Mikimoto

Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor: 3301 S Carrollton Ave. 504-488-1881. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Mikimoto is small, inconspicuous, in a sort of neutral ground of a neighborhood, and much liked by the students of Tulane, Loyola, and Xavier universities. It has a drive-through window and does delivery. None of those are typical indicators of a great restaurant, but Mikimoto's work across its wide-ranging menu stands out. Not only is the sushi excellent, but their many cooked appetizers are delicious and unusual. Think of it as Asian tapas. Alternating hot dishes with orders of sushi makes for a fascinating and richly-textured dinner.

WHAT'S GOOD
Almost any standard sushi you've ever enjoyed is here. Past those, the chefs start innovating. The list of special rolls is noteworthy: it includes very few items with the tasteless crabstick and its derivatives. Mikimoto goes one step further and offers local blue crab instead of the fake stuff. Throughout the menu, one finds better-quality fish and vegetables than in most Japanese restaurants.

BACKSTORY
Mikimoto opened in 2000 in the Asian restaurant row on S. Carrollton Avenue between Earhart and Palmetto. There's some family connection with the long-running, nearby, popular Chinese Kitchen. Mikimoto renovated a former savings-and-loan office, keeping the drive-through window in place and using it for take-out service. Jackie Chan (not the movie star) is the owner.

DINING ROOM
The dining room is small, yet manages to be somewhat maze-like. When a crush of customers arrives, there's often no room to stack them up. If you see people standing on the sidewalk, the house is full. The sushi bar is also less commodious than one may be accustomed to finding. Still, the service and surroundings manage to be pleasant enough.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Sushi (selected)
Amberjack
»Baby soft-shell crab
Eel
Escolar
»Fresh salmon
Hokki clam
»Lemonfish
»Mackerel
Octopus
»Red snapper
Salmon roe
Scallop (cooked)
»Hotate (fresh scallop)
»Sea urchin
Smelt roe
Smoked salmon
Sweet shrimp
Toro (fatty tuna)
»Tuna
»Tuna tataki
White tuna
»Yellowtail
»Tubugai clam
Box sushi (salmon, shrimp, tuna, yellowtail, eel, or combinations)
Sashimi (escolar, fresh salmon, tuna, whitefish, white tuna, yellow tail, or pepper tuna)
»Carpaccio (tuna, whitefish, or escolar)
Jalapeno hamachi
Special rolls (selected)
Bayou roll
Blue crab roll
Boston hand roll (no rice)
BBQ yellowtail roll
»»Carpaccio roll
Cajun roll
»»Chef's special roll
Crawfish roll
Crunchy dynamite roll
»Cucumber roll
Dante roll
»Fresh salmon roll
»Fuji mountain roll
Hawaii Five-0 roll (fried)
Lobster roll
Mango mania roll
»»Mikimoto roll
Nola roll
Poor boy roll
Red dragon roll
Salmon skin roll
Samurai roll
»Sashimi roll
Soft-shell crab roll
Eel roll
Tigers eye roll
Yellowtail roll
Starters
Shrimp and vegetable tempura
Spring roll
Baked green mussels
»Crab shumai
»Baked mixed mushrooms
Grilled squid steak
Baked salmon
Baked seafood
Tuna steak, teriyaki sauce
»Baked yellowtail neck
Fried calamari
Snow crab spring roll
Kuruma shrimp
Chicken, shrimp, crabstick, vegetable tempura
»Beef tataki
Edamame
»Gyoza
Tofu steak
Wasabi mussels
»»Beef negimaki
»»Beef asparagus maki
Sesame beef or chicken
Yaki tori (BBQ chicken)
Super niku maki (sliced beef, snowcrab, asparagus, shrimp, teriyaki)
Tuna tartare
»Spicy baked scallop
Soups and Salads
Seafood soup for two
Tempura udon soup
Chicken vegetable udon
»Nabeyaki seafood udon
Chicken or seafood yakiudon (fried noodles, cabbage)
House salad
Noodle salad
Seaweed salad
Cucumber salad
Squid salad
»Avocado deluxe (spicy tuna, snowcrab, smelt roe in an avocado half)
»»Sunomono salad (fish, cucumber, ponzu sauce)
Asparagus salad
BBQ eel salad
Salmon skin salad
Scallop salad
Seafood salad
Spicy tuna salad
Snow crab and avocado salad
Tuna tataki salad
Chef's special salad
»Poke salad (seaweed, tuna, squid, avocado, cucumber)
Entrees
Chicken katsu
Chicken or beef teriyaki
Shrimp or vegetable tempura
Spicy beef with vegetables
Fuji shrimp, ginger sauce
Tuna steak teriyaki
Tofu with vegetables
Salmon teriyaki
Unagi domburi (grilled eel)
»Chirashi sushi (raw fish on sushi rice)
Desserts
»Banana tempura, honey sauce, ice cream
Ice cream
Tempura ice cream
Fresh fruit
Cheesecake
Tempura cheesecake
Mochi

FOR BEST RESULTS
Go through the appetizer and salad sections as soon as you sit down and before you order sushi. There's a lot of interesting food in there. The bar has an uncommonly large selection of premium sakes, and makes good cocktails with it (or without it).

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Now that it's legal to have sidewalk tables, how about a few of those to ease the crush? (Not that Carrollton Avenue traffic is in any way scenic.)

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

Dining Environment +1

Consistency +2

Service+1

Value +2

Attitude +1

Wine & Bar +1

Hipness +2

Local Color

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

• Open Sunday lunch and dinner
• Open Monday lunch and dinner
• Open all afternoon
• Quick, good meal
• Easy, nearby parking
• No reservations

ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
I eat differently here than I do in any other local sushi bar. The hot dishes from the kitchen--particularly the appetizers--are so good that I alternate them with sushi, course by course. This is particularly pleasant in the chilly time of year.

Aside from all the other methods they use to expand service beyond their little restaurant, Mikimoto offers to send its chefs to your house for a sushi party.

---