Akashi Asian Fusion & Sushi

Our first experience with this place was early in the pandemic when everyone was still adjusting.  I wanted to give it another try, so came in the other day for lunch.  The interior is beautiful and relaxing--two TVs with sports on but not really a distraction.  They have a very interesting display of traditional sake jars above the bar.

I ordered the Unagidon entree with iced tea, and some mochi ice cream for dessert.  I love Unagi (barbecued eel) and I absolutely got it.  The entree was presented very nicely in a bowl, with a layer of sushi rice on the bottom and the Unagi layered on top.  The entree was just slightly warm.  The overall effect was that I was eating flat sushi.  Very good, but if you are expecting something more like a chinese entree you should order that.

The mochi ice cream was interesting--I had not had mochi before (it's a rice flour kind of pastry wrap), so I wanted to try it.  It adds texture to the ice cream but not flavor.  I had the green tea ice cream, which is my favorite at an asian place.  If you like mochi this is an excellent version.

The server was very polite and had recommendations.  The bathroom was clean and ready.  The atmosphere is definitely worth dining in for.  One thing to note: The menu information on the website seems very out of date.  There are more recent menu pictures here on Yelp that are accurate.

My Yelp Reviews

Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ

 I reviewed this location back when it opened in 2019.  It closed early in the pandemic and is back now.  This time around I got a brisket plate with sweet potato tots and cornbread, and a sticky toffee cake for dessert.

The brisket is excellent, definitely worth coming for.  Sliced thin, and mine was from the point where all the good stuff is.  Great smoke flavor.  They have a variety of sauces--I chose a Mississippi sauce, a tradition I'm not familiar with.  It was a good choice, not as sweet as Memphis or KC and smokier.  I did have to use the plastic knife on it but it was plenty tender and would have worked very well on a sandwich.

Fried sweet potato products are one of those things I want to like, but just don't.  It's not the fault of the restaurant.  The tots were cooked quite well, with a crisp outside and soft center, but sweet potatoes just don't have the same texture as traditional ones.  I'll get something else next time.  The cornbread was warm and fresh, and a generous portion.  The texture was light and fluffy, maybe lighter than traditional cornbread but I liked it.  Not too much flavor, you'll want to ask for honey and then it will be very good.

The toffee cake was OK--a sweet sticky sauce topping as advertised, and the cake was steaming warm, but it ended up a bit soft and the sweetness was pretty overpowering,

The beer wall was up and running when I was there, but it was the middle of the day so I did not partake.  They have ditched the Freestyle machine for a traditional soda dispenser, which is a good choice.  Just one TV all the way in the back, so if you want to have a conversation you can do so.  The bathroom was nicely appointed and ready to go when I came.  It's a great choice for some quality accessible BBQ.

My Yelp Review

Crust Pizza at 2920 and Gosling

Have enjoyed Crust Pizza so was glad to see a new location in our neighborhood.  Got takeout from them the other night.  We got a Carl's King (like a supreme), a veggie pizza on cauliflower crust, a stuffed crust alfredo cheese pizza and a cheese and mushroom, with garlic knots for a starter.

We ordered online and the experience was ok.  The ordering system (a company called Toast) was easy enough to use.  It estimated that the order would be ready in 40 minutes.  The place is just 15 minutes away so I showed up early to check in.  They couldn't find my order at first because the system had booked it to be ready later.  They started right away and finished in less than 10 minutes.  I would have been better off placing the order by phone or coming in and ordering.

The food was absolutely great.  The Carl's King was a great combination.  I asked for the crust to be crispy, and while it wasn't cracker-crisp due to the moist ingredients it was quite good.  The veggie pizza was very good, and we forgot that it was on cauliflower crust--a little less flavor than traditional but as good as most places' wheat flower crust, I would eat it anytime.  It does cost $3 more.  The stuffed crust pizza also stood out--the cheese and crust were the perfect texture and the pizza had a great mouth feel.  The garlic knots were also very good--the ones I've had at other pizza places were very heavy, but these were light and crunchy.  The garlic dipping sauce went very well with them.  We also got marinara--it tasted OK but was cold, which didn't really work.

They have seating for dine-in, both indoors and out.  Decor is modern but very basic, with just two TVs showing sports.  The restroom was clean and ready, and the staff were very good at sorting out the ordering system and getting my order out quickly.  Their menu is the easiest I've ever used.  Most places start with a base pizza and nickel-and-dime you for every additional ingredient.  Crust charges by size, and you put whatever you want on it.  Prices start at $9 for a 10-inch, which I think is reasonable.  I think we have a new favorite pizza place.

The Nutrition Place

This place kind of flew under the radar for me--it's been here for about a year but I did not know it was a smoothie place.  In fact that is all they do, and they have a local following.

I came in looking to have a smoothie for a meal, which is their specialty.  I had a loaded combo--an Arnold Palmer tea and a peanut-butter based Butterfinger smoothie.  The "loaded" part of the tea is that they add various flavor and nutrition enhancements, and caffeine.  The tea itself was delicious--I am a fan of Arnold Palmers and the tea, lemonade and enhancers all went together very well.  The smoothie was quite good, but it's important to know that unlike almost every other smoothie place (including other nutrition-forward places) they do not add sugar.  So the smoothie was only a little bit sweet from the Butterfinger crumble on the top and the whipped cream.

All in all, it was a good meal and held me until late in the afternoon.    There are a few things I noted.  It is definitely a takeout place--there are a few stools but it looks like one would use them to wait for your purchase.  They have a restroom but it's in the back through a small gym (the owner is also a personal trainer) and it's a bit rough, but serviceable.  The menu is very complex, and I relied on the friendly and helpful server for advice on what to order.  It's not immediately apparent to me why a tea and a smoothie make a combo, and they do not post a separate price for the tea or smoothie.  If you have two people and separate wants the combo would work.  They do sell them individually, but you have to ask the price.

My Yelp Review