Asian

Yokoso! According to my good friend Google, Yokoso means, “Welcome,” in Japanese. Although it’s a “Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar,” – the whole idea for the night was sushi… raw… recently wriggling…

Upon entering, Yokoso! has a pretty nice and open atmosphere. You’re greeted by a roomy waiting area where you can see the entire establishment. A lone hostess stand is there to request your table (even if you’re just going to the sushi bar, you have to wait to be seated). Just beyond the waiting area is the focus of the establishment, the sushi bar. If you continue your gaze farther still, you’ll quickly identify several hibachi grilling areas – maybe some flames, too. To your right is a bar area set off by a slightly dimmer area with bar tables and chairs. Oh yeah, and the bar itself.

Alright, let’s get to our table already! A quick jaunt into the sushi bar area and you’re quickly and efficiently seated in a comfortable booth with a pretty good view of the restaurant. It still provides some privacy from the other patrons, however. Everything from the seats to the table and soy sauce containers, the floor, the walls next to your seat, everything was clean and didn’t have any noticeable blemishes. My dining companion noticed that some of the drywall joints and screws were still visible but I couldn’t see it. She has a better eye for that sort of thing than I do.

There are two different menus to look through. The first is the traditional restaurant menu with descriptions of everything that is available. I’ve been at Yokoso! at least once or twice before so
I skipped straight to the sushi menu on the table. You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones
that have the name of the sushi/sashimi and a couple boxes for numbers. We had to look up a couple items but decided on the following:

• seaweed salad
• one rainbow roll - a California roll with tuna, shrimp, salmon, and whitefish
• one Hana maki – a tuna and salmon roll (nori on the outside)
• one Paradise roll – spicy yellow tail, crab, avocado, and cucumber
• Spicy scallop nigiri – scallops finely chopped and mixed with spicy sauce served on kale leaf on top of grated radish strings

Our waitress was pleasant and helpful and made sure our drinks were full at all times. She even told us the difference between sushi and sashimi – but I forget already.

The succulent sweet but a slightly spicy seaweed salad was a nice starter and got my mouth watering for more. Once our plate of sushi/sashimi arrived, I realized I didn’t mix my wasabi and soy sauce for dipping. Both of us started to it and got each mix just how each of us like it. I started with two pieces of the hana maki – one each of the tuna and salmon. Nice, clean, nothing overpowering, resistant but not chewy. I realized the rolls and sushi are a bit bigger at Yokoso! than most other places because I almost had to cut my sushi… I figured I’d just concentrate a little more, talk a little less, and be happy.

Next bite, paradise roll. The best way to describe it was just that – paradise. Superb blend of
flavors. Note – I decided not to dip this one since it was so good. The spice on the yellow tail
perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the crab, creaminess of the avocado and coolness of the cucumber, heaven. Now I’m going for the rainbow roll starting with a piece with tuna on it – my personal favorite raw fish. Last but not least, the spicy scallop nigiri was simply elegant. A little spice, a little sweet, what a beautiful treat! I almost forgot that we ordered a little sushi rice on the side to eat with the scallops. Careful kids, sushi rice is like superglue, don’t get it on your hands.

So, you pick a piece here and snag a piece there and before you know it, your plate of sushi is gone. Normally, I feel like I still have some room after a sushi run. Today, I was utterly full. I had a couple bites of really fresh pickled ginger and voila! Done. We had the waitress bring the check and, another pleasant surprise; we had a salad, two rolls, some maki and some nigiri and we ended the night under $40.00.

I’m no Siskel and my dining companion is no Ebert, but when it comes to sushi in Pittsburgh, Yokoso! gets our two thumbs up any day of the week.

Would I go back? Yes, I already have.

Yokoso! Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar
The Water Front
153 East Bridge Street
Homestead , PA 15120
412-461-8800
http://www.yokososteakhouse.com

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