When Sia and I first moved to Clearwater we had a hell of a time finding a sushi restaurant.  From Sia’s tireless research using Google reviews she eventually found a couple acceptable places.  Tom Yum was one of those joints.  Our first experiences with Tom Yum were via take out.

The prices are average for a sushi place.  We both liked the ‘cute’ way they store their silverware/chopsticks in a rolled up napkin with custom embroidery. The restaurant had a number of  Buddhist accoutrements, and a very warm interior.  As you can see on their sign they have a fat cat waving at you, and to stick with that theme they did have a number of ‘golden paw waving cats’ that many eastern restaurants favor.  I’ve considered purchasing some of those cracked out golden cats for my apartment so that I can have frighteningly-large-eyed, ever-waving cats greet any visitors to my humble abode.  You’ve gotta make a good first impression, right? Really though, are these statuettes on LSD?

To start we ordered Tuna nachos. The concept was unique to me and the presentation was dead-on but the implementation was slightly off.  First, when eating nachos I’ve come to expect something hot or warm in temperature.  Due to the Tuna being uncooked the nachos were fairly cold, which is foreseeable.  Next, the sauce that the tuna was tossed in was almost cloyingly sweet. Again, this was slightly unexpected as I’ve grown accustomed to cumin and hot peppers getting involved with nachos.  The nachos were topped with a spicy mayo that had a kick and really pulled the dish back into the “nacho” realm.  In the end, the dish was very good but I felt that the term ‘nachos’ brought me to expect something different from what I received.  Despite all my nit-picking and bitching, I would order this dish again.

For our second course we ordered a spicy tuna roll, and a dragon roll.  From what I can recall, and I most certainly could be wrong about this, every sushi joint I’ve been to serves these same two rolls.  The spicy tuna roll is basically tuna, nori (seaweed wrap), and some hot mayo (and sometimes cucumber) and the dragon roll varies from restaurant to restaurant.  This particular variation included salmon, tuna, and white fish with an imitation crab center. Both rolls were crafted fairly well and both were delectable.  In retrospect, after describing the ‘dragon roll’, I think it may have actually been the Rainbow Roll.  I could be mistaken either way as it has been nearly 10 months since I ate at Tom Yum.

For round three I ordered “Mother In-law Beef ” which was described as ‘real Thai!’  The dish was essentially chopped beef stir fried with basil, green beens, and chilies.  Just as the menu forewarned, this dish was hot.  The chilies didn’t have a kick-you-in-the-teeth-wasabi effect, but rather a slow heat that gradually built up in your mouth and left you gasping for water.  The heat was great and I would gladly order this again if I was in the mood for something hot.

I would give Tom Yum a higher rating, but the service we received was terrible.  Twice, I had to remind the waitress to get my drink (after waiting 15 minutes when it became apparent that my drink was not coming), and not to be a dick but she bombed as a waitress.  Likewise, she took our drink order, never showed up with the drinks and after being reminded and showing up with the drinks disappeared for 20 minutes before taking our order.  I know people have off days, or perhaps are learning the ropes but it wasn’t busy in the restaurant, and the carry out orders didn’t seem to be coming in at an overwhelming volume. One of the other waitresses paid more mind to our dining experience by asking how we were doing or if we needed anything else when it became clear out waitress was a no-show.  By the good grace of previous experiences and the quality of the food Tom Yum isn’t pulling a one.

Overall: Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

-Matt in Clearwater

RJ checking in from mildly warm North Carolina.  Matt & Dan have graciously allowed me to not only help with the overall design of the site, but chip in here and there with some of the fine dining in the mid-Atlantic area.  I’ll have to apologize up-front for the lack of pictures in this review, as I was on a blind date, and didn’t quite think it’d be appropriate to whip out my phone and start snapping pics.

Just so you’re aware, I’ve spent the last 13 years in the food-service industry, most of that in catering, and the last 5 years have been spent in a very high-end operation.  It takes quite a bit to impress me.

OMBU is a new addition to the Winston-Salem area.  It’s located off the western end of Hanes Mall Boulevard (an extremely overdeveloped tract of land).  Just getting to the place isn’t difficult, but certainly isn’t a walk in the park either.  The restaurant sits in one of those newer office/shopping complex things that seem to be the rage here in NC.  In fact, OMBU is the only tenant of the building.  Near as I can tell, it’s been open since the Fall of 2009.

Atmosphere

As soon as you walk in, you’re immediately hit with the tones.  Hardwood floors, a fair amount of glass, and a lot of “earth tones”.  There’s also a decent amount of metal sculpture and accent on the walls.  The restaurant itself was dimly lit, which certainly lends to a more intimate atmosphere.  The “waiting” room is not richly appointed, however.  A few small stools (and I had to really sink down to sit) were really about the only thing in there.  As you walk back to the dining area, there is a glass display wall of wine which partitions off the cocktail area.  A nice touch, as it doesn’t allow the sound to filter out from the bar area.  However, I have to raise a complaint to the overall traffic flow to the back of the restaurant – it wasn’t very conducive at all.  It might have been because of the large party that was seated there (I believe it was 16).

Staff

The staff impressed me.  Immediately, the hostesses greeted me, and offered me the opportunity to wait for the rest of my party at the bar.  They didn’t hover when I declined.  They spoke clearly and with smiles on their faces.

Once we were seated, Kip came over and introduced himself.  He didn’t hover either.  In my opinion, he was the definition of a great server.  Engaging and witty, as well as knowledgeable about the dishes on the menu.  When it came to wine selection, he certainly had a strong working knowledge.  We opted with a Sienna from Sonoma.

Food/Menu

As the name suggests, OMBU trends towards the grilled fare.  Most of it is either beef or seafood.  One pork dish and one chicken dish that I recall from the menu.  There weren’t any “off menu” specials that night, so we were spared from having to grill Kip.  I opted for the sliced filet, Ken & his wife opted for the Porterhouse for 2, and Laura opted for Shrimp Tagliate.

Both of our steaks were cooked just a bit short of how we ordered them, but no harm done.  The shrimp that arrived in the other dish were ginormous, with a fair portion of them as well.  This place certainly didn’t skimp on the meats.

It was the sides that seemed to be lacking.  We opted to go without an appetizer or salad.  Looking around, others ordered salads, and they were served in martini glasses.  A fairly recent trend that the caterer I work for has been doing for years.  My filet was supposed to come with a portabella mushroom (which I loathe), so I substituted the risotto and a side of asparagus.  The “meals for 2″ is only the main dish, so you must order your sides.  They ordered gruyerre mashed potatoes and asparagus as well.  There hardly seemed more than a few stalks for the three of us.

Overall, the main course was enjoyable.  The filet was lightly seasoned with what seemed to be a hickory-flavored rub.

We split a chocolate torte for dessert.  It was surprisingly light for a torte.  Usually, I expect something with more “meat” – more like a brownie.  Instead, it was a bit fluffy.  It was still rich, though.  Which is exactly what I expect for a torte.

Price

This place isn’t cheap.  Most entrees are in the low 20′s, with a few creeping towards $40.  But given the level of service, the atmosphere, and the quality of the food, it’s certainly worth it.  Since I didn’t foot the bill (those who arranged this adventure did), I can’t complain.

Final Verdict

While it’s out of the way for me to hit this place (it’s a good 45-50 minute drive from my house), it’s definitely a good place.  Just a bit out of my regular price range, but for a special occasion, it’s worth the money.

Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Price Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Atmosphere Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Shiki is located in an unassuming location; tucked away in a strip mall. To Shiki’s right is a Dollar Tree, and to the left is… well I can’t remember but there is an Ace Hardware and a Publix on the same lot. In essence, there is a lot of generic strip mall bullshit. Before walking into the restaurant for the first time I had a crippling desire to spray-paint ‘da’ preceeding Shiki, it just felt so right. I put my desctructive tendencies on hold to see what this joint offered.

When I walked into Shiki, the first thing I noticed was the complete lack of goofy shit on the walls.  The place was austere and clean.  There were a minimum of wall hangings and statuettes.  You weren’t crushed under the swinging paws of 30 smiling cat statues or the gleeful gaze of 50 gilded buddhas peering over your shoulder at your food.

The sushi is made by two chefs who spit Nihongo (Japenese) back and forth in a quickfire.  The lead chef is an older guy who has a glint in his eye that says, “I can cut the shit outta some fish.”  Either that or a look of, “Sweet baby Ray my hands reek like a fish market! Yucky, Yucky, Yucky!”

After we sat down, menus were brought to us along with hot towels to wipe our hands (traditional practice prior to eating sushi/sashimi).  Along with the towels was a peculiar concoction that is essentially cold and sweet ramens.  The noodles were slightly al dente and delicious.

My old lady ordered edamame (baby soy bean sprouts).  They were warm and lightly covered in salt, absolutely wonderful.  Eating this edamame was like getting a fresh order of tender, hot, salty nuts at the ballpark.  I could just order a big bowl of edamame from Shiki and eat that for my meal (maybe with a cold beer on the side and a game on the tv).

With our entrees we received miso soup and a salad dressed with ginger dressing.

I find something decidedly wonderful about “Asian salad dressing” (ginger dressing).  It’s sweet, tangy, and always leaves me wanting more.  The bright ginger flavor brings a unique element to the standard salad from a restaurant.  The ginger flavor is complimented well by the miso.

Sia ordered the Chirashi Sushi Box.  It came loaded with Sushi rice as well as a slew of fish, pickled veggies, and a nori ‘salad’.  I can’t speak to how the dish tasted, but it looked delectable:

I ordered the Kaisendon.  This isn’t a dish that a person new to Sushi should try unless they absolutely fell in love after their first visit/experience.  Essentially it’s a bowl of sushi rice, raw fish, fresh vegetables (nori, ginger), pickled vegetables, and topped with sesame seeds.  The textures available were amazing; in the same bite you could have fresh salmon and then a bit of cabbage that’s been treated to cumin.  When you get the dish, you also receive a spicy sauce that you can add to to really marry all the flavors together. The sauce had sesame seed oil, wasabi, and chili powder.  It really carried some kick that accentuated the existing flavors in the dish.

Shiki has been my best restaurant experience thus far in Tampa.  They offer a wide variety of sushi rolls that start at $3.50 and can bump above $10.

Here are their sushi specials (there is another list of more generic sushi choices):

In the end, I was extremely pleased with the experience I had at Shiki on two occasions.  The sheer excellence of what I received made me forever curb my wanton desire to spray paint the joint, but in my heart this place will always be known as “Da-Shiki Sushi, home of Deliciousness.”

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (An easy decision to rate this a 5 star experience)

-Matt