Fujiyama

Fujiyama
49 Baldwin St.

Ah, spring. Spring is in the air. Have I mentioned that I work for a pretty cool employer? Also, my boss is pretty cool, for a guy who was once from Detroit. On Wednesday I noted that the weather was supposed to be gorgeous on Thursday. So I duly called my Boss and asked if I could take said gorgeous day off. Vacation day granted. These days, the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon for me is to strap on the helmet and hop on my bike. Ride around for an hour or so and then stop for a nice sushi lunch. There is an awesome bike path down Beverly st, and it’s the one I use to get from uptown to downtown. It cuts right through Baldwin village, and if there is a more picturesque hideaway in the downtown, I have yet to find it.

I knew there were at least 3 sushi type places in that block, one of which we visited last summer. So I basically rode down blind with my camera and thought “We’ll find what we find.” What I found was a little Japanese restaurant that serves far more than just sushi. But sushi is ideal exercise food, straight up carbs and protein. They had a nice lunch special type handroll set for $9.25 that included Salmon, Spicy Tuna, and California. First up came the soup and salad and a nice big glass of water at my request. I’m still shaking off the winter cobwebs and my wind needs all the help it can get. So for once I actually ate my Miso, or “Salt Soup” as I usually refer to it. Water and salt successfully replenished deliciously!

At this point I should note that I was dining under an utterly fake and somewhat tacky diorama of Mount Fuji. It was so silly it was charming. A picture would never do it justice.

Next came the actual hand rolls. First things to look for were good. They were well wrapped. I even played connoisseur and had a pinch of the rice to check for excessive vinegar. Nope, it was perfect! The California roll was about what you’d expect, the usual crab stick, cucumber, tobiko, and cucumber. The Salmon was only very slightly disappointing as there was no avocado. The spicy tuna, however, was quite unlike any spicy tuna I’d ever had before. I’m not sure what the mayo mixture was that gave it the kick, but the tuna almost tasted (gasp) cooked. I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it.  Don’t get me wrong, it was good. No thumbs down. But it was very unexpected. This may be something I have to have again and sit at the bar and quiz the chef.

Overall it was a pleasant little lunch with good service that came to a whopping $15 after tip. Generous portions and yummy food makes for a happy sushi man!