Wasabi Fusion in the Fairmont/White Hall area is a casual Asian restaurant that blends Japanese, Thai, and Chinese-style dishes under one roof. It’s located in the Middletown Commons development and is known locally as a solid, affordable spot. I ordered the Holiday Roll - Shrimp Tempura, Cream Cheese, Cucumber. Toping Shrimp, Spicy mayo, Sriracha and Scallion. The Holiday Roll is definitely on the heavier side, but in a good way if that’s what you’re after. The shrimp tempura adds a nice crunch, and the cream cheese makes it really rich, while the cucumber gives it a little freshness. The spicy mayo and sriracha bring some heat, but overall it leans creamy and filling more than balanced. Grade: B

Listen, not every meal can be a glamorous night out. Sometimes, you want to eat well but not leave the house. This is precisely why delivery exists in my mind. And on this occasion, it was Yama Sushi House in Chandler, Arizona.



I went with these two:

Caterpillar Roll - crab mix, avocado and cucumber wrapped inside, topped with avocado and eel sauce

Godzilla Roll - crab mix deep-fried with yum sauce and eel sauce

Both were decent, but nothing mindblowing. The crab mixture could be a bit more flavorful, the fried part could be crisper, but the avocado was fresh and layered in a lovely way.



Grade: B

Samurai Hibachi & Sushi in Ripley is a Japanese and Asian fusion restaurant that runs the gamut of offerings - from teriyaki and bento boxes to ramen and poke.



The space is one that has seen many restaurants come and go. But it's easy to find with plenty of parking. Inside, it is not unlike other similar restaurants in the area. Bar seating, high-tops and red/black hues dominate:



I ordered Cheese Wonton (5), Lava Drops, Chicken Teriyaki and Strawbery Thai Boba.



These lava drops were pretty tasty bites of deep-fried sushi with spicy mayo and eel sauce on top. A nice combo of salty/sweet.



The teriyaki left a bit to be desired. I think the sauce could be more viscous so it could adhere to the chicken. Plus, a few gristley pieces turned me off.



Wontons were decent (but could have used more filling), as was the strawberry boba. The ginger salad is always a no for me. What's your favorite item?



Grade: B

Sometimes, it's more about the experience at a restaurant as opposed to the actual food. Of course, ideally, both would be incredible. But when I selected Teharu, all I was excited about was trying conveyor belt sushi.



What does that mean? Well, there is a literal conveyor belt, running through the restaurant, where you can pluck plates of prepared food as you see them rolling by.



Each plate has a particular color, which indicates the price. If you think about it, it is more like a cafeteria style restaurant, as opposed to a made-to-order restaurant. Except, in this case, the variety of food comes to you.



To me, there's a level of excitement in seeing what options are passing by you next. And, you don't have to narrow down a menu to pick the one item that looks best. Instead, you can try a little bit of everything that the chef has prepared that day.



There was everything from nigiri and simple maki rolls to fried appetizers, and I tried a little of everything.



I enjoyed the philly roll - salmon and cream cheese - and a spicy crab and shrimp roll, which was topped with sriracha.



I also had inari here for the first time, which is sushi rice, which is seasoned with vinegar, inside a deep fry tofu pocket. I didn't get a ton of flavor from this other than a slight little vinegar flavor from the rice.



Takoyaki is a fried octopus ball, which I definitely enjoy. I wish this had some sauces or other accoutrements to spice it up, but I love octopus.



At the end of the meal, your total is calculated by the empty plates that you have at your station. Yellow plates are one price, blue plates, or another, green, yet another, etc. It is impressive yet embarrassing to see the stack that I was able to put away.



These experiences are one benefit to visiting a larger city. And, it was cool to experience. I don't know that the sushi itself was any better than other places I've enjoyed. I'm considering there's potential for the role to make its rounds on the conveyor belt several times, it's likely to not be quite as fresh as some other places.



Overall, a good time with a good friend and some good food. I can't really ask for more.



Grade: A

Rakku is a pan-Asian restaurant that offere everything from sushi and hibachi to Orange Chicken and ramen - the latter of which is relatively uncommon to find in West Virginia.



I wasn't in the mood for ramen on this particular day so I went for a few other things. Starting with, of course, crab rangoons. Imitation crab, cream cheese all wrapped up and fried. These are such a guilty pleasure; I will get these everywhere. I did like the shape of these because there's that big pocket of cheese and I can discard the too-crunchy ends.



I also ordered two rolls: The West Virginia Roll and a shrimp tempura roll. The former is "Deep fried, crabmeat, avocado, cream cheese, Chef's sauce." This is usually my go-to combo (again, guilty pleasure) but the fried portion has been taking over my palate and the overwhelming flavor is oil.



The shrimp tempura roll is a more reliable go-to and doesn't make everything taste oily. A bit crunchy, a bit creamy. That's the balance I enjoy.



Grade: B

I think Sushi Garden is a hidden gem in the area. 



The popular Capitol Market vendor also has a stand-alone location in Cross Lanes, where they serve their delicious sushi, as well as ramen, teriyaki and more. 



The restaurant itself is small, intimate. There is only room for a few tables. A large sushi menu adorns two dry-erase boards and includes inventive rolls with tasty combinations.



I went all out and ordered shoyu seafood ramen first. A huge contributing factor in this choice was the fish cake - that beautiful little pink swirled guy. I don't know why, but I just love them. It also had shrimp, bamboo shoots, green onion, seaweed and chashu - or Japanese braised pork belly. I didn't love the broth - a bit fishy (duh) - but I loved every single ingredient.



On the sushi side, I went for a roll with crab, cream cheese, tempura batter, masago, and scallions - just a few of my favorite things. Lots of different fresh flavors and textures - no simple, straightforward roll this visit.



What's your favorite order here?

Grade: A

Do you know one of my biggest cravings during quarantine? Sushi. It's fresh, something I can't really make at home on my own, and comforting. So when I was taking a long road trip and started to get a rumbling in my tummy, I looked up nearby sushi places I hadn't been to. And, that brought me to Fujiyama Japanese Steak House in Beckley.

Fujiyama is a common name for restaurants in West Virginia with hibachi, but I swear this one in Beckley is new to me. I looked at their menu online, called in an order for crab cheese wontons and a sushi roll, and pulled up where they met me with curbside service.



The crab cheese wontons did not come with their own sauce - rather packaged Duck sauce - so that was a little disappointing, but I did enjoy the wontons. They were crisp, but not too crisp, and had a good creamy mixture inside.



The sushi roll was a "Mountaineer Roll," which had Shrimp Tempura, Cream Cheese Topped with Avocado, Eel Sauce, Spicy Crab, Scallion and Tobiko. It's hard to go wrong with these ingredients. Creamy, crunchy, umami, sweet. The toppings were a bit haphazard and messy overall, but the flavors were there.


Grade: B

In my neverending quest to find the best sushi in Charleston, I found myself at Fuji's Sushi & Teriyaki with my friend Leah.



Located in South Charleston next to a gas station, Fuji's has just a handful of tables and a few seats at the bar.



The menu is fairly simple with some basic rolls, teriyaki and a few appetizers.



There's the paper menu, another menu with expanded rolls and then a chalkboard full of more specials.



But I wanted to do a nice combo so I got the chicken teriyaki, with a spicy tuna roll, and it came with salad.



Have you been? What'd you get?

My good friend Tom and I were in the mood for some sushi, so we checked out Sakura in Cross Lanes for something different.



Sakura has a little bit of everything - hibachi, sushi, udon, etc.



They have about 30 specialty rolls, but I decided to go with the namesake Sakura: tempura shrimp, spicy tuna, cream cheese, avocado deep fried and topped with crunchies, eel sauce, mayo and spicy mayo.







Crab rangoons are a must everywhere I go. These were creamy!



Gyoza, on Tom's request.



Sakura Roll is totally deep-fried.



West Virginia Roll - tempura shrimp, avocado, cream cheese, topped with tempura crab meat, spicy mayo and eel sauce.

What's your favorite item on the menu?