West Hartford, CT
Intro
OK, so being stuck in CT for the summer is NO piece of cake. I may just have a bad case of the East Coast allergy - because pretty much everything about my life in Boston and CT over the last 12 months - stinks, but I digress. Last weekend, Mr Z and I were in desperate search for a place to eat in jam-packed, manic-driving, dreary CT suburbia. Good luck finding a place open for lunch on a Saturday off of 84 circa Danbury. We finally found a dingy Greek place, had a salad and rushed off to finish some assignments. Come evening, I was dyiiing – I could have eaten a whole roasted cow. This is when we got a very unexpected pleasant surprise:
Ichiro Hibachi & Sushi
West Hartfort, CT
Overall: 4.0/5
The Good
The food - Was delectable and very reasonably priced. We got a prix fixe menu and an Ocean Roll to share between Mr Z and I and even though we had hardly eaten all day, we got super full and happy with our sushi meal. The fish was fresh and tasty, the miso soup delicious, and the service polite and quick (that’s the way I like them!). We got the Sashimi deluxe with our prix fixe and that came with a garnish of white radish sitting atop a flashing kiddie silicone ring. Ok, it’s silly but it got me super giddy to have my meal flashing (no, I am not 6 years old) AND I got to put the ring on and keep it. Yes, sometime simple things make me happy Mr Z liked that the check came with packets of fruity bubble gum as opposed to the usual, cheap, boring striped candy. Sounds like we’re a little hung-up on details? We’re really not, but we really noticed the nice touches this go-around.
The atmosphere: Nice-casual – it is not upscale, but neither is it pretentious. It seems clean and casual with nice warm lighting and bamboo/asian decorations yet not casual to the point of being off-putting for dinner.
The Bad
The cocktails. Got a Pama Rita – this was supposed to be a martini yet it came as a very sugary, red syrupy drink with hardly any alcohol in it. Bleah! Pantera likes herself a well made drink with a good punch and just enough mixer to make it pop – not drawn/or get a sugar coma from it.
The Ugly
Well, I guess it goes with the area…did I mention I am not exactly crazy about CT?? But about half the clientele seemed to be late teens/early twenties out cruising at the mall or something – nothing wrong with that per se but mix that with some drinks and they turn a nice dinner place into a white trash display. The hibachi area definitely seemed more rowdy than the dining area (for sushi). I won’t elaborate much further on this point, as I wouldn’t want to come off as TOO mean on my first review but suffice to say the more secluded from the main dining area, the better (we were rather lucky).
