Ra Sushi

Ra Sushi
2785 Cabot Drive
Corona, CA 92883
951-277-7491

There’s a funny stigma that comes with sushi, a epicurean obstacle that bars most of us from considering it when they look for a place to eat on any given weekend, and its not that those that eat sushi on a regular basis are any more sophisticated than the rest of us; it’s just that we’re the ignorant masses, uneducated in the ways of this very ancient Japanese cuisine. After all, it’s raw fish, dredged up from the ocean, rinsed off a little and wrapped in seaweed or dipped in that deceptively non-palatable tongue-burner, wasabi.

Generally, people are hesitant, almost cautious, to give sushi a try for a number of reasons: It’s usually expensive; the portions are normally small; the establishment is probably exclusive, highbrow even; the server snobby to the uninformed; and plus, they heard that it could kill you. That doesn’t make for an inviting evening out, does it?

Well, for the most part, it’s all true. Sushi isn’t the cheapest fare in town. The portions are usually on the smaller side, only because it hosts a variety of flavors, more so than, say, a hamburger. Some can be exclusive and snobby (which comes along with being pricy). And yes, there is a form of sushi that, when prepared incorrectly, could very well be your last meal [it’s the blowfish (fugu) sashimi, which contains a toxin 1,250 times deadlier than cyanide].

But, let’s consider that all sushi places are not created equal.

So, where do the rest of us go? You know, the ones that think they might enjoy sushi, but know less than nothing about it? Where can we go? Probably most anywhere if you’re willing to ask questions, listen to the answers and put down your guard long enough to try new things, but in Corona, sushi restaurants were a little hard to come by until RA Sushi (pronounced “raw sushi”—it’s a funny play on phonetics. Get it?) opened their doors just over a year ago.

A sushi bar is the Japanese equivalent of the English pub, and the best way to experience the food is along with the atmosphere that traditionally accompanies it (however, the best way to experience English food is to watch someone else eat it). RA Sushi provides the atmosphere, the ambiance and the environment to properly enjoy any of the dishes they offer (don’t worry, they have cooked fish too).

Given the choice, we recommend that you sit at a sushi bar, because from that vantage point, you can watch the chef (itamae-san) prepare any of the sushi assortments and pick and choose which ones look most appetizing. Plus, a newbie to sushi can ask the chef for advice and recommendations about anything they see. An added bonus for sitting at the bar is that it is best to place or order many small dishes rather than one large order at the beginning. This will ensure continued interaction with the chef, not to mention your trying a variety of things.

That aside, you don’t need to be a sushi expert to enjoy what RA Sushi has to offer. I met Jason Boske, the general manager of the Corona store and was happy that he had the perfect lineup of sushi assortments for me right when I first sat down. Transplanted from Connecticut, Jason, a veteran of radio, came to California nearly a couple of years ago to pursue a career in the recording industry, but fate landed him in the capable hands of RA Sushi. And he hasn’t looked back.

Started by Scott Kilpatrick, Rich Howland and Tai Obata, RA Sushi began serving sushi fans in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1997. They expanded to a few more locations, but in 2002 they were bought by Benihana, in order for them to market their traditional Japanese dishes by untraditional methods (Benihana would never play edgy alt rock). This leads to the theory behind RA Sushi, is that it is a high-energy atmosphere, but the menu’s creation is a combination of being serious about food and providing a young, hip scene. The Corona location (and there’s 14 different stores in five or six states), can seat around 150 people at any one time, from singles at the sushi bar to groups in the two large booths.

RA Sushi's dinner menu features Asian fusion dishes such as the apple teriyaki salmon, a marinated grilled filet topped with sautéed Fuji apple glaze, and served with wasabi mashed potatoes. Latin-Asian albacore, a seared albacore with avocado, cilantro, sautéed mixed nuts and sake garlic sauce. And green tea soba noodle salad, a chilled soba noodles tossed in a yuzu vinaigrette with wild mushrooms, seasoned tofu and vegetables.

I started with a Sea Monkey Martini, one of nine on their menu. It’s a raspberry martini made with Skyy berry vodka, raspberry, pineapple and cranberry juices, and because of the natural viscosity of the liquids involved, it layers on itself. That means that each sip is different from the last, starting with the smooth punch of the semi-sweetened vodka and ending with a cavity-inducing pineapple taste that is surprisingly refreshing.

A delicately embellished platter of appetizers arrived next, from their signature “RA”ckin shrimp and a scallop tempura, to the sugarcane shrimp and tunacado. The “RA”ckin Shrimp is a crispy rock shrimp served on a bed of mixed greens with a ginger teriyaki sauce to dip it in. It was full of flavor without being overpowering. The sauce was light and it well complimented the shrimp. The scallop tempura, a lightly battered calamari steak, also came with a tempura sauce, and was appropriate for the holidays, giving that it was served on a breaded slice of pumpkin. I wasn’t interested in the sugarcane shrimp when I first saw them, as they seemed merely like two shrimp dipped in barbecue sauce, but they ended up being the best on the plate, only because they had such a punchy flavor, sweet but not sugary.

Forget the fact that I am still completely inept at using chopsticks, I reverted to the “traditional” method of eating sushi, my fingers. Don’t worry, nobody was looking.

Which leads us to the next course. However, before that arrived, Jason delivered to my table their signature series sake, a 300mL bottle of sake made by the Yaegaki Corp. especially for RA Sushi. It came with a small shot glass sitting in a cedar box, and following tradition, you are supposed to pour some from the bottle into the glass, spilling it into the cedar box, signifying prosperity. After that, you have a choice to either drink it from the glass or from the cedar box. Because I love the smell of cedar, and since the taste of this type of sake is enhanced by the cedar, I had no problem drinking it out of a little wooden box.

First off of the sushi list for me was the Yellow Monkey Roll, which is roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke, and cream cheese all rolled in rice and seaweed, topped with mango and cashew nuts, and covered with an eel and mango sauce. I hate to come out of the gate with this, but it was my favorite of the four. The mango sauce is paired perfectly with it, and it tastes more like a piece of candy made with rice than anything else. The New Zealand Roll, a smoked salmon, cream cheese, and mango rolled in rice and seaweed, topped with scallops, kiwi, and sautéed pine and cashew nuts, also accompanied with an eel and mango sauce, lacked the flavor I was expecting. Though presentation is one thing—it looked great—I wanted to really feel like I was eating something unusual, instead of a ball of rice with a kiwi on top. The salmon and shrimp nigiri, those both were the epitome of sushi, as there was nothing on them to distract from the fact that I was eating raw fish, just salmon, just shrimp. I dipped them both in the wasabe (if there’s nothing I love better about Japanese cuisine it’s wasabe) and some ginger, and they were both wonderfully mild, almost soothing to eat. The crispy spicy tuna was exactly as I expected, but not crunchy. It was overpowered by the tomato-based topping and the cilantro (believe it or not).

After that, though there wasn’t much room left, but the main course was on its way. The Yuzu Halibut (on the “from the sea” portion of the menu) is a seared halibut braised in a creamy yuzu broth and served with spicy crispy rice, fresh shitake mushrooms and spinach. Though it seemed like a small portion when it arrived, I came to find out that the dish was quite deep, as the halibut was filling… once I got to it that is. It was buried so deep among the rice, the spinach and the mushrooms, that I had trouble mixing the various tastes together. However, there’s nothing better than properly prepared shitake mushrooms and something from the flounder family, and RA Sushi certainly did not disappoint me.

An added surprise was a raspberry mango sorbet drenched in sweet raspberry and mango
sauce, which arrived just before the espresso martini… a reminder back to when I worked in a coffee shop where a wink and a nod will get you a little something extra in your mocha cappuccino.

RA Sushi is a relief from the norm. It’s interior design is fancy without being pretentious, the staff was courteous and not stale and Jason was knowledgeable without conceit. My only complaint is lose the TV over the bar (which had on football); it distracts from the quiet ambiance and I could almost picture myself on Ginza in Tokyo, looking for a good sushi place.

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