Otani: Round Two

So, Eugene and I returned to Otani Sushi. The first time we went, we didn't have sushi, because I thought that seeing as how the sushi won't be as good as Joss, what's the point? Eugene persuaded me to go back because Otani is primarily a sushi restaurant and it wouldn't be fair to write it off without trying the sushi. The brief synopsis? Would I go back? Maybe if Joss weren't in the picture. The sushi is fresh enough and creative, but a bit on the non-traditional side with a tad too much going on at times. The most important thing is that the sushi was fresh, though. One cool thing is that our server remembered us from the last time we were in even though it was a really long time ago. We started out with a seaweed salad and fried calamari. The seaweed salad was good, but a bit on the tiny side, especially since it came in a really large bowl. There were good things and bad things about the calamari. On the up side, it was surprisingly tender and non-rubbery. On the downside, it was really bland. Luckily, it came with a spicy sauce that gave it some flavor. Portions were really small. First, a note on the sushi menu. I love tuna, but it's good to have variety. I wanted to check out the spicy tuna, but order another non-tuna non-shellfish roll. Most of the special rolls contain tuna. It was hard to find something without it. We ended up ordering yellowtail, spicy tuna, and a special twister roll. The yellowtail was fine; fresh enough. The spicy tuna was a bit weird. Instead of tuna seasoned with spicy oil, it was tuna that had been ground up and mixed with a spicy mayonnaise or something similar. I didn't care for it. It's never good to get ground up mushy stuff when you're not expecting it. The twister roll was good. It had lobster tempura and a bunch of other stuff, including yes, tuna. A lot going on! It was tasty, but I just got the feeling like less would have been more. On a parting note, the waitstaff are really friendly and the presentation of food is artful. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere. Don't be deterred by the darkened, unwelcoming windows, which make the restaurant look closed or sketchy. It's not!