They say you can’t judge a restaurant from only going there for Restaurant Week. But I think they mean (whoever they are) that if you have a bad meal, it’s probably due to the fact that it’s Restaurant Week. You often don’t get very many options to choose from, meals are sometimes made ahead of time, and the cheaper options are usually the ones available. But what if you have a really amazing meal during Restaurant Week? Does that mean if you go on a non-RW afternoon or evening, your meal will be really, really good?
Sara and I decided to go to Oishii in the South End for lunch during Restaurant week because we have always wanted to try it, but generally can’t afford the steep prices. Since they only offered lunch for RW, we decided to check it out (thank you to our “alternative work schedules,” which allow us such pleasures as lunching together).
We started with a perfectly crisp sweet potato tempura and pork gyoza. If you know anything about me, it’s that I am a lover of all things sweet potatoes (and any orange vegetable, really) and so I was a bit worried that the tempura would make it overly oily and mask the deliciousness of the sweet potato. But I was wrong and the tempura was pretty much perfect. The pork gyoza was also close to perfect. Not too soft and stuffed full of pork. This was the most perfect appetizer.
On to the entree, which might have been just what I would have ordered anyway, if I had been able to choose from the entire menu. The spicy tuna was absolutely perfect. You can see from the picture how beautifully colored the tuna is and just how much of it is in each piece of maki. They certainly didn’t skimp at Oishii. Also included in the entree was the Rt. 66 maki, which consisted of salmon tempura, kani, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, and spicy mayo. OK, so I probably wouldn’t have ordered this if given the choice, because I usually don’t like cream cheese in my sushi, but wow, this was good. Melt in your mouth good. And the portions were generous. Hard to fit in your mouth generous. Lastly, we got a piece of salmon sashimi that was so tender and refreshing topped with lime.
Now, I generally don’t get too excited about Japanese restaurant desserts. The Restaurant Week options at Oishii were either fresh fruit or red bean ice cream. Since the fresh fruit was simply watermelon, I decided to try out the ice cream. Red bean can have a strong flavor and doesn’t always seem very appealing for a dessert, so I wasn’t too sure how I would like this. But it was perfectly refreshing, especially with the addition of the mint and cherry. You may not think red beans make good ice cream, but I would totally order this again.
I left Oishii feeling much more full than I generally do after lunch. But so incredibly satisfied. So satisfied that Sara and I walked into Appleton Bakery, considered getting a delicious-looking muffin, and then walked out because we were too full. And that is SO not like us. I would love to go back to Oishii and check out some other items on their menu. I hear they have great lunch specials during the week anyway, so maybe I will have to go back. If you’re a lover of good sushi, you definitely need to check out Oishii!
Oishii Boston
1166 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 482-8868
Or you can check out their Chestnut Hill location, which I hear is even better!
Oishii
612 Hammond St.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617)277-7888
Stay tuned because at the end of this week, we will be checking out the RW lunch at Tremont 647. And it looks absolutely amazing!
[Sues]
Amazing does not even begin to describe this place. That’s where my boyfriend took me for dinner on my] 21st b day. And we absolutly should have a bloggers brunch. We’re apparently always at the same places anyways. Do you know other boston bloggers?
omggggg it was so amazing! must go back soon. but before that- SUISHAYA!!!!
I think I could possibly eat the equivalent of my body weight in sushi!