The desert people of the Inland Empire have been smacking their parched lips together for good Japanese restaurants for a long time. Ten years ago it would have been impossible to review more than a couple of sushi joints in the "greater" (ha ha) Inland Empire, but there seems to be a surge of new Japanese eateries worth a visit in the I.E. Most seem to center around the Redlands area, but we'll try to reach out into the nether regions as well.
We'll take a look at each restaurant for overall food quality, price, and the ever important 'ambiance' that a good Japanese restaurant should emit.
*Please feel free to email us favorites in your area.
1. Ocean Blue, Orange Street, Redlands.
So the first good thing is that the old Redlands train station buildings are still being used for something worthwhile.
The bad thing is that the Krikorians are still reaping high rents for their delapitated buildings. (The bathroom ceilings were leaking during a rainstorm when we visited. BAD landlords!) When "that family" drove out Jazz and Java next door, Ocean Blue was just cutting their teeth and we're glad to see they have stuck it out, (despite the evil landlords) because they have real tasty Japanese food.
My brother told me to get the Baked Lobster Roll ($12.95) and it did the trick - filling, fresh, and rich. I liked the lobster roll with a house salad and the extras they give you when you walk in (miso soup and a teaser of endamame) as a complete
meal, so filling the roll was. My nephew Eric got the BBQ Shrimp Dinner ($12.95 including a bento box of tempura goods). The steaming shrimp plate comes with lots of vegetables, plenty of fresh shrimp, and since it was gone in about 5 minutes (he's a
growing boy, my nephew) I know it was good. The one shrimp I did manage to wrangle off the 12 year old tasted as good
as it should; garlic basted, and grilled just right.
Ocean Blue is the Go To when you want consistency. The best part, I think, is the service and the little extras. Smooth
green tea without asking, several server drive-bys, mochi ice cream at the end of each evening meal, and an overall
atmosphere of polish, (read: more like a traditional restaurant in Japan).
On a friday night they were consistently busy; table empties, table fills. Wax on, wax off. A sure sign of success!
They were also extra nice to my nephew, and I liked that also. Arigato!
www.oceanbluesushi.com
2. Fuji Restaurant, 41025 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake. 909-866-8108
Sitting in Fuji Restaurant on Big Bear Boulevard, eating sashimi and fresh salmon at 6,000 feet elevation with snow on the
ground outside, I have that 'only in California' feeling. Far from the ocean, waters, or airports necessary to provide the kind
of fish found on Fuji's menu, I'm left wondering where it all came from.
Visiting on a friday night, the locals and visitors were crowding (for Big Bear) Fuji and that's always a good sign. My
cousin Keith was visiting from Portland, Oregon, a place famous for fresh salmon and good Japanese restaurants, so we
thought we'd give Fuji a try.
It was my second visit, (the first time I had Udon noodles, ($7.25 and tasty!) so I thought it best to try the dinner menu.
I ordered tempura again because I just can't get enough and its always a good judge of how greasy a restaurant can get.
Trying to make tempura at home is a battle of the frying pan, often coming out dripping and soggy. So any decent
Japanese restaurnt should have good tempura, correct?
The Fuji Combinations came with miso soup, rice, a japanese salad, and tea, ($13.50) I got choice D. with sashimi and a
California Roll, a true test if there ever was one. Tuna Sashimi; good, fresh. The octopus, or whatever it was makes my
throat itch so I don't usually eat it anyway. The Roll? decent, nothing spectacular.
My cousin seemed to like his tempura Udon bowl right fine, but maybe he was just being nice because he was visiting?
The Big Bear version is one of three Fuji restaurants, so I don't know if that's the reason for the 'flat' atmosphere. Nothing
special in the way of ambiance, it almost looks like a Chinese restaurant, not that there's anything wrong with
that...The folks who run the place are quiet and I'm not sure why that bugs me a little. But maybe they're quiet because
they have to deal with all of the weird, down the hill flatlanders who seem to pepper the place on a friday night like when
we visited. If you have to deal with a bunch of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Broady snowboarders over forty on a continual basis it can
probably get to you after a while.
Next time I think I'll go for Lunch.
3. Cabin Sushi in downtown Riverside - quite possibly the best in the Inland Empire.
4. Yamazato - the Classic on Hospitality Lane
