Bento Boxes and sushi at Katana Grill & Sushi

Midlothian, VA

We are back this week with more sushi.  What can I say?  I'm a big fan... of Katana... haha get it? Kitana...Katana... mm... Moving on...

This week, I found myself and a friend driving around looking for someplace new to try.  Then we stumbled upon the brand new little place tucked in a small shopping center off of Midlothian Turnpike.  It was pretty quiet inside, only a few people waiting on to-go orders and a table or two of other patrons.  We were quickly greeted by a smiling hostess and were seated in a cozy little booth.  Looking over the menu we noticed that the sushi combinations were limited but sufficient.  The hibachi menu seemed quite a bit more extensive.  

We started with the Yaki Kyoza, which included 5 pieces of dumplings and an order of egg rolls.  Both were quite nice for appetizers.  Thy kyoza were nice and crispy from the pan fry and had a nice filling.  The soy sauce type sauce was nice and gave the dumplings a little extra tangy depth that brought it slightly above the "normal or average" flavor profile.  

The egg roll had a nice, thin crispy skin that enveloped a nice balance of meat and veggies.  The mixture wasn't too salty, as is the case with many egg roll appetizers.  The sauce that came with it was a nice, sweet and tangy sauce with a thicker consistency.  It kinda reminded me of Thai chili egg roll sauce (reminiscent of Chinese Duck sauce).  It was good, but wasn't anything super special.  

Don't they both look pretty?

The Bento specials were really what caught out eye for dinner.  I got Bento #8.  Green Onion soup and a salad accompany each bento box, which came out along with our appetizers.  The soup was like a light chicken broth boiled with the scallions.  It was rather refreshing and surprisingly satisfying (since there was no miso soup).  The salad was a normal Japanese restaurant salad with iceberg lettuce, carrots, purple cabbage and ginger dressing.  The dressing was really thick and tasted really good with the super fresh veggies.  The freshness of the veggies also really impressed me!  

Next came the box.  It contained 3 deep fried shumai, which seemed like wonton wrapper wrapped Asian style fishcakes, which sounds weird but were actually quite yummy!  They were a little on the bland side after having eaten the appetizers and sauces just before but the sauce fixed that right up.  The spicy tuna roll was fresh and tasty.  Instead of mushed up tuna pieces, there were actual solid pieces of fish marinated in the spicy sauce!  Two thumbs up for seeing what fish you are getting.  The teriyaki chicken was fresh and flavorful also- nothing spectacular but still good.  The chicken was also cooked to perfection.  Not a bit chewy!  The nigiri were also super fresh.  The slices of fish were enormous in comparison to other restaurants as well as to the portion of rice.  I have to give another 2 thumbs up for that :-)

Bento #2 came with an egg roll, just like the crispy appetizer, the teriyaki chicken like bento 8, a tuna roll, and 2 more nigiri pieces.  The tuna rolls were nicely portioned with thick cuts of fresh tuna.  The nigiri here also were cut thick with meat and tasty goodness.   Look at those colors!

And don't be fooled by the pictures!  The bentos are actually very filling and more food than the pictures let on.  I even overlooked the fact that the chicken didn't come with rice, like other restaurants, because I was so full.

So, How Nuts Are We about Katana Grill & Sushi?

Food: 4 coconuts. Good portions, quality, and flavors.

Service: 5 coconuts. Good, fast, friendly service.  There was an older gentleman that came out from the kitchen who came over and smiled and bowed to greet us (I don't think he spoke any English but was super welcoming and happy!)
Repeatability: 5 coconuts.  The bento boxes are surely what will bring me back here to eat. 

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c(”)(”)   Until next time...