Oregon Sushi Restaurant Review

Momiji Sushi Bar Restaurant
2916 Commercial St SE
Salem, OR 97302
503-763-0320 or 503-763-0325

Saturday, June 12, 2004
UPDATED: November 13, 2004

My history with this restaurant is almost jinxed, in a funny sort of way. I stumbled upon Momiji by accident on my way back from shopping. I just saw the word "Sushi" on a building where it'd never been before, so I pulled in and took a look. At the time, it was still under construction, and they told me they'd be open the following week. When I came back on opening night, they were still waiting for furniture, so they'd be delayed a couple days. The next time I visited, it was a Sunday night, and I discovered they were no longer open on Sundays.

Fortunately, the fourth time proved to be a charm. The sushi chef immediately recognized me from my earlier, less-successful visits. :) I was promptly attended to and seated at the sushi bar. I started with green tea and, to get a feel for the place, ordered both the Sashimi Combo ($14.95) and the Jo-sushi combo ($16.95). According to the menu, both dinners are served with salad (sunomono), miso soup and rice; I wanted to see if they would try to save money by serving only one of each, since I was dining alone. To their credit, I received two bowls of miso soup and an extra-large sunomono. They forgot the rice (unless they changed the menu since then), but I didn't even miss it until I got home and double-checked the take-out menu while I was writing this review. Oh well; I would probably have needed a to-go container for it anyway. :)

The sashimi combo included all the usual suspects: maguro, sake, ebi, hokkigai (surf clam), tako, and a few different kinds of white fish (I still can't differentiate them all by name). All were delicious. Presentation was attractive, with thin slices of lemon separating the octopus; the tuna and salmon rested on a deftly-cut cucumber fan supported by a large mound of shredded daikon.

The sushi combo included tekka-maki (tuna roll) and ten nigiri: maguro, sake, hamachi, saba, ebi, unagi, and a few others I forget right now, along with uni. As with the sashimi, all were good. (I think the uni was a bonus, though, since the chef knew about my sushi review site. :)

I ended the meal with mochi mango ice cream ($2.50), which was also good. I like the cute little bamboo micro-fork that came with it, which is much more convenient than chopsticks for eating ice cream.

Service was prompt and friendly; my teacup was kept full throughout the meal. When I eat sushi, I tend to speak as much Japanese as I know, and I must commend the girl behind the cash register; for a Westerner, she spoke very good Japanese, and recognized the terms "genmai" (a special type of tea containing toasted brown rice) and "o-aiso" ("check, please").

The atmosphere was pleasant, with quiet music and tasteful decorations. Numerous paper parasols hang from the dining room ceiling. Prices and portion sizes are reasonable; overall, I give it an A, despite the missing rice. I'm looking forward to my next visit; I plan to try the tempura and the chirashi.

P.S.: Momiji is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of SE Commercial St and SE Fairview Ave (aka Alice Ave), between Jamba Juice and Lefty's Pizzaria South. Turning onto Fairview from Commercial is prohibited (why? it looks safe to me), so the only way for north- and south-bound diners to get here is to pull into the south end of the parking lot, in front of AutoZone. This is easiest for north-bound traffic, since south-bound drivers must wait in the center turn lane until there's a gap in the opposing traffic. If you miss this turn-off, good luck fighting your way back, especially during rush hour.

UPDATE: August 7, 2004

Came here with a friend, and to our delight and surprise, they were having a sushi buffet. The menu was slightly limited (no uni or ikura, for example), but most everything else was all-you-can-eat. And unlike Todai, each order was made fresh as it was ordered: no sitting around under heat lamps. Sweet. :)

After the requisite sushi, I decided to start down the menu alphabetically. :) One thing I remember trying was the agedashi tofu, a large block of firm tofu fried and covered with (I believe) shaved bonito flakes. I'd never had it before, so I didn't really know what to expect. It's okay, but I'm not sure I'm a tofu person.

We also had at least two orders each of their Green Mussel Dynamite, which are served piping hot and are excellent. I never did make it to "Z," however: the rest of the alphabet will have to wait for another visit.

UPDATE: November 13, 2004

No buffet this time: it was apparently kind of an experiment, and was discontinued, though they may start up again. As stated earlier, I did try the tempura and chirashi, and was pleased with both. I'm pretty sure we had more Green Mussel Dynamite, too. Sorry for the brief review; I'm typing this in February 2006.