regular. Damn you all.
Being situated smack dab in university territory on Quinpool Rd, I’d wager the students helped to bring home this victory. With a small dining room where you’re seated very close to your neighbours, you’ll no doubt end up sitting next to some of these very students, a given if you go during happy hour. And sometimes you’ll just find yourself seated beside some of the dumbest students you’ve ever encountered. The kind where you need to bite your tongue in fear of completely calling them out on their ridiculous comments. Like “how do sushi connoisseurs eat this?” By this, I obviously mean one of the most ridiculous rolls I’ve ever laid eyes on, a giant maki roll concoction piled high with crab and literally smothered in mayo. It looked disgusting. I’m pretty sure any sushi connoisseur out there isn’t eating that shit. Like ever. At least it made for a great story.
Whether you’re looking for fusion rolls or a bowl of noodles or even straight up sashimi, Wasabi House has you covered. I highly recommend the chirashi, a whole plate of sashimi with rice that even comes with soup and salad. It’s way cheaper than it’s counter part at other sushi joints and incredibly filling. Paired with two happy hour maki rolls, it fills both Brent and I for crazy cheap. Add to that a 10% discount when paying with cash and it become pretty clear why it’s the best in the city.
The chefs are even known to send over an extra roll to each table. It’s just one more reason to love Wasabi House. Not that I needed one. Taking care of their customers and offering the best sushi around is just how they roll at Wasabi House. See what I did there? God damn I’m clever.
