i Sushi & Teriyaki

Where: 1225 Center Dr., DuPont, 253.964.8266
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday
Cuisine: Japanese Fusion: sashimi, sushi, sushi rolls, yakisoba, teriyaki.
Scene: Very casual family friendly restaurant
Drinkies: Hot and cold teas, bottled and canned juices and sodas
Damage: $3.95-$19.95

ANNOUNCER:  With only one other Asian restaurant in DuPont’s McNeil Station, i Sushi & Teriyaki is the prettiest girl in the room. This Japanese Fusion restaurant’s close proximity to the military installations, easy freeway access and inexpensive pricing ensure a steady flow of hungry mouths. High ceilings and tons of windows ensure the volume level to be high as well. In short, it’s packed, loud and tasty.

JAKE: Seated at the table across from the kitchen door, I felt like we were in the aisle — not comfy, not one bit. A passel of toddlers and their harried mothers sat across from us in what was obviously a designated waiting area for take-out customers and created an impromptu sideshow attraction with crayons, straws and animal noises. If we’d wanted to be at the circus it would have been perfect. Instead it was loud, loud, loud and detracted from any possible ambiance.

JASON: Wow, you’re certainly no Mother Goose. You sound like Dad when we were teenagers. We should have waited longer and sat in the back by the restroom.

JAKE: I take my kids to McDonald’s as a treat, and I go out to eat with you to get away from my kids, relax and hopefully — please! — enjoy some good food. To me, a bento box is like a happy meal — a bunch of stuff at a good price with enough to share. In this one, panko battered broccoli, onion, sweet potato, and prawn rested next to a greasy eggroll and standard six-piece California roll. I’ve always liked creamy gingery dressing on crisp lettuce. Beef short ribs were chewy and short on meat. Mostly I just sucked out the meaty teriyaki flavor and put the remains in a napkin.

JASON: That was pretty beef-rib-vampire of you, Jake. It was like watching a supermodel eat. Except, they don’t actually eat. Most countries have a dough stuffed item; Japan’s is gyoza. Lightly fried, pinched pouches of mixed pork and veggies made this eight-piece appetizer a hit for $3.95, and the reddish hued sauce tasted of vinegar, garlic, ginger and rice wine — a delicious combo.

JAKE: Speaking of combos, the salmon teriyaki and spicy chicken plate was the best thing we ate. Chicken wasn’t that spicy though it was very tender.  The 4- or 5-ounce salmon fillet also was very tender and flaked easily. White rice was nicely sticky, all the better to glob together and eat with chopsticks. And another creamy ginger salad.

JASON: One of my favs — the spider roll — had a plentiful amount of lightly breaded, crispy soft shell crab. You totally weirded out when I ate the piece with the spiny legs sticking out.

JAKE: Creeped. Me. Out. I played it safe and ordered my deep-fried crab à la Seahawks Roll sans spiny legs. Upon dissection, the inside of the roll — the avocado and crab part — had been panko’d and fried. A nori wrap followed by sushi rice layer completed it. Drizzles of tangy sweet, amber-colored sauce and a bed of grated white daikon radish and carrot made it look festive.

JASON: We could have ordered green tea, but I’m glad we chose strawberry ice cream filled mochi balls for dessert. The two little mochies were quartered and arranged with whip cream swirls to look like exotic flowers. Mochi itself is interesting; it’s a gummy, sweet casing made from rice for whatever you put inside.

JAKE: There wasn’t anything spectacular about the food or i Sushi itself. I think that’s OK though. i Sushi knows its ranking in the food world. There’s no pretending to offer anything other than what it does best — casual, quick and inexpensive dining.